THE HIGH PRIESTESS

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THE HIGH PRIESTESS--RULED BY THE MOON

KEYWORDS: Unknown, hidden, secrecy, secretary

Spiritual Meaning: Subconsciously bringing forth your hidden knowledge.

The High Priestess represents the conscious and the subconscious mind.

All around The High Priestess are the signs of duality, which is represented by the number of this card--Two. This number stands for "give and take", and in this instance the "give and take" is the knowledge which goes back and forth between the conscious and the subconscious minds. The water which flows from her robes is symbolic of the subconscious, or hidden, mind. Within herself she is both the male and the female, positive and negative, darkness and light, which co-exist in every individual.

In her hands she holds the Book of Torah, which, it is claimed, contains the secret knowledge of the ages. She has been called "the secretary of the cosmos", because she has within herself all the secret knowledge of all time. But this knowledge must remain a secret, for she is unable to share it with others. She exemplifies the unknown, the hidden, the obsure.

This secrecy is further enchanced by the Ruler of this card, the Moon. The Moon does not give forth its own light, but only reflects light from other sources.

When you are reading for someone and The High Priestess appears in the spread, it will mean just that--she cannot give forth her knowledge. As an example, the person for whom you are reading is planning a trip. Your reading shows that for some reason, hidden from you (the reader), and unknown at this time to the querent, the querent will not be able to make the trip that has been planned. Instead of cards which would present an explanation of why the trip will be called off or postponed, The High Priestess card will appear. When this occurs, the reason why the querent will not take the trip will be unknown until the event happens.

(updated 2006, All rights reserved.)