The Emperor

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to wait to finish this article until I had finished painting The Hierophant so I could do the same compare/contrast that I did with The Empress and The High Priestess, but time has been against me lately. I’ve found very little of it to work on my tarot cards beyond my notes app and voice notes, where I describe ideas as they come to me and revisit them later. I haven’t done much painting at all in the last week or so.

Wellll… that’s not entirely true. I did finally finish painting The Emperor!

I had inked it at the start of March but wasn’t feeling it, so as you know if you’ve been following along, I got sidetracked making the Ten of Pentacles and Ten of Swords. I’m really proud of finishing those and happy with how they turned out (see below for photos of each suit).

The ten Pentacles

The ten Swords

Back to The Emperor.

The Emperor in my deck is a woman. I’ve mentioned this before, but the whole deck represents women of all kinds, similar to one of my favourite current decks ( So Lazo’s Rainbow Tarot, see more below). Since my theme is Women in Music / Women & Guitars, it felt right - and important - to centre women in these traditionally male roles.

(A quick plug - I love So Lazo’s deck for a lot of reasons. I followed along as they shared bits and pieces of it over the years, and when it was finally complete I bought it right away. Their character work and colour choices are incredible, and I especially love how they represent a wide spectrum of identities - women of different races, body types, and gender expressions all existing fully within the deck. It feels expansive and real.

So Lazo’s The World tarot card. Find the print here!

Their work definitely played a role in nudging me toward making my own tarot deck. I actually have their World card printed out and taped up on my studio wall, which feels like a quiet little reminder of what’s possible and I own their Strength t-shirt which I wear a lot!)

Traditionally, The Emperor is a masculine figure representing authority, leadership, structure, protection, and the claiming of space. He’s a ruler archetype - steady, decisive, and grounded in the material world.

When I first wrote down who my Emperor was, this is what came to mind: she’s an older record exec in a boardroom. She’s been through the musician’s journey herself and has come out the other side after fighting the good fight (because, let’s be honest, doing music professionally has its ups and downs). Now she’s guiding new talent into the industry. She holds authority, but it’s informed authority - she knows exactly what it’s like to be on the other side.

Visually, I still look to the Rider-Waite-Smith deck as my anchor for symbolism and composition. It’s the deck I know best, and I like having that thread running through my work even as I reinterpret it.

One detail I wanted to include was the ram’s head, which appears in the RWS Emperor and connects to Aries, the sign associated with this card. I noticed there are four ram heads in that image, which led me down a small rabbit hole about the number four. Not only is The Emperor the fourth card in the Major Arcana, but four also represents structure, stability, and foundation in the material world, all very Emperor energy.

So I carried that into my piece by including four framed platinum records in the background. They speak to both structure and success that is earned, not accidental.

From there, I layered in details to build out her world: a guitar to show she once played (and maybe still does), a bookcase, a folder and coffee on the table, and her hand resting on a laptop. She’s fully embedded in both the creative and business sides of music. There’s also a blurred cityscape outside the window - secretly the Toronto skyline, because I had to sneak my city in there somehow.

And then, of course, the look. I wanted her to feel powerful but not predictable. She has grey hair—she’s seasoned and not hiding it. The pink suit bucks expectations a bit, and the red top and boots add a bit of tension and confidence. It’s an unmistakable power suit.

Overall, I’m really pleased with how The Emperor turned out. She feels grounded, experienced, and in control in a way that isn’t forceful.

What do you think? What does she say to you?

Up next: I’m almost ready to ink The Hierophant. I finished the digital sketch this morning, and The Lovers are on deck after that.

Thanks for following along as always!

Meli