By Angel Lozada

Meditating on IIII of the Grand Tarot Esoterico and reading the few forgotten biographies written by Emperors, I came across the writings of Nero. The Emperor is the Absolute ruler, but he lives under constant fear of being decapitated or deposed, by someone very close to him, usually, a family member. When we are in his presence, we have to face him with humility, but thisliterature makes it clear that, to be an effective emperor, you have to be more humble than the poorest of your subjects. He also represents the Will, that horrendous concept of philosophy, which tyrants have used to propel and create the greatest achievements of mankind or the most horrendous atrocities.

In Santeria, the figure of the Emperor is represented by Shango, the 4th Emperor of Oyó, who is still remember as the Alexander the Great of Africa. At the time, when a person was crown Emperor of Oyó, all his family members and parents had to be decapitated in front of the ruler, to ensure his only loyalty was to the state. Today, we do not have Emperors, but we have political figures who act as such. CEOs usually act as emperors of their own businesses (in Spanish, Empresas). The emperor is also the door–from the invisible to the visible–and he looks at the Sun, representing his entire dominion. Although the emperor is presented as a Jupiterian figure, sitting on his throne with the world in his hands, we are reminded that the we are not the center of the World. We live in this Solar System, and we all are children of the Sun, but the the other planet who is really the owner of our system is Jupiter. It’s gravitational force is so strong, that every move He makes affects the entire system.

Today, Emperor like figures are on the rise, but to have effective empires, a strong ideology coupled with surveillance (the all seeing eye) are necessary to keep the cohesion over vast distances. Unfortunately, the internet has made possible for Emperors to rule from afar. Humility does not seem to be the virtue of these few men, and their reigns result in tyranny. The achievements of this men in the last century have been weapons of mass destruction and surveillance technologies. The Emperor like figure these days is usually a mediocre man, propelled to power by the actions of a propaganda machine, like a rock concert, which gives them an aura of divinity. Some fear that the technological emperor will be the easiest or the most difficult to overthrow.

Info in this article originates from my upcoming book on the Grand Tarot Esoterico.

–Angel

Angel’s original FaceBook post is here.