The image
A crowned monarch, commanding and dignified, sits on a throne whose arms are decorated with rams' heads. His scepter takes the form of a crux ansata, the looped cross, and his left hand holds a globe. He is a ruler of this world, raised to the full height of its natural powers.
Symbolism
Waite describes him as executive power and realization: worldly authority dressed in its finest natural qualities. He is the active, masculine force, with the Empress as his counterpart, yet he also holds a higher kingship, one that rules through thought rather than strength alone. The two cards together, Waite adds, suggest married life without quite depicting it, and their wisdom does not consciously draw on a higher world.
In a reading
Upright, the Emperor puts the focus on the structures, rules and commitments that keep things steady. Reversed, he shows warmth and generosity alongside blockage or immaturity, and the question becomes where firmness and compassion need a better balance.