Receiving Your Harvest: The Empress Archetype for Women in Their Wisdom Years (A Lammas Reflection)

In this episode we celebrate Lammas which occurs every year around this time.  This year it's on August 1st but the theme is evergreen, really.  Lammas is the first harvest festival on the Celtic Wheel of the Year, and a moment that has Rose thinking about the Empress archetype in Tarot, women over 50, and why so many of us are terrible at receiving what we've already built.

In this episode of Chat Off The Mat, Rose shares a childhood memory of making tomato sauce with twenty relatives in a Brooklyn kitchen every September — an unofficial harvest ritual long before she had language for it. She connects that memory to Lammas, a festival not about planting or tending, but about pausing to receive what has already grown.

Rose explores the Empress card in Tarot — a woman who sits on her throne surveying her kingdom, looking both back at what she's built and forward to what's still ahead — and explains why "Empress" became her chosen archetype for women in their wisdom years, rather than "crone." She talks honestly about her own struggle to let herself feel finished, the cultural pressure to always ask "what's next," and why quiet harvests — trusting yourself, setting a boundary, healing, choosing your own peace — deserve recognition just as much as visible ones.

The episode closes with a Royal Invitation: a short guided practice for sitting on your own throne, reflecting on what's grown in your life, and releasing what no longer fits before planting anything new.

In this episode:

• The Celtic Wheel of the Year and the meaning of Lammas
• Why Rose chose the Empress archetype over "crone" for women 50+
• Letting go of what no longer serves you
• A guided Royal Invitation practice for receiving your harvest

Find Rose: rosewippich.com | rosewippich.substack.com

This episode — and everything Rose teaches — grows out of her book, Empress Rising: Own Your Energy, Trust Your Wisdom & Rewrite the Rules of Aging. If the Empress archetype speaks to you, start there. 

Rose Wippich is an Energy Alchemist, Reiki Master Teacher, qigong and yoga instructor, and author of Empress Rising. She's here for the woman who knows she's ready for something more — the one who feels the pull of her next chapter but isn't quite sure how to step into it.

Through her book, podcast, and teaching, Rose inspires and guides women in midlife to reclaim their energy, identity, and voice — and step boldly into their Empress years.

📖 Book: EMPRESS RISING: Own Your Energy, Trust Your Wisdom & Rewrite the Rules of Aging. 

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Produced by Rose Wippich | Chat Off The Mat Podcast

© 2026 Rose Wippich

Transcript

Celebrating Abundance And Lammas

Rose 0:00

It's time to celebrate the abundance in your life. Today I want to talk to you about the Empress Archetype and Lammas. Because as the wheel of the year turns, it's asking us once again to pause and reflect on what we've already been given. Welcome to Chat Off The Mat. I'm your host, Rose Wippich.

Family Harvest Memories And Tomato Sauce

Rose 0:22

Growing up Italian, we celebrated everything, every holiday, every Saints Day, every birthday, of course. Sometimes we celebrated nothing in particular, just being together. One of my fondest memories is going to Brooklyn every September to make tomato sauce. Some of you may also have similar memories. There'd be about 20 of us at least. Everyone had a job. Someone stirring, someone canning, someone throwing the basil into the bottles or jars. That was my job. Someone running the tomatoes through the mill. And it just went on all day. It was, but it was so, I don't know, comforting. So such a happy time, at least for me and my family. We all came together and we felt good. We felt as life was rich. And that was our harvest time. Nobody called it that though. Nobody needed to. We just knew this is the season we got together and we made tomato sauce for this, you know, for the winter, and then we uh we ate dinner together. We were outside, we were together, and we were receiving something we worked all summer for. And I think about that a lot lately, you know, those memories from way back then. Now,

The Wheel Of The Year

Rose 1:44

in the Celtic tradition, they follow the wheel of the year. This is a whole calendar of turning points. And each one isn't just a date, it's an invitation to pause and honor the energy of that particular moment. So today or this weekend, we're celebrating Lammas, also called Lugnasadh. I hope I said that right. It's the first harvest festival. And traditionally, when the first grains were gathered, so bread was baked, and people paused to give thanks for what the earth produced. Isn't that a great concept? Just to give thanks to the earth because it gives us so much. I love that. But notice what this is not. It's not the planting festival. They know this is another festival. It's not the tending festival, it's the receiving festival. It's the recognizing what we have, what we've harvited, our abundance festival. And that's the distinction of

The Empress And Crone Wisdom

Rose 2:48

this episode. So this year, thinking about Lammas, I kept thinking about the Empress card. So the Empress card, if you really look closely at the tarot card, the Empress, she's sitting on her throne, overlooking her kingdom. And her kingdom is her harvest, right? She has everything out there. She has her fields, she has her tomatoes and her people and her things, right? It's everything she's accomplished in her life. But she's also looking towards the horizon. What's still ahead? What more she can do? Because life is not over once you grab that harvest. Once you go through, you know, midlife, life isn't over. Of course not. And when I first landed on this card or this term empress or that energy around this archetype, I felt that this was the right image for women in their crone years. She's thinking about what she's done. She's gathering everything in her life, the people, the harvest, all her accomplishments. And she's not done yet. She still has things to do. And she's sitting on her throne thinking about that. We forget that. You know, we we sometimes forget how much we've done in our lives. It gets shadowed by other things, by the next tasks. Oh yeah. We always have another task that we have to do. And that's what we think about. Or the next goal that we want to accomplish. Or time just moves on and we lose touch with the memory of what we did years ago. Like, I forget sometimes I worked in corporate. People reminded, oh yeah, you had a job in corporate, right? I'm like, oh yeah. Feels like so long ago. It really wasn't on the linear timeline. But, you know, I've raised my children, I've done other things since then. So that is such a faraway memory, but it is part of what I created in my life, what I've what I've harvested. And it also adds to the richness and the experiences that I have and that I draw from. So Lamas is a reminder to look back, to notice the seeds that you've planted recently, and also the seeds that you planted a long time ago that, you know, maybe they didn't grow. What's thriving? And then let go of what no longer fits. Those old seeds that you just, you just gotta say, you know, I'm okay with that. I'm I'm done with that, I'm moving on. You know, it's it's not about not being responsible, right? So we've we've raised our children, and maybe some of us are caretakers, so it's not about, or still caretakers, so it's not about, you know, not recognizing those responsibilities. It's just that responsibilities do change, but we also have a responsibility to us. We have to see the fruits of our labor. And we have to plant more on our own

FOMO, Grace, And Pausing

Rose 5:45

terms. But here's the part I personally am still working on. I finish one project and sometimes I don't even finish it, and then I think about the next thing. I start to get into my head like, okay, well, everybody else is doing this. I have to start doing this as well. And then, well, then I'm spread a little too thin, and then nothing gets done. Or I hit a milestone, move to the finish line, and then okay, what's next? You know, what am I going to do next here? I have to keep up. I have that fear I'm missing out on something. I catch myself doing this all the time. And I'm asking you, do you do with that as well? Are you thinking about your next moves? Are you thinking about the next thing on your to-do list? Are you forgetting what you've already started? And it's okay if what you've started doesn't work with you anymore, it's all good. You know, maybe it's just something that you need to put aside until next time. But sometimes I fall behind. And then my nervous system starts to react, like, oh my gosh, it's not getting done. What I have to remind myself to do, and I'm asking you to do the same thing, is have some grace for yourself. We can't do everything, right? Sometimes we have to sit on that throne. We have to pause, we have to stop, we have to ask ourselves, okay, what do I need to do? What do I need to not do? So that I can just catch my breath, so I could feel like I'm in control. Women like to be in control, I know I do, so that I can plan. I can do things more intentionally. Giving yourself permission to stop and just give yourself that space. That's part of the abundance, knowing that you can do that.

Redefining Harvest Beyond Money

Rose 7:32

Now let's talk a little bit about our harvest. Let's reframe our harvest or redefine it. Harvest, it's not just about dollars. Not everything is about money. Money does make the world go round, and we do need money, but it's not just about that. It's not just about achieving something on a grand scale. Although if you've done that, that's great. Last year at this time, I was finalizing my book. I was so excited. I was getting it out there, I was putting it all together. That was a huge thing for me that I appreciated about my life and what I accomplished. And maybe for you it's something different. Maybe it's quieter. Maybe you've just learned to trust yourself. Or maybe you've finally said no without apologizing. That's huge. Let's celebrate that one. Maybe you've healed a piece of your heart. Maybe you've become calmer in situations that are used to steal your peace. I'm working on that. Maybe you've chosen your health, or just chosen yourself before everyone else. Those are harvests too. The Empress in all her abundance and all her beautiful energy reminds us that abundance isn't only something we create, it's something that we're willing to receive, something that we're feeling inside, an energy that we can't describe. And the throne she sits on isn't above anyone. It's about sovereignty, finally taking your rightful place in your life. So here's your royal invitation for this wheel of the year time of llamas.

The Wicker Basket Reflection Practice

Rose 9:29

Take a few moments, go somewhere that is special to you, very quiet. Just close your eyes and bring to mind all of the things that make you feel proud about yourself, all the things you've done that make you feel good. And bring out the small things as well. I don't care if it was going to bed earlier, waking up earlier, going to exercise class, all those things matter. Imagine that you had a big, beautiful wicker basket. You know, those pretty woven baskets that you carry around and you imagine someone cutting flowers or putting tomatoes in there and harvesting. That's your basket. And bring to mind things that you've done. It could be today, yesterday, all year, last year, 10 years ago, it doesn't matter. Grab those memories and put them in the basket. These are the fruits of your labor. Keep picking and keep placing in your basket until that basket is full. If it's half full, it's okay too. No expectations. Just the exercise that you are bringing to your attention all those things that you've done and accomplished, your kingdom, everything that you feel so good about. You're filling up that basket. That's your basket. So before planting another seed, before chasing other dreams, look at that basket and say, Wow, look at all that I've done. That's all part of your sovereignty. Right? As an empress, you recognize everything in your life, the good and the bad, because those are what made us who we are. We recognize ourselves in all that, and we learn from all that. But right now, this time of the year, and any time of the year, please pause and bring to your memory, to your mind, to your vision all that you've done.

Share The Message And Closing

Rose 11:33

If this landed with you, please share this with other women who need to hear it. Tell them when you hear someone's woman saying that she wishes the grass was greener on the other side, ask her to look at her grass again and notice how vibrant the color is. So thank you for being here. Have an amazing celebration, and remember to wear your crown proudly and live the magic. Ready for more? Subscribe to Chat Off the Mat, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who needs to hear it. Learn more about embodying your Empress energy and claiming your throne at rosewipich.com.