The High Priestess — Tarot Card Meaning

Upright

Secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed; the woman who interests the Querent, if male; the Querent herself, if female; silence, tenacity; mystery, wisdom, science.

Reversed

Passion, moral or physical ardour, conceit, surface knowledge.

Reflection

Light
Listening to your feelings and intuitions Exploring unconventional spirituality Keeping secrets Being receptive Reflecting instead of acting Observing others Preserving purity

Shadow
Being aloof Obsessing on secrets and conspiracies Rejecting guidance from spirit or intuition Revealing all Ignoring gut feelings Refusing to become involved, even when involvement is appropriate

Symbolism

She has the lunar crescent at her feet, a horned diadem on her head, with a globe in the middle place, and a large solar cross on her breast. The scroll in her hands is inscribed with the word Tora, signifying the Greater Law, the Secret Law and the second sense of the Word. It is partly covered by her mantle, to shew that some things are implied and some spoken. She is seated between the white and black pillars--J. and B.--of the mystic Temple, and the veil of the Temple is behind her: it is embroidered with palms and pomegranates. The vestments are flowing and gauzy, and the mantle suggests light--a shimmering radiance. She has been called occult Science on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis, but she is really the Secret Church, the House which is of God and man. She represents also 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. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother.

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