Within nearly every organization, business enterprise or corporate concern there is always one individual to whom all look for guidance, support and direction. He or she is customarily referred to as the Operations Manager or Chief Executive Officer (CEO). So it is with the Tarot... within its community of 22 Major Arcana trump cards, The Emperor has been assigned the task of director, administrator, and monitor of all projects and creative processes. It's a very interesting hierarchical arrangement that the Ancients conceived and implemented within the Tarot. They made sure that there was a Chairman of the Board or President (The Magician); a staff responsible for procurement, manufacturing and design (The High Priestess) and a Marketing-Sales/Distribution Division (The Empress). The Emperor's role is to direct the many creative processes (thoughts/ideas) conceived, originated and sanctioned by the top official (The Magician). It's an extremely important role and function since absolute quality control is important not only to maintain physical and emotional serenity, but a sense of Spiritual balance in all things.

Carl Jung was quick to realize the tremendous role assumed by the Emperor. He taught that within each of us there is an Emperor hard at work trying to keep us attuned to the voice of our Higher Self. This Emperor is our bridge between the Self-conscious and The Superconscious (Universal Mind). He is the link between our human physicality and the Divine. Jung called this Emperor our "Constituting Intelligence". Some refer to him as the "little voice within"... others call him our "mind's eye". He is, in a sense, the ultimate or perfect blend of Human Reason and Soul Consciousness (reason and intuition).

When the image-making power of our being, in other words our thoughts and mental desires (Our Magician), are originated and impressed on our subconscious mind (Our Empress), the Emperor must monitor and review their actions and intent. It is his responsibility (before allowing the thoughts to manifest through the Empress as reality) to ensure their logical content, rational correctness and feasibility. It is the exercise of his supervision over The Magician's creative ideas and images that keeps us spiritually balanced and under control. If our thoughts were given free reign and allowed to manifest at will, we would go insane. The events of our lives would be running at cross-purposes, short-circuiting our efforts and sanity at every turn. Thank God for the work of the Emperor within us. It is through his condensing and limiting power that we are able to live normal lives. He is a silent, but very essential friend.

The Emperor is the 4th card of the Major Arcana. In numerology the number FOUR represents the qualities of organization, logic, system and order. The number Four is an active force of Nature that strives unceasingly to build, consolidate, create boundaries and establish permanence in all areas of our physical existence. It is a living energy that is concerned about being conscientious focused and disciplined in its efforts to maintain stability and reliability. Being rational, well reasoned and pragmatic is the goal of every number Four. You will seldom find a Four involved in sentimentality or emotional matters... it is much too stable and conservative to allow the extremes of inner emotional turmoil cloud its outlook. It is the most grounded of all the numbers, sometimes to its detriment. Stubbornness and intractability can be the trigger that upsets its best-laid plans. It's a force that has to learn to chill-out and learn to be in the flow. All of these qualities are contained within the psychology of The Emperor. You will see them reflected within you if you meditate and contact your inner-guidance. As experiential as we may wish to be at times, we are always reminded by (The Emperor) or inner voice within when something is out of proportion or improper. In a sense he is a Father figure. He interprets the rules of our games and helps us keep our thinking, choices and actions rational, orderly and methodical. He is there to teach us to use reason, set limits, be law abiding, disciplined and self-sufficient.

Carl Jung was fascinated by the importance of The Emperor and the power of his ruling position numerically as the 4th card in the series of 22. He felt there was magic inherent in the number four, because when the number one is added to the number two and then to three and four (1+2+3+4 = 10) the total is ten, the numerological symbol of a whole new cycle of growth and activity spiritually. Jung's famous typology of the human psyche or our (4) human levels of perception and temperament, were also based on his belief that the number four was the basis of all life and reality here on the physical plane of existence. He observed that every human being is born with four characteristic potentials to observe and sort out raw experience so that it could be understood and managed. He called these "The Four Functions". They are: The Thinking, Sensation, Intuitive and Emotional types. Each of us develops one of these as our "superior function", allowing the others to assume an "inferior function" within our nature. The Emperor falls within the Thinking category and uses his vision, logic and analysis to manage our creative thought processes, ideas and desires.

The wisdom and intelligence of The Emperor should always be honored and respected. He is our cosmic protector and the source of our Divine strength.

copyright 2003-2004, Joe Ivory, all rights reserved