The Royal Paulownia is known as The Empress Tree. As we have The Empress card in the tarot, I simply HAVE to talk about it.
I have been driving past these trees in my town for a few weeks but it was only when my Mum and I, accompanied by my daughter and niece, walked past them that I realised how incredible they are. With their big purple flowers, they are absolutely beautiful.
In Japan and China, this tree is often planted when a daughter is born and the legend is that when planted close to home, a Phoenix will come down from the skies and bestow good luck upon the family. I love that I came across it whilst I was with Mum, as I’m her daughter and we were with our newest generations of daughters. This tree definitely has connections to the women in our tribe and matriarchal lineage - grandmothers, mothers, daughters, aunts, sisters and female cousins as well as the women in our lives, such as friends, colleagues and leaders. We are reminded of how precious they are and that they bring unique qualities and gifts into our lives.
I feel one of The Empress Tree's greatest messages is that she is directs us to connect with our women. To be with our women, care for our women, lead our women, be led by women, learn from our women, teach our women, share with our women, eat with our women, play with our women, laugh with our women, heal with our women, live life with our women. Be with our Divine Women.
And to remember to share all this with our girls as they are the women of the future.
The Empress card also has connections to women, motherhood and female togetherness - so that lines up beautifully.
The Empress Tree can grow in infertile soil, growing in places that others can not, thriving in those places and providing to that environment. Not only does this tree thrive in challenging areas, her presence changes that environment. She can inspire us to also show up in difficult places and know we’ll be ok, we can be here, we can handle it and we may even have something of value to give to this place.
The Empress Trees are hardy, resistant and they grow really fast. Her seeds germinate fast too. When she shows up in our world, we can be assured that we too are on a growth spurt. Things might be happening fast! But our ideas and our creations can also come into being now, in ways that they never have before.
All those connections to reproduction, growth, creation - much like our Tarot Empress.
Those gorgeous purple blooms are connected with the Third Eye Chakra and us being connect into our intuition, our sight and our psychic knowings with natural ease. Something The Empress in Tarot also represents.
The Empress Tree is also known as The Princess Tree and much like The Tarot Empress, she has real connection with The Divine Feminine. She encourages us to tune into our own Divine Feminine side. These are the common qualities of the DF:
Intuition
Inner being
Being over doing
Emotion
Emotional strength
Emotional maturity
Openness
Vulnerability
Creation and creativity
Relationships and co-creativity
Female leadership
Caring, nurturing and supporting
Artistic expression
Dancing and music
Meditation, dreams and prayer
Cycles
Presence
Spiritual connection
What a beautiful, beautiful tree. How is she showing up in your life?