III Universal Mother

In traditional tarot decks cards III and IV are called The Empress and The Emperor. Because my goal in the creation of Sacred Earth Seven Element was to create a deck that was as elemental and as earthy as possible, free of the limitations imposed by power structures and organizations of all sorts, The Empress and Emperor have become the archetypes of Mother and Father.

Royal families, while fashioning their structure after the solar system, imagining their positions to be as undeniable as the central sun, put themselves forth to the populace as the ultimate Mother and Father, treated their subjects like children. What hubris.

But the pure energy of the archetypal Mother is untainted by political agendas and delusions of power. The Universal Mother, pictured here with her Universal Daughter, is the essence of womanhood in biological fulfillment, creative and supportive as is life at its most productive and pleasant. The typical Empress is usually pictured as pregnant. I chose to focus on a more mature woman simply to illustrate the growth and power attendant in the role, the fact that there is far more than simple biology to "Mother." The straightforward ability to conceive and produce offspring is ideally replaced  in time with a growing wisdom that informs and guides in ways both subtle and powerful.

In this image, the ability to procreate is demonstrated by the simple presence of her daughter who might be seen to stand as well, metaphorically, for the end result of any creative process. The role of Mother, at its best always a supportive role, does not end when her offspring are emancipated. The role of Mother ends only when she ends. Should she have the misfortune to outlive her children, she remains a mother. She has experienced one of the greatest gifts that life has to offer and will carry that wisdom in the cells of her body until she dies.

This card, The Universal Mother, speaks both of fulfillment and ease. It is a blessing on any reading.