In the tarot, the Emperor, a Major Arcana card, is associated with the astrological sign of Aries, the sign of the ram which falls around 21 March to 19 April. In the Western zodiac, Aries is the first sign on the astrological calendar associated with leadership, personal gain, initiative and raw creative energy. As cardinal fire signs, Aries natives are renowned for having a fiery temper and sometimes plunging into situations without thinking beforehand. Ironically, in physical terms Aries rules the head and the brain in astrology!

Aries is ruled by Mars, the planet of war and action. Mars is also traditionally associated with the male sex drive, courage, action and is connected to metals and metal objects like swords. Mars is also sometimes referred to as the red planet.

You can see these ideas echoed particularly well in the symbolism of the Emperor card on the Rider Waite Smith version of the card. He is wearing a red cape, a golden crown and a suit of armour. The suit of armour is a nod to the metals such as iron and steel associated with Mars. His red attire is also a nod to the red planet Mars and suggests he is pretty well protected - red is a colour of protection in my mind. He has made sure nothing can penetrate his skin. He is hardened to outside forces and ready to defend his Kingdom. He holds an Ankh in his right hand, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, perhaps representing his power over the life and death of his people. The orb suggests his ‘sphere of influence’ over the physical realm.

The Emperor represents the creation of society, he is the archetype of the father, who traditionally is thought to be authoritarian, creating rules and order not only for his children but for society as a whole. We see on the Rider Waite Colman Smith deck that he sits on a throne of hard stone high up in the mountains, a good vantage point position allowing him a clear sight over his kingdom. He sits looking out at the viewer with scrutiny. An old warrior of a man, not phased by the world, calm and reasoned. Everything looks pretty firm and stable, but not comfortable by any means.

Often I find that the Emperor archetype does not always sit well with people, which I understand - he is the embodiment of the patriarchal and capitalist society, a lot of damage has been done under these systems. While writing this article, I initially found it hard to think of an Emperor that has a positive legacy. The great Emperors that we often learn about from a Eurocentric point of view are Emperors like Marcus Auerlius, Emperor of Rome and stoic philosopher.

More recently however, in the 20th Century we also have an Emperor who has inspired people, and that to me, coming from a partly Rastafarian upbringing, is Haile Selassie, the Emperor of Ethiopia. Like previous Ethiopian Emperors, he famously fought against Italian colonialism and defeated Mussolini and his Fascist army in the 1930s. Yet, like most emperors, he remains a controversial figure particularly in Ethiopia. On one hand, he successfully led an army to resist Fascist Italy but on the other, he repressed the Oromos people, forbidding them to speak their language or practice their religion.

At the moment, we are living through the damaging effects of Emperor energy - genocidal wars, political corruption, lack of empathy for anything diverse or different. We are seeing the dismantling of democracy, right before our eyes and our reliance on social media and search engines has resulted in us living under constant vigilance - that Emperor scrutiny - even if most are unaware of this disturbing fact or simply too absorbed in our own worlds to care.

The lessons we can learn from Aries and the Emperor are that we are in control of our destiny - we get to decide what we want when we want. We can take up space and say no. We can protect our domains, our homes, and ourselves and take action if we are not happy with our current circumstances.

Aries & The Emperor

Pisces & The Moon