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The Empress is the fourth card of the Major Arcana; it is numbered III.

The classic interpretation: Feminine progress.  Fruitfulness.  Development.  Fertility.  Mother, sister, wife.  Practical, decisive, intuitive.

Contemporary Interpretations: The Nurturing Goddess, Our Mother who art on Earth, the Womb of all Creation, Unconditional Love.

Ever just feel like mothering somebody?  Or something?  Or maybe you want to be mothered by someone?  Here’s the card for you.  So far on the Fool’s journey, he’s encountered a magician and a priestess, both of whom were powerful people who helped the Fool with tools and with words of wisdom (which the Fool does not yet understand) but who left him feeling a little overwhelmed and lonely.  Now he comes to the Mother, who tells him not to worry, the seeds have been planted and she will nurture them and the Fool and help them grow.  The Fool longs to lay his head in her lap and stay within the safety of her arms but she gently urges him onward.  Like any good mother, she knows when to let go.