The Emperor

Major Arcana · number 4 · L’Imperatore

The Emperor, plate by Pamela Colman Smith
Pamela Colman Smith, 1910

Upright

The Emperor brings stability, and you needed it. This card speaks of a structure that holds: a job settling into place, a home, an authoritative figure who protects or helps you, or your own ability to decide with your head. If you were looking for confirmation, it comes from reason more than from the heart. It is the right moment to sort out your accounts, ask for a raise, sign something lasting. One piece of advice: firmness is a quality, rigidity is not. Lead with conviction, but leave the people beside you room to breathe.

Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
«Stability, power, protection, realization; a great person; aid, reason, conviction; also authority and will.»

Reversed

Reversed, the Emperor softens: benevolence, compassion, a credit granted to you. Waite also adds confusion to enemies: whoever was rowing against you loses the thread, and that gives you room to breathe. It is not a bad card, but it speaks of an authority that wavers, of a certain immaturity, of obstructions slowing your plans. If these days you feel you are not taken seriously, or you are the one who cannot hold the wheel, it is no accident. Be careful not to confuse kindness with a lack of rules, especially in the family and with money. The practical advice: set one clear limit, only one, and keep it for a whole week.

Source: Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) · read the original passage
«Benevolence, compassion, credit; also confusion to enemies, obstruction, immaturity.»

Source

Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) Part III, § 3, The Greater Arcana and their Divinatory Meanings https://archive.org/details/a.-e.-waite-the-pictorial-key-to-the-tarot