While considering this card’s message to me today I thought about how I view The Empress.  I’ve often considered her to represent the primal female energy – that nurturing, supportive and protective energy that allows life to flourish and flora to bloom.  I’ve often seen her to represent that feminine essence that is a bit gentler, more intuitive and less structured.  She is about creating communities and encouraging growth.  And while I respect the Empress’ energies, they are not ones with which I am always comfortable working.  However we have come to an understanding between us. and she has appeared reversed several times as my card of the day.  So I have to wonder what it is about her nature when she’s reversed that I need to consider.

As I was taking care of my elderly mom-in-law it struck me that I have been knee-deep in the Empress’ reversed energies.  If she is the one who nurtures, nourishes and supports the growth of new life, then she must also be involved in nurturing and supporting those who are reaching the end of their journey; helping them deal with the aging process and preparing to move on to the next phase.  It is her energies that allow adult children to care for their parents – dealing with such tasks as preparing their food to dressing them to changing their diapers.  Depending upon the situation, the elderly parent becomes dependent upon his/her adult children and their roles are now reversed.  That seems quite an apt expression of the reversed nature of the Empress’ energies and ones with which I am intimately acquainted.

So despite my best efforts to avoid the energies of the Empress, I have found myself swimming in them up to my neck and to be perfectly honest I am glad I have the ability to serve in this capacity for my mother-in-law.  She spent many years of her life functioning as mother to her sons, especially her deaf and mentally disable d son.  Now she cannot do it anymore and many of those tasks have fallen to me.  Hopefully I can help make these final years as positive and loving as I am able.  I’m glad I was able to find this connection to the Empress in my life.