Lessons from the Empress: A Tarot Workbook for Self-Care and Creative Growth

by Cassandra Snow, Siri Vincent Plouff, Lisa Marie Basile (Foreword)

“ Lessons from the Empress offers a hands-on guidebook to better mental and spiritual wellness. When the world needs these lessons the most, Snow and Plouff come through for us all.” —Benebell Wen, author of  Holistic Tarot The Empress tarot card is the key to understanding how creative expression is the foundation of true self-care. Our authentic self, this abundant space, is not something we go find—it’s something we create. Lessons from the Empress will guide you on an exploration of the five phases of Major Arcana—spiritual self-care; the Wands—self-awareness; the Swords—self-expression; the Cups—self-love; the Pentacles—self-confidence. In Lessons from the Empress , with the Empress as your guide, you’ll learn how to practice self-care and self-discovery in several

Genres: Tarot, Witchcraft, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Paganism, Magic

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2022

Reviews

[Jacky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was not prepared for this book in the sense that this book invites you along on a journey. With prompts, fun tasks to learn tarot deeper, especially in regards to the Empress.

I made the mistake of not knowing this and ending up most of the time benching all the prompts and physical work. You’ll get 10x more value out of this book if you follow along and put the work in, which I will do on a re-read.

That aside I really enjoyed the way this book has been written and I learned a lot regardless.

[Taylor Oland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read both of Cassandra Snow's prior titles, and revere them highly for showing us what Witchcraft Can Be. Growing up in and religiously traumatized by Catholicism, there are certain aspects of Tarot (and Witchcraft in general) that gave me pause while studying - gender binary, capitalistic themes, patriarchal hierarchy. Snow is committed to breaking these down, and transmutes previously perceived rigidity into an interpretation that is gender-expansive, non-limiting, and liberating. I credit them for my light-bulb moment of "my Practice really can be whatever I want it to be."

In Lessons from the Empress, the reader is guided through the Major and Minor Arcana as the stabilizing backbone of the chapters, with rituals, prompts, and spreads to accompany each. I know others have wrote on this before, but the way Snow and Plouff take you through the storyboard of the Major Arcana and the Suits really made the cards *click* for me. It is a truly useful resource for those who want to start relying less on their deck's guidebook, and learn the meaning of the individual cards in a way that doesn't feel like "memorization."

This book is a tool - it's meant to be worked through and continuously engaged with. I am excited to reread and take action, gently led by flexible prompts and tailored tarot spreads.

This book, overall, is the perfect blend of knowledge and action, and came to me at exactly the right time. I've been in the Ace of Wands stage for awhile, delighting in creative inspiration, indulging in brainstorms, but not yet taking action. It feels like this book is taking my hand and walking me to the next step, chatting happily all the while.

[Avory Faucette · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Learning from the Empress, writer and tarot reader Cassandra Snow and radical witch Siri Plouff use the archetype of the Empress card in the tarot as a guide to explore creative self-discovery, self-care, and self-expression through both tarot and magical ritual. The book offers a unique blend of introducing creatives to the tarot as a system through the lens of the creative process and presenting an embodied, personalized approach to working with the tarot beyond interpreting a card reading.

I expect that this book will appeal primarily to those who aren’t yet very familiar with the tarot, but may also be a helpful tool for readers who aren’t sure how to blend their tarot practice with their creativity and self-care rituals. The focus on the Empress is mainly a framing device, pulling out themes of expression/creativity on the one hand and personal resourcing and self-care on the other to guide an exploration of the cards. I’d describe the book as “how would the Empress do tarot?” and so those who personally identify with this card are particularly likely to relate!

Of course, as a non-binary reader I really appreciate that the Empress is not gendered in this book, and that both authors describe themselves as radical queers, bringing that lens to their teaching. The approach to creativity is similarly decentralized, with plenty of options for exploring creative expression and magic through a broad range of modalities.

If you’re already a creative, you’ll get to know your process in a different way, and you’ll have an opportunity to consider the stories the tarot tells as lessons about creativity itself: the Wands on imagination, the Swords on technical skill and communication of your vision as well as processing pain through creativity, the Cups on our relationship to self-expression and beauty, and the Pentacles on the material aspect of art. You’ll also learn how to work with tarot even if you don’t actually want to read with the cards, and how to apply your creative gifts in getting to know the cards personally.

As someone who has a more complicated relationship with creativity, I was more drawn to how this lens is applied to tarot theory, as well as to some of the spreads offered that allow for creative exploration and self-discovery. A creative approach can certainly expand your practice, and the ritual suggestions add an extra layer.

Each section includes a variety of exercises with different modalities such as journaling, tarot spreads, rituals, and more embodied or playful activities. The reader is encouraged to get outside their comfort zone a little, but you don’t have to work with any creative modalities you’re not comfortable with! There’s also a collection at the end of the book of more activities and ways to work with the tarot that might appeal to particular readers.

The tarot lessons themselves do include a few interpretations I strongly disagree with (as is inevitable!) and I especially found that the keyword lists included as an afterthought actually detracted a little from the more nuanced discussion, but what I do love is how the authors encourage the reader in the exercises to personally get to know the cards and draw their own conclusions.

One of the strongest features of this book this encouragement for readers to develop their own theories. There’s a focus on visual and intuitive exploration of the cards, but also on doing your own tarot story development. This destabilization of the teacher-student binary is so needed in tarot (and everywhere!) and I applaud the authors for the way they empower the reader here. Some of the exercises remind me of how my own teacher, Lindsay Mack, teaches, or of the style of a creative workshop setting.

Plouff & Snow do an admirable job of balancing the need to offer a base interpretation with the desire to allow for personal study. By including specific exercises, it gets a little more concrete than the common advice to “just read intuitively!” which may be overwhelming or scary for a total beginner. I like that they also include connections between cards, which is often left entirely up to the student, prompting the reader to start to develop their own understanding of the cards as a system beyond a simple list of 78 meanings.

One of the most interesting choices from a tarot theory perspective is to focus on a particular storytelling frame to explain the progression of each suit, as well as the major arcana. This fits into a modern tarot approach that pulls readers more into the storytelling or archetypal power of the cards, rather than being dogmatic about meaning, and of course relates to the creative theme of the book.

The hero’s (or Fool’s journey) of the major arcana is a well-known explanatory device, but the authors tweak it slightly by centering the Empress rather than the Fool, outlining a creativity-themed journey rather than a psychological one. Working with the minors, they explore the Wands as a fable, and the Pentacles as a more straightforward story, while the Cups engage surrealism. The Swords are described as containing multiple, non-linear stories, but then the progress of the suit is still explored through the theme of release.

There’s a tension here between a desire to explain the sequential progress of the cards (helpful, if nothing else, as a learning mnemonic!) and the authors’ commitment to presenting the tarot as a non-linear experience. Sometimes it gets a little confusing, but overall I found it to be a thought-provoking treatment, balancing the need to teach tarot accessibly and the importance of not over-emphasizing the “order” of the cards.

Overall, this book is a welcome expansion of the accessible and non-dogmatic approach found in modern tarot teachings. If you’re looking for someone to tell you exactly what each card means, without requiring your own engagement and exploration, you may find this book uncomfortable, but I think most folks who are drawn to the themes of creativity and self-care will benefit.

[ARC provided through Edelweiss]

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lessons from the Empress helps you get in touch with your inner Empress to bring out your creativity and cultivate ways to express and love yourself. No prior tarot knowledge is needed but this isn't a tarot 101 book. Seasoned card readers will get plenty out of this as it's more about self-care and self-expression than teaching tarot. For a new learner, this is a beautiful way to travel through the tarot as you'll create personal connections to the cards and tap into their messages right away.

Filled with journal prompts, tarot spreads, knowledge from two amazing tarot readers, and love, this is a beautiful companion for anyone wanting to create a self-care practice, bring more magic into their lives, embrace their creative self, and/or explore the tarot in a new way.

[Nicole Perkins · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this was well-written, it was a little too basic for me. I have been reading Tarot for myself for over 20 years, and much of this is at an introductory level. That being said, if you are interested in learning Tarot, I recommend this book.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lessons from the Empress is a wonderful tarot workbook that dives into the archetypal expression of the Empress energy--abundance, self care, creativity and more. it is a lush deep dive into the symbolism with practical activities and rituals that are easy and friendly to follow.
The Empress is one of my favourite cards in tarot and its lovely this archetype gets an exploration, often times she gets overlooked by other major arcana personalities.
This isn't really for advanced practitioners though, it's a very introductory book for beginners exploring the tarot. Very accessible and digestable.