Intro: Tarot Interpretation Process ~

There is no one way to do a Tarot draw. The cards are responding to you, and/or your querent, and thus each dealing will be unique to those parties. One of the great delights (and insights) into using Tarot is to understand that each card will always mean something different in each draw, according to timing, persons involved, and the wider context of the other cards or your present topic of divination.

Thus, there is little pressure about doing anything “the right way.” Your way is the right way, because you are doing it. Treat Tarot interpretation the same way you read weather on the horizon or how you view a piece of art, unique to your perspective and experience and instincts.

That being said, there are narrative & spiritual throughlines with the cards and they are all working within embedded archetypal energies by way of artistic choices and historical resonance; that is why I am writing out my own descriptions for future reference here in this series, drawn from Waite’s writings and others.

Thus, seeing art of a beautiful holy woman with such regalia come out of the deck and onto your table means there may be a woman involved here, or a holy threshold, or the need to look deep into sacred mystery. And then you can go from there using your own creative intelligence to draw the proper interconnections and your ultimate reading conclusion for the particular draw.

In general, let yourself ponder and freely associate as you draw the cards and place them into the receptacles surrounding your practice at that particular point in time. Remember: All of these detailed, more linguistic spins on the card meanings are meant as a foundation to inspire understanding and create your own uses from.

Godspeed,
Dylan

2. The High Priestess 🩵

The High Priestess sits veiled between the pillars of duality, guarding the threshold to the inner mysteries. She is secrets, the future as yet unrevealed, mystery itself, the woman who interests the Querent. She may be silence and tenacity, wisdom and science, the keeper of the subconscious, the still waters that reflect deeper truths. Reversed, the Priestess reveals passion, moral or physical ardor, conceit, surface knowledge -- the veil torn aside too soon.

UPRIGHT: Secrets, Mystery, Wisdom, Tenacity

REVERSED: Passion, Conceit, Surface knowledge, Ardor

The High Priestess sits betwixt the pillars of the Temple of Solomon the Wise (Boaz - feminine mercy x Jachin - masculine severity; the twin polarities of divine power) and acts as keeper of the Secret Church {of Palms & Pomegranates? You will have to ask her; she may not answer}. Her mind is illumined by horned oceanic-sphere diadem, her heart covered by a solar cross, her dress washes over the crescent moon below like the waves of the sea. She is mystery, insight, and the de facto guide into deeper lore. As a student of esoterica, she may just be you or your higher self (or the woman you love). In Reversal, Priestess embodies the passions incarnated, morally and physically. She may even become conceited by the lower, more concrete and bodily emanations and forget that she can forever access the deepest zones of this reality.

On the journey, the hero is initiated into the secret truth of his world, or he sees the woman of his dreams…

Bottom Line: When the High Priestess appears, mysteries and strange magick may be in play; or it may be time to ardently seek your furthest possible Truth.

Tree of Life Path: Kether to Tiphareth -- the divine mediated directly into the beautiful heart of creation.

A.E. Waite quote: “[The High Priestess] 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.”

Previous: #1. The Magician | Next: #3. The Empress