High Priestess

[Adamgee75]

Hi. I just wondering what the different interpretations of the high priestess card are? Upright and reversed.

 

Thanks.

[DanielJUK]

I've moved this thread to the correct area to discuss individual cards 

[katrinka]

There are books available. We learned by studying books. There's no reason that you can't do the same.

https://sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm

[Raggydoll]

There is also this page:

 

http://learntarot.com/maj02.htm

 

 

[DanielJUK]

This section of the forum is for discussing the meanings of a card. We presume they know they can look it up online

What are your ideas and interpretations of the High Priestess?

[Raggydoll]

My view of the high priestess aligns with what is said on the link that I provided. I feel that it sums up the main aspects of this card. 

[Adamgee75]

1 hour ago, DanielJUK said:

This section of the forum is for discussing the meanings of a card. We presume they know they can look it up online

What are your ideas and interpretations of the High Priestess?

Yes I’ve looked up the meaning before, I was just interested in others personal views

[Barleywine]

I've had a lot of fun with this one from a Qabalistic Tree of Life perspective (for which I caught a lot of flak from the esoteric members on Aeclectic). Paul Foster Case points out that it represents the higher nature of the Moon while the Moon card itself shows the lower nature. I think they both can deliver surprises, but those of the High Priestess are less likely to be unpleasant. I've written a couple of essays that compare the two, and have tinkered with their astrological correspondences.

[katrinka]

7 hours ago, Adamgee75 said:

Yes I’ve looked up the meaning before, I was just interested in others personal views

Cards mean things, though. Either a personal view is in line with the interpretation, or it isn't. If it isn't, it should be discarded. Otherwise we aren't reading cards, we're handling cards but doing something else.

Sometimes the meanings we look up can be useless. Waite's pretentious blather about the "Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden" certainly is. It's got nothing to do with the questions people normally ask when they consult the cards.

The trick is not to look for PAMs (Personally Assigned Meanings) but to find more grounded interpretations. PAMs tend to be idiosyncratic and one person's PAMs won't work for others.

We know from the card itself that the High Priestess studies the Torah. She's erudite, scholarly.  We can work with that.

From Moderately QuickSilver:

"A mature woman, A serious woman, precise, knowledgeable, reserved, A wife, A mother, An older sister, A female boss, A female doctor or professional, A woman with a degree, Conscience, Spirituality, Study, Knowledge, Deep understanding, Faith, Someone who knows what to say and what not to say, Silence, Reserve, Secret, with bad cards a superficial floozy, A gossip, Dogmatic, Strict, Ignorant, Inimical."

All of that is just the High Priestess meanings and symbols put in the context of everyday life.
 

[Aeon418]

14 hours ago, katrinka said:

Sometimes the meanings we look up can be useless. Waite's pretentious blather about the "Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden" certainly is. It's got nothing to do with the questions people normally ask when they consult the cards.

 

Far be it from me to defend A. E. Waite, but much of his "blather" points to deep aspects of being that can only be approached through highly abstract and symbolic ways. But consistent with the hermetic axiom of "as above, so below," these universal patterns are nevertheless reflected in the mundane doings of our daily lives and the questions we may have about it. The continuity of existence across all levels imbues our most trivial actions with profound importance and grounds the "meanings" of Tarot cards, rather than leaving them hanging in thin air with nothing behind them. 

[Adamgee75]

When I had my second awakening a few months ago I got the High Priestess a lot, and I mean A LOT. Apparently, this tends to happen when people are about to or have started doing inner work. This card guided me towards shadow work.

[katrinka]

6 hours ago, Aeon418 said:

Far be it from me to defend A. E. Waite, but much of his "blather" points to deep aspects of being that can only be approached through highly abstract and symbolic ways.

 

Q: Will I see him this weekend?
A: "Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden"

Clients aren't looking for "deep aspects of being."
 

6 hours ago, Aeon418 said:

But consistent with the hermetic axiom of "as above, so below," these universal patterns are nevertheless reflected in the mundane doings of our daily lives and the questions we may have about it. The continuity of existence across all levels imbues our most trivial actions with profound importance and grounds the "meanings" of Tarot cards, rather than leaving them hanging in thin air with nothing behind them. 

That sounds good in theory, however, I'll keep the "Higher Garden of Eden" out of my readings, thanks. 🤣

[November]

The High Priestess can be seen as our intuition or "gut feelings", which we may follow or ignore. 

Sometimes she may represent someone not willing to speak to you, as if they were hiding a secret or simply because they're no more on speaking terms with you. 

[Chariot]

I'll be honest, the High Priestess (upright) is a card I often struggled with, when it came up in a reading—for many years, I would go 'no' when it turned up.  However, as years have gone by, I have found it easier to understand if I go with the idea that its appearance in a reading means 'just be still for now.'

The High Priestess is not an 'active' card, getting me to rush out and do something.  It's a 'wait a bit' card.  A 'look harder and dig deeper' card.  If it turns up in a reading, I try to wait till the correct perspective falls into place and things feel 'right.'  I may 'know' and feel cycles quite deeply, but it's best not to jump in until things settle.

In some ways the High Priestess is akin to The Moon card, in that everything I need to know to make a correct move is not clearly visible yet.  But with The Moon card, I KNOW I'm not seeing the total picture—it's dark out there, and I know the shapes I see could be anything.  I know everything will look different in the morning, so waiting simply makes sense.  With the High Priestess, however, I may have a gut instinct that tells me something which may be correct—but it's still a good idea to wait and dig a bit deeper before acting on it.

I do reversals, and for me the reversed High Priestess usually means I'm ruffled, agitated, and not calm at all. It can mean there is an imbalance between what I believe in, and how life is actually panning out.  My intuition is urging me to run about in all directions.  Not going to bring a good result.  

 

Edited March 1 by Chariot

[Ferrea]

I have never deliberately linked the High Priestess and the Moon. It's interesting to read how people connect these two, and I feel inspired to follow suit and add to what has already been written in this thread.

 

For me, the High Priestess represents DNA, the knowing without knowing—the dharma that is present and unfolding from the moment we are distinguishable lumps of cells. This unfolding can bring up unpleasant experiences too, just as transits can trigger events corresponding to our latent potential. Words that immediately come to mind when I see her are: "You'll know it" and "Silence."

In my experience, the feminine quality of the High Priestess can be linked to eroticism—distinct from the overtly feminine, (pro)creative capacity of the Empress. It’s the lure of the veil, the secret charm, the fantasy. In reverse, she can hint at promiscuity. For example, she once appeared in a reading as an indicator of a young woman who worked in the fitness industry but also had an OnlyFans page—the veil removed.

 

The Moon, on the other hand, is the visceral experience—the liminal space where boundaries dissolve and visuals become lukewarm, so to speak. It calls for active, instinctual navigation, a confrontation with the unconscious, and an encounter with fears and uncertainty—quite different from the inherent knowing of the High Priestess.

Reversed, among many other things, it can indicate serious mental health issues and substance abuse.

[smw]

I find the High Priestess quite a difficult card to pin down, she can feel a little illusory, a chimera. A mix in the middle of black & white, masculine & feminine. An aspect of Baphomet even. Her position on the middle of the Tree of Life suggests this balancing act, a unity or “Uniting Intelligence” of the opposite realms flowing in the streams of the unconscious and light of consciousness.

 

She is secretive and the fertile mysteries of creation show in the book of Torah held in her lap, which is partially hidden and partially revealed.

 

I feel that if you can invoke her, she will answer questions, not just ones that you ask, but ones that you have not consciously formulated yet. She links the two in the silence. Patience is needed to wait in that growing space. She may be your own higher self or  a trusted advisor or friend

 

In her negative aspect, if you pull too hard on her mysteries, she may overwhelm you with her silver glamour and excessive creative light. Crowley warns of ‘moon struck’ madness 
 

The Silver Priestess raised her hand

The Book of Life fell from her lap

Words formed picture of a thousand worlds

The Emperor went insane

The animals screamed

The cradle rocked from side to side

Nothing fell out

 

In everyday terms, I’m thinking excessive overworking, maybe  in the creative arts and burning out. A quest for the secrets from the Muse who demands blood for her intuitions…

 

 

Edited March 16 by smw

[xTheHermitx]

The High Priestess is in my top 10 favorite cards!

 

I have always felt like over all, she is saying "Be patient Child. There are great Wonders behind the Veil, and I will help you find them....but you must study, and help yourself first by being aware and honest. By participating. By not being afraid of that which you don't know. and by fully understanding all that surrounds you" 

 

the Moon association, to me, is that she is bathed in the glow of Hidden Knowledge; feminine power and secrecy. Moonlight gives things a different "glow", in effect hiding them in a way, but also they are still right there in reality. that Lunar idea of energy is what she is tied to/motivates her.

 

She is opposite of The Heirophant in that, she is saying "lets work as a team to journey to Kether" , and the Heirophant is saying "you are not worthy to journey to Kether, until you do what I say". They both embody the Spiritual side of life, but definitely different view points of it's role in our journey. 

 

it is also the first time the Fool encounters The Veil in his journey...that there is something beyond just earthly existence

[geoxena]

I used to think the High Priestess card is all about someone keeping secrets, being mysterious, having esoteric knowledge but not sharing it.  But that always confused me because I couldn't see how that related to myself or anyone I knew.  Now I think it's much more than that. 

 

Of course, it depends on the question, the situation, the spread, etc., but I think it's very much about being independent and trusting one's own judgment and/or beliefs without looking for guidance from an outside authority.  The HP doesn't care what others think, and has a strong sense of self-worth that comes from experiences as well as intellectual studies.  For me, it represents someone intelligent and/or well-educated who: is very much in tune with their inner life, intuition, and emotions; knows what's right for them; is perfectly happy and secure in being alone (whether that is physically alone or alone in their beliefs); and is willing to look at the messy stuff in life.  I have known people like that, so it makes more sense to me than "a mysterious woman with esoteric knowledge." 

 

Since this card is very much about looking inward rather than "out there" for answers, it's similar to the Hermit - but not quite the same.  I think the HP is about trusting one's own knowledge and intuition, while the Hermit is about questioning everything.  They both are willing to go into seclusion and engage in introspection, but the Hermit is more of a seeker on a quest, while the High Priestess is more self-reliant. 

 

I think this card in a reading could mean that it's time to back away from public or communal spaces, to meditate or gather one's thoughts in private.  Get away from the noise, so to speak.  For an older person, that might look like going on a sabbatical.  The card could also be saying, "Keep some things to yourself!" "Stay true to your beliefs," or just plain "Trust yourself."  Of course, as with any tarot card, there are tons of ways it can be interpreted.

Edited March 18 by geoxena