The Empress
9×12 pastel on Sennelier la carte paper
I am pretty excited about the new Tarot: Map of Consciousness group! This is my attempt at an Empress, my personal favorite card. The Empress is the embodiement of the divine feminine. She is the Earth personified, or as the Celtic traditions would say, the sovereign goddess.
As many Avalonian and Authurian themed tarot decks have done, I have chosen to represent the Empress with Guinevere. Although much of the later written stories of Guinevere have her depicted as a frail, pale, infertile, adultress wimp; originally she would have been recognised as the sovereign goddess. She is the land personified, and the hero she choses to give her favors to would reign as king. Lancelot and Aurthur also represent the Oak and the Holly kings, fighting for the favor of the goddess to have this honor, and to reign over their respective seasons.
The Empress represents change and balance. In the Qabbala the path of the Empress is the path between wisdom and understanding. It is the Divine Feminine that brings this balance to humanity.
There are twelve stars above Guinevere’s head like on many Empress cards. This represents her connection to the heavens and spirit. She is the bridge between the earth, or the material, and heaven. The May blossoms connect her to the Beltaine goddess and is a symbol of fertility.
Guinevere’s name does mean “pale one”, but this is a reference to the ancient “shining ones”, and means that Guinevere was a faerie queen.
Laminated Print
Greeting Card
Framed Print

The Empress belongs to the following groups:
1 on 1: The Fine Art of Portraiture , * Painted Ladies *, ***♂♥♥QUORN♥♥♀, 1 In The Beginning - Ancient Practices, Art Inspired by Dreams, Contemporary Pastel Painters (2 per day), Core [C.O.R.E], Decorative and Traditional Art, Faces and Florals, Fantasy Art, Feminine Intent (LIMIT TWO IMAGES PER DAY), First Things, Friends of RedBubble, Myths, Legends and Fairytales, Outsiders, Pentacle Passions, Practising the Dark Arts, Solo Exhibition, Something To Say, Spiritual Art, Tarot: Map Of Consciousness, The Patchwork , THE SISTERHOOD and Unconventional Artistry - 3 per day Available for sale asGreeting Cards, Matted Prints, Laminated Prints, Mounted Prints, Canvas Prints, Framed Prints and Posters

Deborah Holman
beautiful work and lovely description
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou Deborah, for the comment and actually reading my lengthy description :))
Barbara Glatzeder
Lovely! ... :-)))
MoonSpiral replied
What? No comment about the stars, geez did I have to put one on her face for you to notice…teehee!!
elenaoleniuc
Beautiful work, lovely face !
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Elena (is that your first name by the way?). Mine is Tammy….
SHRyan
Beautiful, Her complexion is like porcelain, and her expression is just lovely and serene. You have interpreted the Empress well,xxxxSandy
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Sandy, I am so pleased you think so :))
Barbara Glatzeder
I was far too distracted by the complexion … like: how the heck does she do that with pastels??!!! :-))))))))))))
MoonSpiral replied
Good excuse. It is all in the paper my dear. Sanded paper, or some kind of paper with grit on it seems to work best. This is Sennellier….it is my favorite. It is gritty, but doesn’t rub the skin off of my fingers. I wonder how much it would cost to ship you a few pieces of it?
elenaoleniuc
Yes Tammy, Elena is my first name.
MoonSpiral replied
Cool :o))
Philosophy Lee
Gorgeous! :)
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Lee!!
whitehawk60
A lovely painting moon well done
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou very much my friend!!
Lynette K.
She is wonderful…love those stars and her eyes. You work is always so soft.
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou Lynette!!
Lynsye Medalia
She’s gorgeous! She has such a soft and kind look to her face.
MoonSpiral replied
Thanks a bunches sis*star!!!
AnitaInverarity
Wow Lovely Lovely work- I must join this group it may help kick start my tarot deck I’ve been wanting to do for years xx
MoonSpiral replied
Yep…get your lil’ booty over there and join :)). Making a whole deck does sound like hard work, but I sure would love to see yours (make that…own a copy of yours)!!!
RosaCobos
Beautiful…and tender…
young… containing all the Power..
ready to bloom…
inmense in her strength…
Thanks for your great description..
it is a good learning…!!
Rosa
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Rosa! I can’t tell you how glad I am that you and Tammy started the Tarot group! I have so much to learn and could talk about it all day, so I for one am ready to rock n’ roll with the forum discussions…haha!!!
dawndavies
a fabulous picture, great image,dawnx
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Dawn!!!
stephanie allison
she is gorgeous!! ♥
MoonSpiral replied
Awwww, thankyou my friend!!
Dawnsky2
very lovely indeed :)
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Laura!!!
Michael Scholl
so pretty. I always love your colors and your faces.
MoonSpiral replied
Hey thanks Mike, I really appreciate your kind words!!!
Waleska Luker
Stunning and lovely, it fits perfectly in our First Things Group!
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou for the lovely comment and I somehow forgot to send her to you…I will go do that.
Terry Hinkle
Tammy, She is stunning! She has an innocence and an a knowing. So soft and so strong. Great work.
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Terry. I am so happy you see those aspects in her!!
Robert O'Neill
Lovely work
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much for your kindness!!!
doreen01
She is so beautiful and delicate Tammy!
...and love her expression!!! :)
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou for your comment and support Doreen, I really appreciate it!!
Bec Schopen
Wonderful.
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou Bec, just seeing your avatar brightens my day…you look so happy!!!
John Dicandia
Gorgeous painting. The eyes, the hair, the stars and the flowers all work well together.
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much John, I sincerely appreciate your kind comment!!!
catherine walker
lovely ..so well done!
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Catherine for your continued support and kindness!!!
Alexandra Felgate
Wow, instant fave MoonSpiral!!! The glow of her skin, the look in her eyes, you have really captured the essence of The Empress!
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Alexandra, I am so happy you like her!!!
Emma Wertheim
Tammy this is beautiful! ........ I love this image…and what it symbology represents…I would buy your Tarot deck!..xxx
MoonSpiral replied
Well I will look you up in about 30 years when I finally get a tarot deck done…lol. Glad you like her sister!!!!
Jewd
She has real grace..you should do your own deck..love all your information..x
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou Jewd. I suppose I could do a major Arcana, but I can not even fathom getting through all of the minor ones in this lifetime…lol.
Jewd
I sooo get that, its a tall order hey…I could see you doing a nature spirit deck, I haven’t seen one of those…everyone always has ideas for us artists don’t they!!...it can get annoying I know..but I just love your work..x
MoonSpiral replied
You know what would be a better idea, us collaborating on a deck. I am such a Libra, always looking for a partner….haha.
Jewd
Oh thats lovely…I am however doing a deck of symbols at the moment, its a never ending list!! thanks for the invite..x
MoonSpiral replied
Although it would be an honor, I was mostly joking….
I am so glad you are putting your symbols into a deck. i can’t wait to see, and buy, the end result!!
Anni Morris
Tammy, so interesting reading your description and she has a very gentle face with is complimented by the may blossom. Great colour choice with this one too, you are a clever talented lady :) ~ Anni xxxx
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Anni, you are a sweetheart!!!
Carol Berliner
Pure magic! I looooov e this! Instant fav!
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou sooooooo much Carol, your the bestest!!!!!!
Jewd
Ooh my first customer ..kewl…j xx
benJammin
Wow! Amazing detail in the pic and in the description! I feel the flow of your magick here and i am impressed. Will you do one of these for all the Major Arcana of the Tarot? Please?
MoonSpiral replied
heehee….well I was planning to do a Morgan High Priestess, and just for you I will do a Merlin Magician…but I can’t make any promises after that with my short attention span :))
LoneAngel
beautiful artwork
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Angel!!!
Carol Berliner
Pure magic! Woooooooow I loooove this! Instant fav!
MyheART
she is beautiful…such a soft serene look about her:)
MoonSpiral replied
Thankyou so much Robin, I am soooo happy you like her!!!
doanart
Are you channelling D.G. Rosetti or one of the other PRB’s? This piece is striking and beautiful! I look forward to see other Tarot interpretations by you.
MoonSpiral replied
What a compliment!!! Thankyou so much my friend!!! I was trying for an older tarot card look with this, and no doubt I have been influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites my entire life….I had a Lady of Shalott poster on my wall when I was about 10. Probably the first painting that stole my heart :)).
marak
Gorgeous painting IT REMINDS ME OF PRINCESS IN LORD OF THE RINGS RETURN OF THE KING.
MoonSpiral replied
I am a huge Lord of the Rings geek/fan!!! Thanks so much Kamara!!!
Keithbotilier
Excellent Moon,the preface for the picture gives it depth and is enlightning for us all,Arthurian period did exist,it was that time just before christianity,when the old gods where looked up to and superstition and Magic were th focus of every day life. A time of fasination, mystery and spells,when the sun the moon and the stars played a great part in those mysteries. A great time to have lived.
MoonSpiral replied
Yep, if only we could live everyday with that sense of magic…but still have our computers and running water…lol. Thankyou so much for your wonderful comment my friend!
Pavlina
very nice work
nancy salamouny
excellent painting, very soft and striking at the same time
Tanya Wheeler
Wow you have some beautiful work and a unique style :)
Tahnja
I have no idea how I missed this. She is absolutely gorgeous! What a face of true beauty you’ve depicted Tammy. Just gorgeous!
RosaCobos
Your Empress will shine a little more today
Congratulations…
A hug
Rosa&Tammy
RosaCobos
Sorry…. slipped it…

MoonSpiral replied
Wow, thankyou so much Rosa!!!! This is such a great honor!!!!
EarthGipsy
Magnificent!
danita clark
Fragile graceful and poweful all at once, your art work is beautiful Tammy
Evita
Beautiful !!! :D
andrea verstegen
you have some lovely faces here, and your color sense is well developed. really pleasing art works here.
stephanie allison
Congratulations! Your image won 2nd place in the Drawn to Her Painted Lady Challenge
♥ ♥
joanna77
beautiful
madvlad
you are a faceaholic like my self