
Pattern of Destiny: The Empress
Updated: Nov 15, 2020
Continuing our Patterns of Destiny series, we now turn to the Empress. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to read the below linked introductions to this topic prior to reading the explanation of each card. (Bonus: this will also help you figure out which pattern of destiny and life lesson posts are most relevant for you!)
Okay, let’s go!
For more context on when or why I like using the Pattern of Destiny personality (aka "birthday") card approach, check out the first Pattern of Destiny: The Magician post.

The Empress is the third card that the Fool meets on his journey. Standard disclaimer that I won’t go into too much detail about what the Empress card represents or its associations in this post, but in essence this card is the card of the receptive material.
If your Pattern of Destiny number is 3, 12 or 21, then you have the Empress as your personality (aka "birthday") card. What does that mean?
Empresses are…
Venus energy
Creative or “fertile” with ideas
Empathic
"Maters, not daters” (attributed to Cynthia Hartline)
At best when can nurture or care for another (be it plant, pet, significant other or child)
Great managers - good at planning then handing off to Emperor to execute the vision
The Shadow: When out of balance, Empresses are challenged by…
A need to control their environment
May spend too much time at home; in extreme, may not leave their homes
Individuals whose pattern of destiny is the number 3 (aka "straight 3s"), as opposed to 12s or 21s, have the Empress as both their personality and life lesson card. That is to say that these individuals may be more challenged by both the strengths and weaknesses of the Empress personality card than their 12 or 21 counterparts. For straight 3s, the Hanged Man (12) and World (21) are shadow cards that still impact them subtly but are not their prime challenge or lesson in life.
Threes and Queens are also more significant in readings for 3, 12 and 21 Empresses as they share the same base number, 3, as well as Queens are representations of the various aspects of the Empress portrayed through the pip suits' domains (elements).
Famous Empresses....
Ed Sheeran – Empress
Genghis Khan – Hanged Man Empress
Muhammad – World Empress
Anne Frank – World Empress
Queen Victoria – World Empress
Hilary Clinton – World Empress
Robert Mugabe – World Empress
Fidel Castro – World Empress
Xi Jinping – World Empress
I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about the Empress personality. Look for more entries in this series in the future.
In peace & love,
Erin