The Tarot of Eli 2: The Rider-Wait-Smith Tarot - Key 3-The Empress & The Triple Goddess Tarot-Key 3-The Empress.

Daleth (ד)

The Empress and the Matrix of Creation: The Womb of Qabalah

“Empress Card Deep Dive – Abundance & Qabalah (Thoth Tarot)”

“Discover the Empress’s creative force in the Tarot of Thoth, fused with Western Qabalah’s womb of manifestation. Abundance through form.”

In the Rider–Waite–Smith deck, the Empress embodies the continuous circulation of life-force between the Above and the Below. Seated amid a field of ripened wheat and framed by cypress trees sacred to Venus, she is the living matrix of manifestation — Mother Earth and Mother Venus united. The heart-shaped shield bearing the Venus glyph confirms her rulership over love, attraction, and the generative principle of cohesion that binds spirit to matter.

Her gown, patterned with the planetary sigils of Venus, radiates the cosmic vibration of harmony through beauty — a resonance of Binah’s understanding expressed through the fertile intelligence of Daleth, “the Door.” Through her doorway, the Divine Word of the Magus (Beth) and the pure Gnosis of the High Priestess (Gimel) pass into creative embodiment.

The Flow of Life Between Heaven and Earth

The crystalline water flowing from the right side of the card represents the substance of the Great Sea, the Supernal Waters of the Shekinah. It recalls Aphrodite’s mythic birth from the sea-foam — consciousness emerging from the primal waters of potential. This is the descent of divine impulse into form, a process that never ceases: the Spirit continually births itself as Nature.

The twelve stars crowning her head symbolize the zodiacal wheel, the full circuit of cosmic influence that channels through her as the cycles of fertility, gestation, and evolution. She mediates between the celestial and the terrestrial, weaving zodiacal energies into the patterns of earthly manifestation. In this way, the Empress is the weaver of destiny, the matrix through which divine imagination becomes sensual experience.

Qabalistic Insight: Daleth — The Door

On the Tree of Life, the Empress corresponds to the Hebrew letter Daleth (ד), meaning “door.” She connects Chokmah (Wisdom) — the dynamic, creative Will of the Father — to Binah (Understanding) — the receptive matrix of the Mother. She is the threshold where Force enters Form, the open passage between spiritual potency and material realization. In Hermetic Qabalah, Daleth also implies “Love as the doorway to understanding” — the magnetic union that bridges polarity.

Her Orb of the Sun in the right hand subtly invokes Tiphareth, the Solar Child — the Son born of the union of Chokmah and Binah. Through this orb, she reflects the Light of the Sun/Son into the world of form, bestowing the patterns that will later be administered and perfected in Tiphareth as the Beauty of the Soul.

Hermetic Reflection

Thus, the Empress is not mere sensual abundance — she is the consciousness of Nature herself, the Divine Feminine that ensouls every atom with love and intelligence. In the alchemical cycle, she is the Coagula following the Solve of the Priestess: she gathers the dispersed light into tangible creation. The flow of her waters is the same as the Priestess’s veil, but made visible and living — the river of manifestation itself.

To meditate upon the Empress is to contemplate the doorway through which the Soul incarnates. As Venus, she teaches that beauty and love are the laws of creative evolution; as Earth, she reveals that Spirit’s delight is to know itself through form.

The Empress as Daleth: The Door of Life and Death

The Empress is not merely a figure of sensual fertility—she is Daleth (ד), The Door. In the esoteric sense, a door implies movement in two directions: the outpouring of Spirit into matter, and the return of matter into Spirit. She is therefore both the gateway of incarnation and the threshold of transmutation. To pass through her on the Descent of Spirit is to enter manifestation and form; to pass through her again on the Return Path is to dissolve back into the Supreme Darkness of the Great Mother—Ain Soph, the Limitless Womb.

Sheela Na Gig

Hence the ancients depicted this “Door of Life” not abstractly, but through the symbol of the Yoni, the exposed generative gate of the Great Goddess. Through this doorway, all forms are born into light; through it, all forms return in the “little death”—la petite mort—the ecstatic release in which the illusion of separateness dies. Thus, the Empress governs both Eros and Thanatos, generation and regeneration, womb and tomb.

Janua Coeli: The Celestial Gateway

This dual current of life and death was known to the ancients as Janua Coeli, the Gate of Heaven. The phrase was originally derived from the Yoni-gate of Juno, the Roman aspect of the Great Mother, whose name itself is the root of janua, “door.” Over time, as patriarchal culture sought to claim the mysteries of creation, Juno’s sacred portal was transposed into the male form of Janus—the two-faced god who looks simultaneously toward the past and the future.

Janus, however, is but the shadow of Juno’s greater mystery. For in the primordial sense, this gate is wholly feminine: it is the threshold of the Shekinah, the womb through which the Word becomes flesh and through which the soul is reborn into Spirit. The Romans, in converting the Yoni of Heaven into a masculine abstraction, were enacting a symbolic reversal—the re-casting of feminine creative power into masculine form.

The Hermetic Meaning of the Door

In Hermetic Qabalah, Daleth unites Chokmah (Wisdom) with Binah (Understanding). She is the open passage between the Supernal Father and Mother, the love-force that makes their union possible. Thus, she is not only the doorway of creation but also the mystical bride through whom consciousness continually crosses between universes.

To contemplate her as Door is to confront the mystery of polarity: Life and Death are one motion, Love is both the exhalation and inhalation of the Divine. In the Thoth Tarot, Crowley depicts her seated within the radiant womb of Venus, holding a lotus and scepter—symbols of continuous birth and eternal recurrence. She is Nature as the Divine Face of Love, the very gate by which God experiences Self as Form.

The "doorway" and/or "gate way" to heaven of the Goddess is often shown as the Yoni Yantra that represents the divine feminine principle and is often associated with the goddess Shakti. Here's a brief overview:

1. Origin: The Yoni Yantra has ancient roots in Hinduism and is part of the Tantric tradition. It is typically found in temples dedicated to goddesses like Shakti, Kali, or Durga. The word "Yoni" itself refers to the female genitalia and symbolizes the womb or the source of creation.

2. Symbology:

   • Female Energy: The Yoni Yantra represents the divine feminine energy, the creative power of the universe, and the source of all life.
   • Shakti: It is often associated with the goddess Shakti, who embodies feminine energy, fertility, and the transformative power of the goddess.
   • Union of Masculine and Feminine: The Yoni is often depicted with the Lingam, representing the masculine principle, symbolizing the union of opposites, the balance of male and female energies, and the cosmic harmony.
   • Creation and Rebirth: It signifies the process of creation and rebirth, both on a physical and spiritual level. It is a reminder of the cyclical nature of life and the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

The Yoni Yantra is considered a powerful symbol for meditation and worship, allowing individuals to connect with the divine feminine energy, foster spiritual growth, and explore the mysteries of creation and existence.

Here then, as the Empress, Janua/Janus resided over the passage of ideas and affairs of a man. Originally, Janus was a Solar Entity, and THE EMPRESS is the Mother of the Sun, so the comparison is not only viable but pertinent as well. Thus, anything that can be said about Juno/Janua/Janus can be said about THE EMPRESS as well, even though she is often now anthropomorphic in form as Venus-Aphrodite- the Womb of life and death.

In the Triple Goddess Tarot, Key 3 – The Empress appears as a radiant, golden-haired goddess seated in the fullness of pregnancy, surrounded by symbols of perpetual life. Above her head, an arch of luminous butterflies hovers — emblems of soul transformation and immortality. The butterfly has always been sacred to Psyche, the soul’s journey from cocooned potential into liberated flight, and here it reveals that the Empress is not only the Mother of bodies, but of souls themselves.

At her feet rests a white hare, the ancient pagan companion of the Great Mother, linked to Hera, Ostara, and the lunar mysteries. The hare, known for its cyclical fertility, reminds us that creation is rhythmic and eternal. Every birth contains the seed of renewal; every death, the promise of return.

The Supernal Female Force

This Empress is the Supernal Feminine—the cosmic matrix that builds form around Spirit, shaping the spiral frequencies of life into structured worlds. In Hermetic Qabalah, she corresponds to Daleth (ד), “The Door,” which bridges Chokmah (the primal Will-to-Force) and Binah (the Understanding that gives it Form). Through her passage, the infinite Light of the Supernals flows downward, crystallizing into the laws of Nature, matter, and manifestation.

She establishes the Laws of Restriction and Formation—not as limitation, but as divine architecture. Through her, Spirit learns the art of shape, sound, and body. She is Venus-Aphrodite, the magnetic field of love that holds the cosmos in harmonious proportion. Her mantra is the ancient Law itself: Love is the Law, Love under Will.

The Law of Love and the Dual Current of Desire

She is the one whom all souls seek, whether through longing, art, or union. Her polarity is both attraction and dissolution: the ecstasy of conception and the pain of separation. As the Mother of Forms, she is the source of every birth, yet also the dissolver of all illusions of permanence. Thus, she is the Life and Death of every form, the pulse of evolution itself.

In every creative act — be it the birth of a child, a vision, or a work of art — she whispers, “Through me, all things take form.” The artist, writer, or musician is her priest or priestess, translating divine light into tangible beauty.

When the Empress Appears

When The Empress graces a reading, she affirms that your creations are both desired and divinely timed. She invites you to weave the strands of creativity, to bring your ideas into expression through art, music, love, and community. Her message is simple and profound: the world hungers for your creation.

Therefore, abundance, fertility, nurturing, and the joy of material existence are not merely rewards — they are sacred functions. To live in beauty is to participate consciously in her mystery.

Hermetic Reflection

The Triple Goddess Empress, the Thoth Empress, and the RWS Empress are each facets of one vast mystery: the Venusian Door through which Spirit becomes flesh. She is the song of the universe made visible, the harmony of opposites woven into form. To meditate upon her is to remember that creation itself is a sacrament — every heartbeat a pulse of the Goddess, every breath a crossing through her eternal Door.

The Archetype of Mother is very pivotal to the process of self-understanding, especial to a male. "Mother", is the extension of the Anima qualities; as Empress she is the nurturing qualities of Mother. She is Isis, wrapped in the robes of nature. She is the Ocean Mother of Consciousness.

Three Faces of the Empress: Nature, the Supernal Door, and the Creative Soul

Across the traditions of Tarot, The Empress manifests in three luminous forms, each reflecting a facet of the same eternal mystery: the Divine Feminine as Doorway of Manifestation. Whether we view her through the Rider-Waite-Smith, Thoth, or Triple Goddess Tarot, we behold the same archetypal power refracted through different rays of the Venusian current — the Power of Love as the Law of Life.

The Rider-Waite-Smith Empress — The Living Soul of Nature

In the Rider-Waite-Smith vision, the Empress is Mother Nature personified — the fertile pulse of the Earth. She is the outward flow of the creative current, the luxuriant garden through which Spirit breathes. Her crown of twelve stars unites her with the zodiacal heavens, and her scepter channels celestial influence into terrestrial abundance. Here, we see Venus as the flowing life-blood of the cosmos, forever nurturing, forever transforming.

She teaches that all creation is sacred because it participates in the universal rhythm of birth, growth, and decay — the trinity of life in motion. To work with her is to rediscover reverence for embodiment, to see matter not as a prison but as the living temple of Spirit.

The Thoth Empress — Daleth, the Door of Heaven

In the Thoth system, the Empress is Daleth — The Door that links Chokmah and Binah, Wisdom and Understanding. She is the alchemical coagula, the binding intelligence that transforms spiritual will into structured beauty.

Crowley’s Venus is no gentle pastoral goddess; she is the Supernal Architect of form, radiant with creative magnetism. Her function is to bridge the infinite and the finite — the descent of the Logos through the womb of Light. In her, Love becomes Law, and through her, Law becomes Life.

The Triple Goddess Empress — The Creative Soul in Bloom

In the Triple Goddess Tarot, the Empress is revealed as the pregnant Goddess of Transformation, golden-haired and encircled by butterflies of rebirth. The white hare at her feet speaks of cyclic fertility and lunar renewal, linking her to the eternal rhythm of manifestation and return.

Here she embodies the Creative Soul itself — the artist, the dreamer, the poet, the mother of forms. Her message is immediate and empowering: Create, for creation is your sacrament. She invites humanity to participate in divine artistry — to bring ideas into being with joy and sensual awareness. This is Venus as the living consciousness of Beauty, transforming love into art and art into life.

Hermetic Integration — The Door of Love

Together, these three Empresses form a single Hermetic triad:

• Rider-Waite-Smith: Nature — the outer expression of divine fertility.

• Thoth: The Supernal Door — the inner architecture of manifestation.

• Triple Goddess: The Creative Soul — the personal participation in creation.

They represent the descent of Spirit into Form, the maintenance of Form through Love, and the return of Form into Spirit through creative awareness. She is, in all her guises, the Law of Love that holds the stars in orbit and quickens the womb of every artist.

Thus, The Empress remains the eternal truth of Venus — that Love is both the Cause and the Completion of Creation. She is the Doorway through which the Divine becomes the World, and the World becomes Divine once more.

She is the secret gate of Janua Coeli — the Celestial Door — through which the Light of Tiphareth is born as the Solar Son. To pass through her consciously is to experience the marriage of opposites within the heart: the union of Spirit and Soul, Heaven and Earth.

0 = 2 and the Birth of the Solar Self

In the Hermetic Qabalah, all manifestation arises from the formula 0 = 2 — the appearance of polarity from the undivided No-Thing, Ain Soph. This is the primordial motion of creation, where the Boundless radiates as Father (Chokmah) and Mother (Binah) — the archetypal Will-to-Force and Will-to-Form. Through their continual embrace emerges the Son, the Soul or Solar Self, who is the equilibrium of opposites and the synthesis of their currents.

This Son/Sun is not a masculine being but a Divine Hermaphrodite, the perfect androgynous harmony of active and passive principles. In the Western Mysteries, this balance is the Tiphereth Consciousness — the Beauty of the Middle Pillar, where the Fire of Spirit and the Water of Understanding mingle as Light. It is here that individuality becomes divine transparency; personality becomes the clear crystal through which the Solar Logos shines.

Thus, the Sun/Son is Adam Khadmon, the Heavenly Human, archetype of the perfected soul who knows itself as both the child and the image of the Divine Parents. Through the process of incarnation, we re-enact this cosmic mystery: from the infinite potential of the Zero, we emerge as dual beings — yet our destiny is always to rediscover the unity that birthed us.

In the Western Hermetic Qabalah, Tiphareth represents the "Son" within the supernal family structure of the Tree of Life and resonates with solar symbolism as it is assigned to the Sun (Shemesh, שמש) and holds the number 6. This correspondence connects Tiphareth to the central divine force that embodies both balance and beauty, much like the Sun’s role as a harmonious, sustaining force in our solar system.

However, the Hebrew words for "son" (בן, ben) and "sun" (שמש, shemesh) are not the same. They are separate words with distinct meanings and spellings. In the Qabalistic tradition, though, Tiphareth is indeed associated with both, symbolizing the divine "Son" in the archetypal family and acting as the spiritual and central force represented by the Sun's qualities of harmony, life, and radiant energy.

Here’s a bit more detail about why both "son" and "sun" align with Tiphareth:

• The "Son" in Qabalah: Tiphareth as the "Son" represents a synthesis of the higher and lower aspects of divinity on the Tree of Life, bridging the supernal and terrestrial realms. This reflects the archetypal role of the "Son" as a unifier or mediator—qualities embodied in many mythological and religious figures, like Christ in Christianity or Osiris in Egyptian mythology. Hence, the Soul or Solar Self is both genders.

• The Sun and Tiphareth’s Energy: As Tiphareth is associated with the Sun, it radiates qualities of life, illumination, and balance. In the same way the Sun is central to life on Earth, Tiphareth is central to the Tree of Life, harmonizing the structure by drawing from the energies of the sephiroth around it. Hence, it is also aligned with the concept of nurturing Mother.

This duality of "son" and "sun" in Tiphareth emphasizes both the divine lineage of the "Son" and the sustaining, illuminating force of the "Sun." In the Western Hermetic Qabalah, this symbolism also implies that spiritual realization in Tiphareth embodies both a divine heritage and the central, life-giving nature of the solar energy.

The encounter with the Empress-Mother Archetype is inevitably emotional and direct, especially since we must honestly consider our own relationship with our physical mother. Although cultures have described this archetype in the most cryptic of language and/or graphic symbols, it is only by understanding and evaluating honestly, our unconscious materials relating to interactions with our own mother-both good or bad- that we begin to arrive at insights into the mysteries of "Mother". Such a transition of focus is often achieved through Meditation. One learns true love, through the adoration of Isis/Empress.

The images represented in THE EMPRESS card are an attempt to convey the concept of pure fruition. As an exercise towards this goal of understanding, the initiate must try to conceive of pure emotion, which is a feeling which has no subject or object, neither love nor hate, but which is the raw material of both, a kind of Lust without need of result. Armed with such an understanding, the initiate may begin to understand something of the Great Binah, The Great Mother Isis, Hathor as THE EMPRESS, who is the Illuminating Intelligence or Birth Mother of Ideas through transitional state of Understanding.

All that is Life on Earth is the providence of THE EMPRESS, as she builds life forms around the Spirit of Life, establishing the Laws of the Universe that have to do with restriction and formation. She is the Supernal Female Force. She is also Venus-Aphrodite-Isis. the Goddess of Love. Love is her Law. The Luminous Intelligence of Chokmah, becomes the Illuminating Intelligence of THE EMPRESS, inferring filling up and emitting Light, thus bestowing the title of Mother of Light on the Great Mother.

As always, words make the reality of their meanings seem so simple, but in truth, the simplest words are the most subjective, such as IT, or I. One must cross the emptiness of want, of sense, of sight, before one can visit the Great Mother, who creates the I Am of us all. She is the greatest mystery and yet the most loved of all deities.

[ Have questions about Western Hermetics and/or Tarot? Log onto El's Thoth Tarot Guide and get quick and concise answers and even specific rituals and invocations.]

When the Empress card is thrown:

• The querent is experiencing the principle of wise love.
• The power of owning your own inherited maternal and loving nature that resides within.
• There is an opening to all sensuality and delighting in luxury of the senses, as does a child, before they are taught to fear them.
• One finds comfort among the natural, having no need for control. 
• A surge of Creative imagination, as imagination is everything in our reality, this promises achievement and success in our goals.
• The querent may experience a high dedication to healing and nurturing. 
• Overall, THE EMPRESS represents happiness, stable relationships, growth, and fertility.
• Hard work pays off. 
• Love of luxurious things.
• Pregnancy and birth.

If ill defined by surrounding cards or reversed, it implies:

• Motherhood issues.
• Dissipation.
• Luxuries.
• Sensuality.

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