The Four & the Emperor in Tarot: Safety – or Dilemma?
A fresh Look at an underrated Tarot Number

The Four of Wands is this cheerful scene in front of the castle. With these two people holding flowers. Could be a marriage – unfortunately often THE definition of »safe, functioning, boring AF«. Even though the start felt so promising!

The Four of Cups is this rather bored looking youngster who has three cups in front of him and doesn’t want or see the fourth cup that’s handed to him. Always reminded me of a really spoiled brat, that cliché of the rich kid who has everything except friends and adventure – that’s again a very safe, very predictable situation (and a lot of people might be jealous of that kid!) – but it’s booooring! That kid doesn’t want more toys and fancy clothes, he wants to go outside, play in the mud, do some utterly stupid things with other kids. Something unpredictable for a change.

The Four of Swords is, as usual, even more gloomy than the other cards. It’s not just someone resting, but a tombstone, someone is dead here, swords pointing towards him. That’s macabre and I pretend to just see someone sleeping or in the worst case stagnating or hiding, hibernating. More on the card in a second.

The Four of Coins is this weirdo wannabe-king, completely over-attached to his worldly possessions, probably scared to sh*t about losing them. That again reminds me of someone who »has it all«, lives in a fancy house with a fancy car, everyone is jealous of him – but actually he is completely unhappy because he is trapped, eaten up by fear that someone will rob him – and no security system in the world will change that. What a poor life.

Even if we don’t take it to that extreme, we all know that everything you have, possess, is something you have to care for, an obligation. You house needs an insurance, it has to be cleaned, your car needs to be taken to the service … Boring! And overwhelming on top.

Let’s go back to the Swords: You could say that being dead is the most secure state. All the things we fear as human beings won’t affect you anymore. But undoubtedly it seems to be very boring. At least until you reincarnate or something. Contradict me, if you came back from the dead and have anything to say on that.

Sleep, hiding and hibernation can be seen similarly: Hiding away from the world, searching for security in invisibility, like a wounded animal that leaves his pack to lick the wounds. Let’s say someone who just disappears from social life and bright colors after a particularly nasty breakup. Or the artist who just doesn’t dare to show their art to the world … Rings a bell? That’s searching for security by playing dead. It might be necessary sometimes, but it is deadly boring.

Now put the Emperor next to his Fours, sitting on his very rectangular throne. Strong, severe, maybe a just ruler, maybe a control freak with anxiety issues, when you look the suspicion in his eyes and the armor under his robes. He might just be the rich guy I described as the wannabe-Coin-king.

So let’s conclude this little interlude: ALL the Fours, including the Emperor, stand for some kind of stability, structure, security with their upsides and downsides.

Check how with other numbers it’s either all negative or all positive (except for the endlessly discriminated Swords, of course.) Or the four Minor Arcana still make some kind of sense (if you hate the Swords) – but the Major Arcanum doesn’t fit the picture, the theme. Let me tell you that I’ve thought long and hard about this and researched a LOT to figure all this shit out, these incongruences drove me mad when I developed the Creative Tarot.

Now look at the progression of the numbers again, it makes total sense: After something has taken shape with the Three, at some point you will take a rest, enter a phase of stability or just reach a plateau. That’s the most natural development. Of course it will all come crashing down with the Fives and the Hierophant. 😉

In my understanding of the cards, every number has a theme (safety, structure, stability for the Four) that just evolves naturally in the progression of the numbers. So that’s half the meaning of a card already! Here comes the other half:

The Major Arcanum is the archetype of that theme. With the Four that’s the Emperor (or King in the Creative Tarot), the archetypal father figure, someone who has power, gives direction, also supports and provides safety.

The Minor Arcana, as you know, are organized in four suits that correspond with the four elements and their qualities – and consequently with an actual act or process:

Wands | Clubs – Fire – Will, Drive, Spark – Wanting
Cups | Hearts – Water – Emotions, Heart, Soul – Feeling
Swords | Spades – Air – Mind, Logic, Brain – Thinking
Coins | Diamonds – Earth – Body, Action, the Material – Doing.

Yes, I do interpret the elements slightly different from most tarot readers. I’ve boiled it down to the bare essentials and tried to divide them as neatly as possible.

To understand a tarot card (without the need for a textbook) you can now simply pair the theme of the number with the quality of its element. I find this easiest and most fun when you personify the element, like a person who is really over-developed in that quality and completely under-developed in the other areas.

Try it for yourself: Combine the theme of the Four (stability, safety, structure, authority ….) with the four elements. I’ll share my thoughts with you:

Four of Wands

Stability x Fire, Will, Wanting: How does that go together? What happens, when a really hot-headed, fiery person meets some form of stability, authority? I’d say they either rebel like crazy – or they finally find some peace in the safety they can now experience (if you happen to have a »difficult« dog, try to give it stability and safety and see what happens!).

Four of Cups

Stability x Water, Emotions, Feeling: I actually talked about this combination already (Here at the end). I think water hates stability, because it is so unstable in itself. In nature, water is never stable (nor are the other elements, actually). You could say that some stability in your emotions is a really good thing. And it is!
But I think for a Heart- or Cup-person it just gets too boring. Think of your favorite drama queen. They are talking about eternal love and happiness – but they can’t live without the drama. If there is no drama, they’ll create it.

Four of Swords

Stability x Air, Logic, Thinking: This is a match made in heaven. The mind loves everything that’s stable, orderly, predictable, clear rules, neat spreadsheets, rectangular desks. Of course the mind also loves a challenge and creative chaos, but think of a really nerdy person with Asperger tendencies (like me) who aligns the shit on their desk with the edges of the furniture.
The qualities of the Four will get boring eventually, but first of all they bring peace, calm, stillness, even relief. You can notice that when you feel completely on edge, then tidy up your room, everything is in place – and you feel calm and relaxed.

Four of Coins

Stability x Earth, the Material, Doing: I think this is THE perfect match. Because everything we humans actually build (in the material world) has and needs some kind of stable foundation. I mean, that’s what we do … even in the non-material world. We create stable structures. Write a book in chapters, design a user interface that is intuitive, even categorize all beings (Carl von Linné) and create the periodic table of elements (because the mind craves structure and order!). Even if these are achievements of the mind, they are DONE. Someone actually picked up a pen, observed plants and animals and what not.

Yeah, and we build these very stable structures called roads and houses (and much more) and so much concern goes into giving objects stability. We admire the pyramids because the people in ancient Egypt obviously knew how to give their material world stability …

I believe we NEED stability and structure an rules to thrive. It can restrict us – and it does. You can’t fit more books on the shelf than you have shelf space (well you can, but that’s a different story). No doubt the school system restricted all of us in some unpleasant way. So did the structures and stability of our parents. Or your corporate job. Or society in general.
BUT I still believe that we need stability to thrive. If you are busy fighting for your life, you won’t achieve any of your lofty goals. First you need a certain amount of stability, of boring routine. (That’s what happens in the King’s chapter of the Fool’s Tale, by the way.)

Now, the Creative Tarot uses French suits instead of the usual Spanish-Italian suits of most tarot decks. For a number of reasons, but also because they are »cleaner«, they are not esoteric, not charged with tons of other people’s interpretations, they leave room for you to find your own meanings in the rather simple, clean imagery.

Here are my keywords for the cards (and please keep in mind that those keywords are just a starting point if you can’t come up with anything yourself at that moment).

IV The King: structures, planning, order, systems, restriction, expansion.

4 of Clubs | Safety: safe framework, anchor, structure, reassuring circumstances.

4 of Hearts | Boredom: discontentment, defiance, missing the silver lining, self-pity.

4 of Spades | Stillness: recovery, resting, self-care, recharging. A pause.

4 of Diamonds | Structure: creating solid foundations and frameworks, thriving, systems.

I think you can notice that I see them in a rather positive light, except for the Four of Hearts. But the image on the card is not that negative, actually. The Puppet there is safe, is held, it’s not tied to anything and its string is long enough to actually do something with it. Reach the other two hearts on the left, for example. And in the end it’s just a question of perspective, if you are feeling bored or calm. I’d love to just feel boredom sometimes, get out of my hamster wheel, and just do nothing.

The pictures on the cards probably speak for themselves, so I won’t explain them in any greater detail here. Let’s look at the King instead.

Let’s talk about the King’s Stash Card first. That’s actually why I explained the Fours and the stability and everything in such great detail …

It’s a dilemma.

Even the most daring and adventurous of us are looking for safety, stability, structure and all that. It’s a very basic human need. And it makes life easier on top. But it’s boring. We want more. Most of us at least. That’s why people leave safe jobs, cheat on their partners, get divorced, develop questionable unhealthy habits, go on holidays, pick up a new hobby, whatever. We can’t stand still forever. (Check out the diary episode about the insatiable greed, that deals exactly with these thoughts …)

All tarot numbers come with some sort of dilemma, but I think it is especially prominent in the Four, maybe because it is such a basic, fundamental dilemma of human life. Or because I have some issues there, who knows?

Anyway. So the King’s Stash Card doesn’t ask about stability or structure or anything concrete like that, it actually asks

»How can I resolve the dilemma?«

I think this, in variations, is one of the number one questions, not only when using tarot cards. It implies:
I actually want x, but what about y?
Should I go for option a or b (or c)
What am I supposed to do?
I don’t know, what I want.
I don’t know, what to do.
What’s the right decision?
All of these very common question are about an internal or external dilemma.

So here’s a spread to reflect on your dilemma and bring in some clarity:

Draw 4 cards (yeah, of course it’s four cards. ;)).
Card 1 represents you in the present moment.
Card 2 is what anchors you.
Card 3 can be helpful, but might also intimidate you.
Card 4 shows a possible way out of the situation.
What could your solution look like?

So you have yourself, an anchor (is that positive or negative?), something helpful but intimidating – and a possible way out. Please notice that a way out is not necessarily a solution. The spread asks yourself to check for a possible solution.

I haven’t actually done this spread yet. When it’s done, I’ll insert the video here. Can’t wait to be honest …

Eventually. Let’s look at the King. You already know the Emperor from the RWS tarot who I assume is a control freak with anxiety issues.

The King of the Creative Tarot is VERY different. He’s one of the cards that have evolved most in the design process. Maybe because there were so many inspirations and influences.

When I wrote his chapter of the Fool’s Tale, I still imagined him in a kind of Louis XIV way. Someone clad in silk and ermine who only speaks to his subjects if it can’t be avoided. But still friendly. But oh so boring.

Later I thought that there are also other kings. Messier kings. Like the King in the North, Eddard Stark and Jon Snow, in Game of Thrones. Someone strong and wild who manages the fine line between order and chaos (the dilemma of the Four).

On the card he got a blue sash-thingy, just like English Royalty, and some grubby ermine fur around his shoulders. Notice that he is wearing the same shirt as the Fool! His feet and wooden shin protectors (?) anchor him to the ground, to his kingdom, he is the Green Man of the forest. And he wears an eye patch. Captain Ahab became an inspiration for the King. Every captain is a king on his ship. Ahab was undoubtedly mad and didn’t survive his encounter with Moby Dick. This King here has survived whatever brought him the piraty eye patch.
What else? Well, of course he wears a red superhero cape (like the Magician) and he leans against a scutum, a Roman shield, a civilized symbol of war and defense. He has a golden crown that reminds me of antlers and some collar made of feathers. So more Green Man magic there.

The most peculiar thing is certainly his weird scepter with the skull of that fantasy creature. If you know Golding’s Lord of the Flies, this might remind you of something. In the book, the boys also formed their own kingdom, tried to establish (and break) rules, laws and order …

So is this strange guy sitting under the tree actually a real king? Or just an imposter who found a fancy cloak at the charity job?
What makes a king a king?

And would you rather have a powdered ruler in lovely clothes who has never left the palace in his whole life (remember the spoiled brat from the Four of Cups, please!) – or some badass guy who has fought his White Whale, lost an eye along the way, stands firmly on the ground (outside, in nature) but might just be a bit mad?

A Note on the Fool’s Tale

You’ve made it almost to the end of this blog post, congrats. Before I’ll leave you in peace I would just like to point out an interesting detail from the Fool’s Tale.

The Fool has settled in the structures of the Great King’s castle and he can juggle all day. How nice! No. Because that’s just what he had before at the Court of the Honorable Little King. He set out to become a wizard – and now he’s just a Fool again. But he enjoys it for now. And only in this safety and structure can he find this thing they call the library with its wealth of books and knowledge. Libraries only existed in castles or monasteries for a very long time. Ordinary people didn’t have books.They only occured in tthe safest of places!

As it happens with books, just the right one fell into his hands. Another king or another librarian would have reacted differently, but these two actually help the Fool, support him, even if the motifs are not entirely selfless. We can safely assume that the King is a wise man when he hands him the bookmark. And we witness the Fool developing into someone who is not a Fool anymore. He learns! One of the best skills ever: Reading. That opens up a whole new world. And, yes, of course you can become a wizard with the help of a book! 😉

In the end the King sends the Fool on his way. After he invested in him. So no anxiety and narcissm there. A lot of people do NOT want to let their employees (or spouses or even children) go when they have already invested in them, built up their skills and confidence. Think about it …

This chapter of the Fool’s Tale is one of my favorites. I mean, I wrote it, but I’m still so proud of the Fool! I find it so touching how he makes his way through this difficult book. I guess this chapter was heavily inspired by Terry Pratchett and his librarian (Who first appeared in this crazy episode). I don’t know. The whole Fool’s Tale just happened, I didn’t plan it. I myself didn’t know what would happen in each chapter when I sat down to write it. It’s one of the most remarkable things I ever experienced.
Yeah, well, creativity happens unconsciously. But that’s off-topic now.

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Next up in this series is the Fives and the Hierophant, but this time there are a lot of diary episodes in between. If you don’t want to miss it, please consider subscribing to my newsletter below or my profile on Medium.