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Saturday, October 1, 2011

III - The Empress

     The Empress is the female companion to the Emperor, where the Emperor is severe and imposing, the Empress is soft and caring. She represents the divine mother in her most glorious aspect.
   She reclines in comfort on a luxurious looking divan, covered in cushions and pillows all looking to be made from plush materials. She wears a comfortable dress and a tiara of stars, far from the hard armour and crown of the Emperor. There is a feeling of comfort and informality when one looks upon this card.
   She resides in a lush woodland with a waterfall just behind her. Fields of golden corn sprout at her feet and the sun gives her head a haloed glow in warm comforting oranges.
   He hand is raised up, holding a sceptre and this looks like it is done without a care in the world....more a benediction than a show of power. Her dress is covered with roses which talk of love and the heart and even the shape of the roses suggest the symbol of Venus. The emblem at her feet is a heart with the symbol of Venus emblazoned upon it, Venus being the planetary ruler of beauty and romance. The symbol is Venus is also very close to the Egyptian Ankh, which means life.
   The card talks of love, abundance, motherly nurturing in the purest sense and the promise of new life. It is the round belly of the expectant mother, the sack full to bursting of grain, the roundness of the trees in mid summer and the warm glow of the setting sun in a glorious sunset, ready to give birth to a warm night.
     This card is a fruitful one, one which shows abundance in all areas of life. It is like all the Aces combined in one. All creative energies have been sown and they are about to give birth to a new endeavor. There is no lack in this card and the eternal mother is giving in all aspects, holding nothing back for her children.
   The idea of abundance is a difficult one for many people, myself included. The idea that there is an unlimited supply of all we want just out there waiting for us to tap into is often hard to wrap ones head around. Abundance comes in many forms and often we have abundance in one area of life and not in another, when this happens we may have a tendency to focus on the lack ignoring all the other ares of richness in our lives.
   When we do this it becomes even harder to generate that feeling of abundance and that all is provided for you. We are often told to be grateful for all we have, yet when things are scarce doing so can feel highly in-genuine. In these instances we must confront the lack in our lives and acknowledge it is there, for without this we cannot be truly honest with ourselves and trying to feel abundant in those moments feels like lying to ourselves.
  There are a great deal of abundance teachers out there and most of them would have you ignore these feelings and focus on generating good positive energy. This is good advice to a point, but without acknowledging the lack in ones life there is always going to be a wrinkle in the back of your mind. Without this realistic appraisal, we cannot truly see what we are trying to fill and even if it really needs to be filled.
    A lot of the time we spot an area of lack, do not wish to face it, choose an item our ego would like to fill it with and wish for that. We are operating outside of ourselves in this instance and using our own ego power to draw the object to us. This can be exhausting work and keeping up a level of denial can also sap your energy supply.
   Rather we should face this negative space, acknowledge it is there, then understand how we can begin to fill it. By looking honestly, we open ourselves up to divine intuition, which can lead us to what would really benefit us and the reason we have a space for it in the first place.
   I have found denial and ignorance has never really produced anything of lasting value in my life. There are certainly areas of my life that are very abundant. I have a beautiful wife, a great apartment, the space and freedom to think, the ability to express how I feel openly. And, yes there are areas of lack. But by simply ignoring them, I will never understand the reason that space was created in my life. By ignoring the desperation underneath it all, you end up just holding your life in place by sheer willpower. These dark spaces need to be acknowledged, so that they can be filled.
    We are told to be grateful for the things we have but I have found that trying to generate gratitude when it is not naturally present is the same as trying to create any feeling that has not naturally arisen. Gratitude is a spontaneous feeling that arises when one has been genuinely gifted, sometimes we don't recognise it when it happens and it requires a shift of perspective. But we cannot and should not demand gratitude from someone who doesn't feel it. We should not force the same ideals upon ourselves. If you have trouble feeling gratitude for some of the things in your life, then maybe there is a reason why. It is wonderful to feel it, but don't force it! Look at why it is not there! Maybe the giver is giving grudgingly, maybe you deserve more in your life for your efforts, maybe you want more than scraps...without this insight it is all for nothing.
   Abundance is there for us all, but to accept it, we must be honest about ourselves and the lack we feel. We can't be given to unless we acknowledge there is a space for it! This does not mean wallowing in negative feeling and wondering why if the universe is so abundant and we are so lacking. Seeing the space allows you the chance to see how it could be filled or what it is that is holding you back from filling it yourself.
    I see the Empress as the divine mother who asks us if we are hungry or needy and helps us acknowledge those areas of lack, so she can fill them. I am grateful for her presence in my life so that I can understand these lessons for myself.
Thank you Goddess!

   
   

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