The Emperor, Number 4

With their procession of 22 Major Arcana, the Tarot represents the most fascinating and enigmatic deck of cards, in which we find the symbols and allegories linking it to the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The first artists who created them knew the use of symbols well, and were among the first esotericists to filter magical-mystical sensibility into the Major Arcana. In admiring them we can venture into mystery, plunging into the darkness of truth.
Today it is Arcanum IV, “The Emperor”, at the head of the procession, who has caught my attention and says he wants to help us, guiding us as only a true leader knows how, towards the conquest of wisdom. Wisdom cannot be assimilated as borrowed knowledge; we are called to make our own understanding, since what we find by ourselves will be far more precious than anything given to us. Our conquest will be to succeed in generating ideas drawn from within ourselves. To be able to reveal, one must discover, and to make discoveries, one must listen to silence. When we manage to rein in our imagination, we tend to picture things the right way; suggestions do not help us, they would only turn us into visionaries — we need the Emperor on our side, who embodies the deductive, mathematical spirit. It is no coincidence that the number 4 is associated with stability, exactly like the square, a symbol of material security, reigning serenely on solid foundations, stable as a table resting on four legs.
The symbolism of this card is tied to earthly power, to will; it represents one who is aware of his strength and his power. The Emperor represents security; strength in person tells us not to give in to insecurities and not to let them overwhelm us, urging us not to feel like victims and to stop belittling ourselves. He invites us to be invincible and not to hesitate during conflicts, never to surrender, but to keep fighting, since our encounter with him — and therefore with ourselves — makes emperors of us too. These united forces confirm to us that no rivalry is possible, since there is no competition among kings. The Emperor is a unique archetype residing in each of us. When we recognise ourselves in this arcanum we feel at the centre of the universe, we are no longer afraid of stumbling, everything settles — our thoughts, time and space — and we feel only our own strength growing like the roots of a tree that will soon bear its fruit.
This emotional storm we are living through must not distract us from our goal, which is to strengthen our focus so as to soon return, not so much to normality, as to a renewed prosperity. By re-establishing our rules, our way of working, and our daily actions, and by basing ourselves on the laws the Emperor reveals to us — which are, after all, those of the universe in action — we feel invincible; we feel that no one can topple us from the throne, since we are anchored to it. The Emperor works in full light, staring fixedly at his sceptre, the object of his power; he meets our inner warrior, who knows how to see weakness but does not let himself be weakened, because when we are sustained by this immense strength we can stand up to any circumstance. Only our own crowned heads, and no others, with “the Emperor” in the front line, will appear to us, followed by a true army made up of “Stars”, “Sun” and “World”, ready to win our battle.
And speaking of battle, it was precisely the great enlightened Frederick II who inspired my personal pairing among the Arcana of Faul. From as early as 1220, this figure wrote some of the finest pages of Italian history, and, closer to our hearts, those of the city of Viterbo. His struggle with the papacy remains one of the most notable events of this turbulent medieval period, in which we see him confront the austere figure of Raniero Capocci and that of Rosa da Viterbo, a humble girl who, however meek, did not hesitate to defy him. The coin he holds in his hand recalls that the city, benefiting from the right he granted it to mint coin, opened its own mint. In the symbolism of the Arcana, the coin also represents nourishment, as the Magician reminds us.
In our city, Frederick II’s passage remains invisible; there is no trace of it, apart from some ruins close to the walls near Porta della Verità. An emperor so great and so feared, vanished into thin air… only Viterbo knows how to work such magic! Who knows whether we will go down in history as the city that first “defeats” the virus — I feel it has already lost some of its power; after all, today we have already run out of crowns, and its throne is already a little wobbly…. it is looking for us but cannot find us… it has truly underestimated us! With our ancient walls, we are well used to defending and protecting ourselves; it does not know our history well.
I would like to dedicate this Arcanum to an Emperor dear to me, and to share with you, as I do every day, this personal emotion, certain that we will rejoice together over his battle, which will surely have a happy outcome.