When I drew this card I admit, I wished I'd drawn the Empress instead. However this card challenges me to dig a little deeper into the meaning of the father principle, and come to terms with it's negative and positive forms.
Zeus mirrors the image of the experience of fathering that embodies our spiritual ideals, ethical codes and points to our capacity and ability to be self-sufficient in the world.
The masculine principle present in all human beings fosters self-respect to meet all of life's challenges. We can't have the masculine without the feminine principle, also present within every human being. There are both positive and negative attributes to both principles.
The Emperor can be tyrannical, rigid and self-righteous, but also ethical, without blind instinct and urges us to not blame our problems on others, because we can't find the inner experience of strength that is embodied by the father.
We all bring our own issues and concerns surrounding our relationship with our mothers and our fathers. They shape us regardless if they were present or not, in our lives growing up. That said, we are our own individual.
I believe that our inner man and inner woman have been at war and divided for too long, each one wounded, tired and in need of care. We all need to reconnect with the inner feminine with strength and find that inner man with heart.
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| The Emperor - Egg Tempera on Porcelain 6"x 6" 2016 - Catherine Meyers |
2 comments:
Painting the masculine could be very healing. Love your Emperor! I never paint men, I don't know why but I just don't. I do prefer the female court over the male court in the tarot too but we learned to get along gradually :)
Thank you Ellen. Your post made me smile, then think. I was thinking about how I never entertained the idea of painting my mother,father and my late husband. Now I have a painting of my mum and dad that I keep close to me in my bedroom that I look at everyday, and another painting of my sweet soul late husband Bill in my music room. This spot is very appropriate because he so loved music. Being able to see both of these paintings everyday brings me great comfort, no pain at all.
Fact was, after I completed these painting I came to the realization that I was completely out of touch with my feelings about this because it was just too painful.
Absolutely so surprizing to me was when I finally did paint them, my worry about the pain just wasn't there. It was so healing.
Speaking as an artist the female figure is just more interesting and beautiful to render. That said however, I think many of us are out of touch and there is a split between our feminine and our masculine identities, for a whole lot of reasons, but it's so very worthwhile looking at in a deep way. And art is the best way to get in touch with this, and healing the split and the wounds to feel whole.
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