IV · The Emperor

The Emperor is boss. They are good at being boss—at controlling and manipulating the people and environment around them. But this says nothing about the goals in and of themselves? The problem being is that Emperors tend to think they're great. The Magician, High Priestess, and Empress pale in comparison when it comes to the ego of the Emperor, who will put his personal goals above all else, because again, the Emperor is the boss.

The Emperor is an authoritarian, rock-solid realistic character, sure of himself and his prerogatives. He knows what he wants and how to obtain it. The Emperor reigns over the physical and material world by sheer force of character and his knowledge of life. He is a father with a protective and domineering personality—a family head who is well aware of his responsibilities, which he treats seriously. At best he doesn't have a sense of humor, at worst he's a sadist. Imagine an orchestra conductor who for kicks makes the wind section play in earmuffs or just with no ears at all. He's got the power not only to have your ears removed, but he'll watch and laugh as they're sliced off by the sycophantic brass section who'll pretend to be having a jolly time as blood and screams fill the room. Are you getting the gist here? Like the Empress, he gives very few fucks about emotional or intellectual arguments against his prerogative, but unlike the Empress, he may actually enjoy humiliating and hurting other people. But this, of course, is not necessarily true. There is such a thing as a benevolent dictator. Hell you may even believe in God, and who is God if not a dictator who hopefully is benevolent. Although if God is an all-powerful benevolent dictator, why do They allow so much suffering? Pick your own example. Anyone who has sat in a children's cancer ward has one, and I translated in one long enough to stop expecting an answer. Anyway, I digress. Sorry about that. Remember, no card in the Tarot is either bad or good. If you see the Emperor in your reading it could mean anything from a stern lover giving you some tough love that may in the end help you immensely to a colleague you should probably listen to even if they sound like a complete jerk, or it could just be that you are the boss whose vision really is the best way forward and that you need to work extra hard to bring everyone on board, not in a dictatorial way, but more by way of negotiation and incentives—you know benevolently.