The Empress

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Today's card from the tarot is the card of the Empress. Here we have a woman with a crown on her head, holding a scepter, royal colors on the cushions upon which she sits, in a lush, green setting in a meadow of some sort with evergreen trees in the background. The feel of the card is comfort. Some tarot cards depict her as being pregnant, symbolizing the birth of new things in our lives, but also with the idea of hearth and home, and a connection to the earth.

Yesterday I was blessed to be able to get out of town and reconnect with the Mother Earth. Even though I have a lush and beautiful backyard, with which I am able to connect on a regular basis, there is something to be said for going out of town and to a place that is unencumbered by humans, for the most part. We came upon a place on the trail where there were huge rocks, jutting out from the ground and reaching up into the sky several hundred feet. The greenery around the area was soft and green, and there were many trees that grew out of the ground in twins, signifying a place of great energy concentration. I made my way down into the area close to the rocks, and felt such a surge of natural energy. I could feel the everyday emotional debris just floating out of my body, as I reconnected with the Earth which is our Mother. This is the feeling I think this card wants to depict.

Sometimes we get too caught up in the business of living. There are jobs to do, clothes to wash, dinner to fix, bills to pay. There is always something to do. Sometimes it is important just to put all those things aside and just get out of town.

The other feeling associated with this card is that of being pregnant. There is a time for gestation, after the initial conception, be it of an idea, a career, a family, a relationship, or anything new we have conceived of but have not yet birthed. Many times we are impatient with the gestation period. We do not want to give our "baby" time to develop. We want what we want in an instant. We have created instant potatoes, instant rice, instant oatmeal, microwaves which cook our food in an instant. We cannot live without being instantly connected with others through our cell phones, computers, and televisions. We can know in an instant what is happening on the other side of the world. The thought of gestation is foreign to us. There is something to be said for the idea of gestation, of just putting aside our need for instant gratification and just allowing our "baby" to develop on its own, in its own perfect timing.

If you do not have access to a natural setting, be it a park, mountains, beach, or winding trail, I encourage you to find access to something that gives you the feeling of nature. Even if it is just connecting through a houseplant, just for today, get in touch with something that does not take human intervention to exist. When you are connecting to that natural setting, thing about what you are doing. Are you trying to birth something into your life? Are you impatient for it to be born? Connect with that object of your intention, and let it know that you are willing to wait until its perfect time. Intend that you are going to enjoy the journey from conception to birth. Some things are just worth waiting for. A premature baby is never as healthy as one who is born right on time.

So this is your assignment. Just for today, get in touch with Mother Nature, in some form. Thank Her for the gift of life, and reconnect with the earth upon which we live, and breathe. Think about your life, and what it is that you are trying to birth into your life, whether it be big or small. Allow yourself time to breathe and contemplate. Enjoy your life, and be grateful for all your blessings.