What Does the Empress Reversed Mean in a Tarot Reading?

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Exploring the many interpretations of The Empress reversed

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General Meaning

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Love & Relationships

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Career

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Finances

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Health

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Upright Meaning

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Expert Interview

The Empress is a powerful tarot card that represents abundance, creativity, and the divine feminine when it’s upright—but what does it mean reversed? Generally, the reversed interpretation of a tarot card is the opposite of the upright interpretation, so in this case, The Empress reversed indicates insecurity, a lack of resources, feeling creatively blocked, and stagnation. To learn what this nuanced card means for your relationships, career, and health, read on.

Things You Should Know

The Empress reversed indicates feelings of insecurity, stagnation, and a lack of progress.
The Empress reversed can also indicate a blockage of some kind. You may be suppressing your creativity, repressing your feelings, or neglecting self-care.
In a yes or no reading, The Empress reversed means “no.”

Section 1 of 6:

The Empress Reversed: General Meaning

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The Empress reversed indicates feelings of insecurity or disharmony. The Empress represents the divine feminine archetype who showers her loved ones with love and care, so when it’s reversed, it indicates something is out of balance or lacking in your life. You may be neglecting self-care, smothering your creativity, or putting others' needs before your own, and this is preventing you from enjoying the abundance that The Empress represents.^{[1]XResearch source}
- Since The Empress is connected to motherhood, seeing it in reverse can indicate past issues with your own mother or struggles you're currently facing as a mom.
- Spiritually, The Empress reversed indicates feeling disconnected from your intuition.
- Keywords: domestic problems, stagnation, financial issues, creative block, dependence on others, insecurity, lack of growth, lack of progress, fertility issues, unwanted pregnancy
- In a yes or no reading, The Empress Reversed means “no.”^{[2]XResearch source}
- If you aren’t sure how this interpretation applies to your situation, don’t be afraid to ask clarifying follow-up questions. For each new question, pull and analyze a new tarot card from the deck.

Section 2 of 6:

The Empress Reversed: Love and Relationships

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If you’re single, The Empress reversed indicates a lack of emotional connection. You've been dating recently, but it feels like you aren’t really clicking with anyone and you aren't sure why. Sound familiar? The underlying problem may be that you aren’t being open about your feelings or showing potential partners your true self. This is preventing you from making emotional connections.
- What to do: Work on understanding your emotions and putting yourself out there more, especially with potential suitors. Be your true self and don’t hide the qualities that make you unique! If you’re repressing your feelings, remind yourself that it’s okay to be emotionally vulnerable–even though it can be scary, it’s the only way to make a real connection with someone.
- Keywords: lack of self-worth, lack of progress in love
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If you’re in a relationship, The Empress reversed indicates a clingy partner. One person in the relationship may be smothering the other or acting more like a mother rather than a partner. There may also be issues with being overbearing or controlling. This card can also mean you aren’t sharing your deepest feelings with your partner, and this emotional disconnect is preventing the relationship from flourishing.
- What to do: The next time you get the urge to make a suggestion or step in to help your partner with something simple, ask yourself if it’s really necessary. Try to give your partner more space and independence. If you’ve been repressing your feelings, it’s time to sit down with your partner and have a heart-to-heart about whatever you’ve been holding back.
- Keywords: clingy or controlling partner, suppressing emotions

Section 3 of 6:

The Empress Reversed: Career

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Your work is feeling stale, monotonous, or creatively unfulfilling. You may be feeling stuck in a job that's going nowhere and it’s affecting your state of mind in a negative way. Or maybe you love your job, but your tasks have been dull and repetitive lately, and you don’t feel particularly appreciated by your coworkers or supervisors. The Empress reversed may also indicate general feelings of insecurity at work, especially if you feel that your skillset is lacking.
- What to do: Find out if you can take on new tasks at work to break up the monotony, or learn a new skill that will help you feel more confident and further your career goals.
- Keywords: insecurity, lack of growth, creative block

Section 4 of 6:

The Empress Reversed: Finances

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You feel financially unstable despite having enough money in the bank. This card doesn’t indicate a lack of wealth, but feelings of insecurity around your financial situation. Maybe you grew up without a lot of money and now you’re having trouble shaking off the poverty mentality. Or perhaps you were struggling financially up until fairly recently and even though you’re comfortable now, you just can’t stop worrying about ending up in a financially unstable situation again.
- What to do: Remind yourself that you’re financially safe now–it’s okay to relax and breathe a sigh of relief. You've earned your financial stability and there's nothing wrong with enjoying it.
- Keywords: insecurity, financial worry, feelings of instability

Section 5 of 6:

The Empress Reversed: Health

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The Empress reversed points to a serious lack of self-care. Have you been prioritizing everyone but yourself lately? Or maybe you’ve been avoiding dealing with an emotional conflict, and the unresolved feelings are beginning to negatively affect your appetite, sleep, or physical well-being. The Empress reversed urges you to take care of your needs, whatever they may be, so you can feel good about yourself and improve your health.^{[3]XResearch source}
- What to do: Take a day to spoil yourself, and learn to say “no” when someone asks you to take on a task or project that you just don’t have time for. If you don’t take care of yourself properly, you can’t take care of others—making yourself a priority benefits everyone around you.
- Keywords: neglecting your needs, lack of self-worth

Section 6 of 6:

The Empress Upright Meaning

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The Empress upright represents femininity, creativity, and abundance. The woman on the throne is a depiction of the earth mother archetype—a goddess of fertility in her full glory. Now is the time to nurture the things in life that matter the most, like your creativity, your emotional health, your family (especially children if you have them), and yourself. Revel in the abundance you have right now and take advantage of new opportunities as you continue your journey of growth.^{[4]XResearch source}
- If you or your partner have been trying to get pregnant, The Empress upright can indicate a pregnancy is on the horizon. Even if you haven’t been trying to get pregnant, mother nature may be stepping in to make that happen.
- Keywords: divine feminine, beauty, sensuality, nature, nurturing, abundance, pregnancy, motherhood
- In a yes or no reading, The Empress upright means “yes.”