As we continue on our major arcana journey, the Fool’s next encounter is with the mystical and mysterious High Priestess. While the Magician holds the ability to outwardly manifest potential vision, the High Priestess governs the inner worlds of imagination, dreams, omens, signs, and synchronicities. She sits on her throne as fully realized gatekeeper into the Great Mystery, the void, or the unknown. Here the Fool encounters themselves in the looking glass; it is the universe eyeing itself, the eye or gaze, the peering into a crystal ball or mirror to divine the path and where it leads.
As a representative of the point of division, the High Priestess indicates the moment of reflection. This is the point in the journey where the Fool looks back upon ourselves as symbolized by the High Priestess’s crystal ball of insight above her head. This is resting upon the crescent moon, an ancient symbol of the Goddess. As the number two, the High Priestess is like a seed that has sprouted its first two leaves. The new sprout is anchored in the dark, enriching soil and is tender, full of life and potential and growth. On many tarot cards, the High Priestess stands between two pillars, one black, one white, which later appear as sphinxes in the Chariot card. She is a bridge between the worlds of conscious and unconscious; dark and light; above and below; earth and sky; seen and unseen worlds.
As the Fool progresses through the first cycle of seven, where the Magician offers us the brilliant visionary perspective, the High Priestess is the wise, shadow counterpart that may help us in the more troubling times of our own soul’s journey on the path. Oftentimes we seek out help during times of transition, pain, trouble, or fear. Intuitive readers, diviners, mediums, and seers rest at the crossroads comfortably offering wise counsel only because they themselves have delved deep into the subterranean of pain, darkness, and sorrow, and transformed it into wisdom, light, and compassion. They are imbued with the gift of seeing into the non-ordinary or unseen worlds. In modern culture, the High Priestess appears as our contemporary therapists, healers, energy workers, and readers.
The High Priestess remains in consort with the divine as her primary work, hovering at the edge of the precipice, about to descend into the dark to retrieve necessary information for healing, creativity, growth, and soul transformation. The High Priestess, as ruler of the skies and mysteries, is also known as the queen of heaven, a manifestation or emanation of the goddesses Isis and Inanna. Both of these deities carry many qualities of the sacred feminine including beauty, truth, power, love, and wisdom. While Isis embodies qualities of the divine mother, Inanna is the powerful archetype of the initiate.
In the ancient Sumerian myth, Inanna willingly descends into the dark underworld to meet with her sister Ereshkigal, the dark goddess who represents the aspects of the sacred feminine that have been repressed, traumatized, and hidden away deep in the darkness. After passing through seven gates where Inanna is stripped of her clothing, her jewelry, her pride, her gifts, nothing is left, and she is hung on a hook for three days where she dies. Through a witnessing that helps heal Ereshkigal’s pain, Inanna is restored to life and allowed to return to the upper world. Her return marks the passage of time into rebirth, carrying with her the wisdom of transformation, the power of witnessing pain and trauma, and the love of the dark shadows that offers us so much on our path.
When the Fool encounters the High Priestess, they receive wisdom from someone who has already passed the tests of initiation and returned, full of wisdom and clarity. The High Priestess reminds us to return to the place that is beyond words or concepts and reconnect with our deepest and wildest selves, the intuitive heart that carries the spark of our spirit’s truth. We can seek guidance from others and we can also seek it within. The High Priestess acts as a guide toward our higher self, connection to the divine, and our pathway to the subconscious that shows us the way deep into the intuitive heart and back out again. She may require a sacrifice along the way, a relinquishing of the old self. Meeting the dark and wild feminine may be difficult, requiring us to see our pain and wounds; however, the mysterious surrender of the unknown is also where our gifts reside.
In the Waite-Smith deck, we see a female figure clothed in blue robes that flow into water, symbolizing the use of intuition and feeling to navigate the path. She sits between two pillars, between the gateway of the worlds connecting us to both the seen and unseen, offering her truth and wisdom as the embodied initiate. At her feet rests a crescent moon; on her head sits the horned crown with a seer’s crystal orb, reminding us of her connection to ancient Goddess wisdom. The background is a curtain of pomegranates, a fruit historically connected to women’s mysteries and wisdom.
In the Crowley deck, the High Priestess is akin to Isis, the goddess of wisdom, mothering, power, and love. She raises her hands in the air and is surrounded by vibrating lines of energy that symbolize the energy fields that surround and interpenetrate our world, whether we acknowledge them or not. This depiction suggests that we are affected by the emotions of others as well as guides, unseen helpers, elementals, and nature’s many forms. This netlike imagery reminds us that everything in all dimensions is happening simultaneously in the vast mysterious here and now, which ultimately points us to the non-dual nature of the universe.
When the High Priestess appears in a reading, she encourages the seeker to pay close attention to dreams, synchronicities, omens, and intuition. This may be a time to seek guidance, healing, and assistance from a wise person who has walked the path before us. We may need to find a mentor for our work; conversely, we may be called to step into a leadership or mentor role. The High Priestess rules over the arts of ceremony and ritual in ancient times, and she is a figure of power and guidance in contemporary times as well. She may take the form as an officiant for a wedding, a facilitator for a creative group, or the leader of a conference. Stepping into power guided by the High Priestess is always infused with love and intuitive guidance so that the most people may benefit from a situation.
Essential Qualities: intuition, omens, liminal, threshold, leadership, power, subliminal, guidance, unseen realms, water, beauty, grace
Suggestions: Spend a whole week following your intuition—one whole week, even if it goes against logic, rationalization, or shoulds and should-nots. Note when things flow and when they don’t! We can only learn to trust our intuition fully when we carefully track our thoughts and perceptions and notice when we have affirmations and when we do not. Pay attention to your dreams. Take time to journal and write things down.
Exercise: Moon Divination Ceremony
The art of divination is as old as humans themselves. Used primarily to assist in finding water, resources, tracking animals, and to connect with non-humans and the unseen world, this craft still has its place in many indigenous cultures as well as modern day issues around money, relationships, career, and love. One natural method in which people performed divination was to scry, or gaze into water or a crystal ball, to determine the future. When we take time to do this, we activate our intuitive centers and open ourselves to nonordinary reality.
For this practice, look at the moon reflected in water. Go out into nature to a lake, river, or pool on a full moon night and practice gazing into the water. If this is inaccessible, simply set up a bowl of water on a moonlit night and sit outside with your bowl. You may wish to create an altar and tune into the five directions as you did in the Magician card, as well as access the guardian helpers which are established in the Emperor ceremony (on page 46). Visualize a bright, vivid sphere of light surrounding and protecting you before you begin.
Before you begin, it is helpful to set an intention or ask a question about something troubling you. Take a few moments to close your eyes, focus on the breath, and feel into your question. Then slowly open your eyes and gaze into the water before you. You can repeat the process of closing your eyes, slowly opening them, and looking into the water several times. Allow impressions, images, thoughts to move across your mind’s eye opening you up to your more intuitive self. Do not be concerned with receiving a direct, immediate answer right away—simply allow yourself to have this experience.
When you are finished, thank the waters and the moon for their presence and guidance. Perhaps make an offering at the water’s edge or pour your bowl of water with intention before closing this simply divination ceremony. Before you go to sleep, ask to receive further guidance in your dream state as a continuation of the process of connecting to your intuitive and wise self.