Card of the month for April 2025 meets the Card of the Year...

How can embracing the energies of these cards help us make the most of April?

Here is our card to embrace during April 2025…

Let’s Tarot…

Wow! This is a great card for us to embrace for April.

IV·The Emperor corresponds to the zodiac sign Aries, which is the sign we entered on 20th March. Aries is the first sign of the zodiacal New Year¹, so tarot and astrology are in harmony as we welcome the Spring birth of this new astrological year. So, our first energy to embrace is new beginnings.

Let’s look at this card image… our Emperor stands proudly rooted in the land, wrapped in freshly budding branches, and surrounded by spirits highlighting the fire energy of this card. He shows us a disk bearing a dragon/ouroboros² symbolising perpetual cycles of change. His jewelled golden armband attests to his power and wealth, and two magnificent ram’s horns (signifying Aries), from one of which is suspended an ankh³ (representing eternal life), make up his headdress. Behind him is a huge stone carving illustrated with magical creatures and symbols.

The Emperor is power. Authority. Protector. Bringer of order from chaos. As the major arcana card numbered four, he also represents structure along with the power to both create and maintain it. This energy, when coupled with virtuous intent, makes him a brilliant and purposeful leader. His Fire energy feeds creativity into this mix, too! A creator of brilliant solutions, with the drive to achieve them, and the capability to maintain them.

Following March’s inspiration from the Malika of Cups, where we were encouraged to explore our dreams and intuition, IV·The Emperor asks us to make manifest what we learned/intuited during that time… to turn our dreams into reality knowing that Emperor energy is supporting us.

Here are some thoughts on how we can make the most of this energy during the coming month 🙂…

• Ask what needs to be cleared to make space for new beginnings?

• What is flagging right now that needs some clear, authoritative shoring-up?

• Consider who might need our strength, support, or protection right now?

Or… perhaps it is you who feels the need for support right now, and someone whose strength, creativity and protection can help you to…

• Establish meaningful boundaries and structure in a difficult situation;

• Recharge your own natural creativity and find the solutions you need;

• Feel safe, supported and protected during your current difficulties.

If this is the case, who is your Emperor (remember, it’s an archetype, not a gender!)? Maybe this would be a good time to call them and ask for help?

A note of caution…

When you are embracing your Emperor power, you should always consider whether your success will harm others in any way… too much of this energy, and less virtuous intentions, can lead to inflexibility, rigidity and over-severity.

As a side note: I’ve known many Tarot Readers who read this card as only expressing unwelcome, patriarchal, controlling behaviour. I submit that these qualities simply represent the negative side of this energy, and therefore only half of the full picture.

Simply put… sometimes, someone needs to ‘take charge’, it is the intention that makes the difference… is it about disempowering, or empowering others. A strong Emperor energy applied in the best interests of others should never disempower them!

So… how does this energy sit with the year card for 2025?

IV·The Emperor… meet IX·The Hermit

Our general card for the year is IX·The Hermit, and the combination of these two cards offers us energies of reflective transformation and powerful manifestation throughout April. Following March’s Malika of Cups sit down with IX·The Hermit for coffee, cakes, and inspiration, IV·The Emperor arrives this month to organise their dreams, and reflections into reality… Ready or Not! 😀

Hmmm…🧐 elementally, the gently reflective Water energy of the Hermit, will likely feel hugely challenged by the powerfully creative, ‘let’s do this!’ Fire energy of the Emperor.

Water and Fire elements negate each other, so this month we may well feel that we are being weakly pulled in different directions. Weakly, because both are wonderfully powerful major arcana cards, whereas a minor arcana card this month would probably better serve the energy of the IX·The Hermit.

So… in April, how can we benefit from embracing the combined energy of these two cards?

Sometimes, the real world intrudes. Sometimes, we are called upon to put down our books, get up, and make things happen. If we are smart about this, we will see that stretching our legs in this way will allow us to return to our books later, refreshed by our break and ready to re-engage with our IX·Hermit year.

Numerologically, we have 4 + 9 = 13, which is represented in the major arcana by XIII·Death. A card of endings and rebirth, mirroring seasonally the end of our Winter, the beginning of Spring, and the birth of the new year. If we are to make the most of this we need a card capable of clearing the clutter, opening the windows and reorganising the wardrobe… 13 = 1 + 3 = 4 = IV·The Emperor… so, it’s all gonna work out fine, if we can get the Hermit off the couch 😀

I welcome your thoughts on the above, and how this reading resonates (or not!) for you... please feel free to comment below (I am very open to respectful disagreement and discussion!) and share this free post if you feel it might interest others, thanks... 😊

Love, light, and laughter... always,

tarotbyphil 🕯️

1. The Zodiacal year begins with Aries, and ends with Pisces. This is different to the calendar year, which, of course begins on 1st January, falling halfway through Capricorn.

2. The ouroboros or oroboros is an ancient symbol of a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The ouroboros is a symbol of an everlasting cycle or a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Wikipedia.

3. The ankh is an ancient Egyptian symbol which symbolizes the many aspects of life, including physical life, eternal life, immortality, death, and reincarnation. Study.com.