The Empress

III. The Empress, originally uploaded by chrismaverick.

I have been working with Suzanne Falter-Barns' offering The Self Help Author's Crash Course. The very first CD has a meditation that invites your "authentic self" into the spotlight. I had such an interesting and beautiful image evolve from that that I want to share it.

The image that my mind offered up as my authentic self was an archetypal image of a woman, sitting beside a tree with flowers dotting the grass all around her. Lit from behind she appears to have a halo of blond hair (or a crown of stars) and glows with the warmth of a summer day.

I knew that picture, recognizing it from The Merlin Tarot that I've owned for years. A little digging into the archetype revealed that she is a mother figure (those of you that know me know that this is very much the case.) One website said: "The Empress is a creator, be it creation of life, of romance, of art or business. While the Magician is the primal spark, the idea made real, and the High Priestess is the one who gives the idea a form, the Empress is the womb where it gestates and grows till it is ready to be born."

Another site offered this story: "Having decided what shape his future will take, the Fool strides forward. But he is impatient to make his future a full-grown reality. This is when he comes upon the Empress. Hair gold as wheat, a crown of stars, a white gown dotted with pomegranates. She rests back on her throne surrounded by an abundance of grain and a lush garden. It is possible that she is pregnant.

"Kneeling, the Fool relates to her his story. And she, in turn, smiles a motherly smile and gently gives him this advice: "Like newly planted grain or a child in the womb, a new life, a new love, a new creation is fragile. It requires fertile soil, patience and nurturing, it needs love and attention. Only this will bring it to fruition." Understanding at last that his future will take time to build and create, the Fool thanks the Empress and continues on his way."

What was most cool about the meditation was what happened when this image of my authentic self moved off the stage and out into the world. With each step she morphed into me - wearing jeans, with the same long flowing blond hair - out onto busy city street.

I have long held that my calling is to bring practical do-able spiritual practices to people in their everyday ordinary lives. The image of this dichotomy - the archetypal creater embodied by the young woman on the city street - is one that empowers me. Feeling Her inside of me, but still being able to be this real down to earth person that I am is powerful mojo in the world.

I've been called the High Priestess. I've been dubbed an archetypal mother, even by women older than me. I've even been known to some as The Star. But never before have I felt the strength of an archetype like that of The Empress.

What archetype hides within you?