The Symbolism of Deep Purple, Violet
and the Emperor and Empress in the Tarot
Introduction
A second figurative death occurs
for very few on the spiritual path,
far more profound and far more important spiritually
than rebirth
It occurs after purification
and after Union of the "Masculine" and "Feminine"
and this "death" is called "Annihilation" or Ego-death.
It is [in theory] represented by a purple so deep and rich
that it looks like black silk or velvet.
And few know of its existence and even fewer its meaning.
John 19 The Soldiers Mock Jesus
So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him.
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head,
and they put on Him a purple robe.
And said, "Hail, King of the Jews!"
A king, but soon to be symbolically an Emperor.
And it is gifted to only those able to weather this stage alone.
Purple is not Black
Black is used in symbolism,
both with White as a symbol of contrast,
and alone as a symbol of the Planet/Intelligence Saturn,
Two Black birds - the Crow and Raven
- are the archetypically symbolic birds of Saturn
And in Alchemy, the Rebirth experience is depicted
as "Black" in contrast to red - rubedo, - and white - Albedo.
and called the nigredo experience.
But Rebirth is not the same as this very last stage
of the Path and few can claim they have experienced it.
Tyrian Purple, the symbol of wealth and power
In mundane symbolism, Tyrian purple was the "imperial" colour.
This is the Byzantine Empress Theodora
by marriage to emperor Justinian.
It came in various shades,
the most prized being that of black-tinted clotted blood.
This is Cleopatra with Mark Antony
who transformed the constitutional Roman Republic
into the autocratic Roman Empire.
It was worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire - this is
a Mosaic of Justinianus I in the Basilica San Vitale in Ravenna
and the Holy Roman Empire [this is Hadrian]
and later by Roman Catholic bishops.
This is the Ghent altarpiece, in Belgium,
showing the Pope and his bishops
It was the colour worn by the Emperors of Japan
- this is Emperor Komyo of Japan (1322-1380).
and Russia, - and this is the Empress Catherine
wearing a cloak of Tyrian purple.
King George V and Queen Mary wore purple at his coronation.
And when she was crowned, Queen Elizabeth II as
"Empress of the Commonwealth" wore a Deep Red Purple.
But to use this colour one must be a true Emperor or Empress
- and this is a film of the young Queen Victoria.
Not a King without an Empire, like Charles II of the UK
or King James IV of Scotland, who may have had ambitions,
but chose the "Auld Alliance" with the French
over the "Perpetual Peace" with the English,
and was killed at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.
Despite taking over the role of the King of France,
Napoleon Bonaparte considered himself,
through his conquests, an "Emperor".
But the Queen’s father, who took on the role of king
after his brother’s abdication,
displays a purple that is ambivalent in its meaning.
And why? Because Tyrian purple dye,
made from the mucus secretion of a species of snail,
was, and is, extremely expensive
and only the very powerful and wealthy could afford it.
The snail secretes this mucus when it is attacked by predators,
or physically antagonized by humans, for example, poked.
The dye can be collected either by "milking" the snails,
which is more labour-intensive but is a renewable resource,
or by collecting and destructively crushing the snails,
meaning the supply reduces and the price goes up.
David Jacoby
Twelve thousand snails of Murex brandaris
yield no more than 1.4 g of pure dye,
enough to colour only the trim of a single garment.
Production of Tyrian purple
began as early as 1,570 BC by the Phoenicians,
and was continued by the Greeks and Romans
until 1,453 AD, with the fall of Constantinople.
The dye was initially greatly prized
because the colour did not easily fade,
but instead became brighter with weathering and sunlight
[this is a Byzantine robe].
But as time wore on it became more and more expensive
to produce until only the extremely wealthy could afford it.
Even by the 4th century BC, historian Theopompus
was reporting that "Purple for dyes
fetched its weight in silver at Colophon" in Asia Minor.
The expense meant the use of purple dyed textiles
was restricted very early on by sumptuary laws.
A sumptuary law, is one designed to restrict
personal expenditure in the interest of preventing
"excess, extravagance and greed".
Initially, the most senior Roman magistrates,
for example, wore a toga praetexta,
a white toga edged with a stripe of Tyrian purple.
The even more sumptuous toga picta,
solid Tyrian purple with a gold stripe,
was worn by generals celebrating a Roman triumph.
But by the fourth century AD, sumptuary laws in Rome
had been tightened so much that only the Roman emperor
was permitted to wear Tyrian purple.
As a result, "purple" is sometimes used as a metonym
for the title or role a person has, for example, the phrase
"donned the purple" means "became emperor".
The Mixing of Mundane and Spiritual symbolism
Spiritually, the Tarot Emperor and Empress
represent the highest roles a human can achieve.
The colour purple may be used, but it is not Tyrian purple,
as such it has no symbolic connection with wealth or power.
Instead a more bluish purple may be used
to indicate the spiritual connection.
Indeed those who watch Queen Elizabeth II’s dress
will have noticed that she now wears pinky violets,
purples and blues, but never the red purple of Tyrian purple
all of which indicate love [which is pink],
and spiritual connection [blue and purple].
There are no indications of either a lust for power or wealth.
And if anything the colours she chooses
are closer to those of the Scarab beetle,
- a rich purple blue
whose symbolism we explored in the video
The Symbolism of Cancer, the Crab and the Scarab
The Tarot Emperor and Empress are thus human but "divine".
And this is a 12th century painting of Saint Peter
consecrating Hermagoras, wearing just purple.
And indeed it would be wrong to mix
the mundane meaning of the words Emperor and Empress
with the spiritual meaning that the Tarot uses
- and this painting is called "Promise of Spring.
That is Spring on the Spiritual Path, when ego death occurs
which is why Aleister Crowley’s Tarot card for the Emperor
avoids purple altogether, in typical Crowley fashion.
As does his card for the Empress - symbolically green for Spring,
pink for love, with twin horns, and a Pelican [sacrifice for love]
And indeed a number of the better known Tarot card designers
have depicted the Empress [L’Imperatrice]
avoiding purple altogether, and using blues, and mauves
in case we mistakenly think that hers is a role
of wealth and power, when it isn’t,
for example, There is Mucha
and there is Rider-Waite
So what happens during "Ego death",
that one figuratively becomes an Emperor or Empress?
Ego death occurs after Union and Purification
To complete the Spiritual Path, the Ego
- the strong sense of a separate self must "die",
figuratively speaking, which is why it is called ego-death.
So no "Squash the Big I am", but
completely obliterate the "Big I am".
And this starts during Purification, which culminates
in the Union of the Masculine and Feminine principles,
and this is recognised in alchemy and called "coniunctio".
But what must now occur is not rebirth but the death
of the sense of Self - the Ego followed by Resurrection.
In mystical Christianity this is the "Eloi, Eloi, Lama Sabachthani?"
that Christ uttered in the 9th hour upon the cross.
And these are the opening words of Psalm 22;
which can be translated as
"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me".
In effect, and here I quote "it has to do
letting go of everything under the midday Sun
and discovering the kind of faith
that can pass through the darkest moments ...
I don't think that everyone goes through this kind of test.
In the Egyptian mythology,
I suspect this is how the scarab earned his wings."
In effect, whereas a person is often helped a great deal
in many of the other stages of the spiritual path,
including rebirth.
In these latter stages,
the person has to "create himself or herself",
a lonely painful process which requires great courage.
Wallis Budge "The Gods of the Egyptians" vol. 1
I became the creator of what came into being.
I came into being in the forms of Khepera
coming into being in primeval time.
I came into being in the forms of Khepera.
I became the creator of what came into being,
that is to say, I produced myself
from primeval matter which I made.
The Black Sun
This "resurrection" is shown in some alchemical pictures
as a Black Sun rising at Dawn - the end of the Spiritual Path.
So the true Sol Niger [the Black Sun] dies
and is then resurrected,
and alchemically he causes his own death
Stanislas Klossowski de Rola
the Black Sun refers to the necessity
of "Killing the Live to revive the Dead"
which alchemical axiom means that all vulgar metals
including especially vulgar gold are considered dead
and have to be made "green" again.
This axiom which has practical, symbolical,
and psychic correspondences
- is one of the essential keys of the Art of Hermes.
And once it is over, it is over because it is irreversible.
And if it works - and each person takes that risk upon himself
[or herself]
As W. B. Yeats said, "myself I must remake".
You will not reincarnate
and the rest of your life will be spent as an "immortal"...
a Seer - a wise man or woman - of the highest order, divine.