La Tempérance (14)

At first glance, this card looks simple and not as laden with imagery as some of the others. This may be partly due to the muted brown and red toned colors. However, upon further scrutiny, the symbols rise up. The emperor sits fiercely on his stone throne accented with ram head gargoyles, and he holds a lemon and a scepter topped with an ankh, the ancient symbol for eternal life. A bejeweled crown presses down on his head, and he is armored beneath his red robe and long, white beard. Behind him is a blood-orange sky and sharp, arid mountains.

While one might think of an emperor as gaudy, effusive, and brash, The Emperor pictured here is restrained, calculating, and prudent. He is not immediately trusting of others, which is why he wears armor. In his face one can see a strained expression; he is ready to listen but also to judge. He has seen the dark side of humanity, and it has aged him, but now he is wise.

The ankh scepter represents the empire The Emperor protects; he takes this duty gravely. In his left hand he holds a lemon, which is sour but also detoxifying. In the same way, peace is sometimes achieved through uncomfortable means. The rams on his throne were sacrifices to Mars, god of war--The Emperor will go to extreme lengths to protect those he watches over. Meanwhile, the dry mountains jutting behind him show that his reality is one of sacrifice and harshness. He is a symbol of virility, not fertility. He is aggressive rather than nurturing--there are no gardens in this scene.

Despite how walled he is, there is still something quite human and vulnerable in the few areas where The Emperor is unarmored: his face and hands. He does not protect ideas divorced from their application--he is not moved by calculative abstraction which would take a human life in vain; he supports those who depend on him, and he supports human life.