The Emperor as How Someone Sees You: Strong, Protective and Not to Be Argued With

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Emperor as how someone sees you means they see the stone throne. Here is what the picture includes, upright and reversed, and who sits below it.

If you want the short answer, the Emperor as how someone sees you means they see you as strong, structured, protective and in charge: the one who provides, who sets the terms, who they feel safe with and do not argue with. It is a respectful picture. It is often also a picture of someone they defer to, and deference can look like love and feel like something else.

This is you as the figure on the stone throne with the rams. They see the authority. They may have stopped telling you when they disagree.

The Emperor upright as how someone sees you

Tina Gong's the Emperor guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with authority, structure, control and fatherhood. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone sees you, I read those meanings as the image the person holds of you, which is not the same as who you are and not the same as what they feel. the Emperor as feelings covers what they feel; the Emperor as intentions covers what they plan. This page covers the picture. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Emperor as a person who sees you as a protector: capable, decisive, reliable, someone who handles things and keeps them safe. They trust you with the structure of their life. In the upright card the trust is willing, and it may still come with a quietness about their own wishes.

What I would not read into it is that they feel equal. The Emperor is seen from below. The person may admire you and not feel able to be fully themselves around you.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person sees you warmly rather than respectfully, that they feel heard, or that they tell you the truth when it is inconvenient. No card lets a reader see inside another person's head. What a card can do is describe the kind of image that fits the person's behaviour toward you, and give you something to check against how they actually treat you.

The Emperor reversed as how someone sees you

Reversed, the Emperor as how someone sees you means the picture has gone from protective to controlling: they see you as rigid, domineering, cold, someone who rules rather than partners. The safety they valued has started to feel like being governed.

In your own question, ask whether the person has lately gone quiet in disagreements, or whether they have said anything about not being heard or not being allowed. A reversed card here is a prompt to notice whether the picture the person holds has gone sour or gone wrong, not a verdict on you.

The Emperor as how an ex sees you

Asked how an ex sees you, the Emperor suggests they remember you as strong, dependable and perhaps overbearing, the one who ran things. It is a picture with respect and sometimes relief in it. Few exes return to an Emperor they felt ruled by; some return to one they felt protected by. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Emperor as how a new person sees you

For someone new, this card means they feel safe with you and may defer to you more than you realise. Make room for their opinion early, and the picture gains a partner.

How to check the picture against reality

Look at whether the person disagrees with you and how it goes when they do. Look at whether they bring you problems or only solutions. An Emperor picture is strong and can be isolating; the way to soften it is to ask and then listen.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what the person seems to rely on you for, and the last time they told you something you did not want to hear. If the third note is empty, the picture has a wall in it.

For comparison, the Empress as how someone sees you and the King of Swords as how someone sees you describe different pictures. The the Emperor card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Emperor as a person covers the card when it describes a temperament rather than an image. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.