These are some serious sisters; their time is valuable. Even so, I was pleased to see how easily they checked their egos at the door, as they often remind us to do, and deferred to Mademoiselle Universal, a contemporary version of their acknowledged ancestor. (The Greenwood HP has a more primal antecedent, based in shamanic lore.) Looking at Pamela Colman Smith's design, I marveled again at Tarot's version of Tara, Kwan Yin, Yemaya, Isis, the Shekinah, Diana, and Mary of Nazareth, crescent moon at her feet and Triple Goddess lunar crown on her head. Having drawn down the Moon, she sits before us, the visible embodiment of the invisible and divine.
Seated between the black and white columns of polarity, the Universal Rider-Waite HP links their divergent energies within her own body, at the level of her heart chakra. See the white cross placed over the folds of her gown, uniting this world (horizontal beam) and the world beyond (vertical beam)? Look at the large white B (Boaz) on the black column on one side of her and the large black J (Jachin) on the white column on the other side. Read from left to right, that looks like B + J. What does it equal? Perhaps it equals the scroll of esoteric knowledge the lady partially hides within her sky-blue cloak. Perhaps it equals the wide, mysterious body of water beyond her screen of womb-like pomegranates. She is the way through, the door, the shadowy space between the columns of the mystical temple. You cannot pass through her unchanged.
The Universal Rider-Waite HP looks youthful, placid, and tender. Nevertheless, she fixes you with a direct, steady gaze. That's important. I find her approachable but no pushover.
You encounter the High Priestess when it's time to get in shape for a new leg of your journey. She is the Guardian of Secrets, the Interrogator, the Master of Initiation. Certain personalities will find her difficult. She's not easily intimidated by self-importance or impatience or manipulated by unhealthy neediness or easy charm. Please give her space. She is the original Boundaries Queen!
Lucky you if you've made an ally of the High Priestess within yourself. She can represent a healthy, flexible skepticism that cooperates beautifully with your imagination and creativity. She can help you ask yourself the right questions to gauge your readiness for any venture. If you do not fully believe in yourself, she'll see that clearly and tell you so. She will pinpoint weaknesses in yourself and in your ways, encouraging you to make necessary adjustments. If you can't stand delayed gratification, she can appear like an annoying roadblock. However, if you work with her, you might save yourself a lot of missteps in the long run. Life cannot break you in the places she makes strong.
The lovely Alchemical HP stands in a crescent-moon boat (the partial story) with a full moon (the full reality) in the distance. Untroubled by the wind whipping her long hooded robe and the waves, she places a finger to her lips in the universal (and hermetic) signal for silence. Her treasure is a book not only clasped shut but clutched close to her body. That gesture signifies not only that she will not reveal all right away but also that you too must learn the value of disciplined silence. After all, one prerequisite for traditional esoteric initiations is the ability to guard The Secrets.
The Gill HP, dressed in an ice-like gown, sits on a nearly-invisible black block. Under her veil, her eyes, like those of the Universal's HP, are wide and staring. She too has a white cross over her heart chakra. Her pale arms cross at the wrists, resting on her knees. She's surrounded by the mouth of a cave, but beyond her throne lies not a pocket of Earth but a daunting black sky full of stars. The Gill was my main deck for professional readings for several years and, yes, some querents found its HP eerie if not downright ominous.
I've always liked the drag queen look of Tarot of The Cat People's HP with her masculine profile and elaborate headdress and finery (including a huge, fussy medallion at her heart chakra). I will continue to consider her a drag queen until convinced otherwise, but that will probably be a mighty long time. Like the shamans and healers of some indigenous cultures, she eludes conventional gender identity and expression; hence, she can see and understand subtle realities hidden from most of us. She's worldly-wise (meaning all worlds, in this case) and not to be messed with. How could I not love her? Two tall marble statues of cats with spooky, glowing eyes form her columns. They guard an archway through which you see nothing but darkness. She won't even promise you the stars, honey!
Gendron's HP is a gleaming, faceted amethyst suspended in starry space and attended by two ravens like the birds accompanying the oracles of old. An abundance of crystals and gems drip from her; where hands should be, she's got feathers stretching to touch, on either side, a white pearl and a black pearl. Her white-haloed human face is severe and bony with an entranced expression in her eyes. ("Your eyes are the depths of forever," artist Melanie Gendron writes in her instruction booklet.) Interestingly, her heart-linked symbol of unity is not a cross but a reddish-purple six-pointed star (Solomon's Seal or Star of David) nearly obscured by the shadowy, darker purple of her crystal body.
I'm a weird sort, so I loved her on first sight! I immediately recognized her generosity. She manifests beauty out of her own body. She makes her ideals real. She's a perfectionist but one with a near-religious passion for creativity. Of all the HPs I've seen, the Gendron seems more intent on bringing wondrous things into this world than restricting your passage to another.
Greenwood Tarot's earthy HP is renamed The Seer and stands before the ancient World Tree of shamanism. Look closely to see her: You might miss the elusive human face behind the barn owl mask and cloak. The owl's eyes look right into yours and deep into your soul!
The High Priestess stands between you and a multitude of dimensions of mind, time, and space that are currently not in your conscious awareness. This territory may be symbolized by a wide lake, ocean, sea of distant stars, roots or branches of the World Tree, or an expanse of black nothingness and should be contemplated with awe and respect.
The following exercise requires that you have access to at least three different Tarot decks. You will also need a piece of note paper, your Tarot journal, and a pen or pencil.
Select a High Priestess from each of three packs of your choice-for instance, the Universal Rider-Waite, Tarot of A Moon Garden, and Aquarian Tarot. Hold these three cards aside for a moment.
Take your note paper, and write a clearly-stated question or concern. Place it before you on your table. Arrange the HPs around it in an upward-pointing triangle. You need not consciously select which HP will rest on each point of the triangle. However, once you've placed the cards, you may notice some interesting dynamics. The two HPs at the triangle's base may appear to represent viewpoints at different points along a philosophical spectrum; the HP at the apex may bring these two visions and energies together in a useful synthesis.
The upward-pointing triangle, the cover symbol of the Alchemical HPs's book of secrets, represents fire and transformation. You've handed over your concern to three wise, magickal women who will burn it in the alchemical fires, returning it to you as gold.
Meditate or even leave the layout for a while and do something that occupies your conscious attention. When you return to the layout, look at the the three HPs and listen for what they have to say about your question. Perhaps each will address you directly, making a case for her particular approach, or the HPs might let you eavesdrop on a conversation they are having about you and your concern. Maybe one HP will take you aside for a private counseling session.
As always, be aware of the variety of ways in which information can come to you-through sight, sound, feeling, or intuitive knowing. Undoubtedly, the HPs will have different voices, nuances and quirks of personality, energies, and even opinions. Your one question may elicit dozens in response, and they will require scrupulous honesty. Keep your journal at the ready; you are bound to come away with interesting marching orders!
If you have only one deck or would prefer to work with a particular HP, you may easily adapt the previous exercise. I like the idea of a little box or other small vessel to contain the note. Prop the Tarot card behind it. HPs are, of course, very fond of containers that close securely. Your selected HP will enjoy the fact that you have left her alone with a little something to work on and given her privacy in which to do that magickal work. When you return, she will be ready for you.
Select a deck and remove its High Priestess and all Court cards (Kings, Queens, Knights, and Pages). Place the HP to one side. State your question or concern, then shuffle the Court cards thoroughly. Draw one Court card by random, placing it face up side-by-side with the HP. The Court card will have an audience with the HP to present your question or concern in his or her own fashion. For example, the Knight of Cups might marshall emotion-laden dramatic skills to win the HP's attention and favor, whereas the Queen of Swords might look HP squarely in the eyes and cut to the chase. Keeping in mind the specific qualities your deck's HP and Court card offer, imagine the interaction and conversation between these two fascinating characters. You should get a very interesting answer to your question.
Ask a question or state a concern that you'd like to examine. Remove the High Priestess from a deck of your choice and place her aside for the moment. Shuffle the remaining cards, drawing four cards by random. Include the HP and these four cards in a little stack and shuffle them well. Lay the cards face down in a horizontal line, left to right.
Turn the cards over. Notice where the HP has come to rest. You will be reading the layout for an overall answer to your question, but pay very close attention to the location of your HP.
I've been working with this layout around questions related to local, national, or world events and celebrities, and the results have been very dramatic. I've discovered that the card preceding the HP, wherever she lands, usually indicates the single figure or primary figures facing her-the person or persons on the hot seat! A reversed HP can indicate her displeasure, a withdrawal of her attention, favor, and cooperation. Even a right-side-up HP can be demanding, but she offers wisdom and hope.
When you come to the HP, give her voice. Allow her to speak through you. What is she saying here?
HP is Card 1: Behold! She is the glorious, awesome gateway to (or the instigator of) a brand new process described by the cards that follow her.
HP is Card 2: Card 1 may represent you standing face-to-face with the HP, or it may describe what has led you to her. In either case, you know you must deal with her before moving on. No getting around that.
HP is Card 3: This turning-point position holds great weight no matter what card falls here but even more so if the HP is the fulcrum. You've come away (as described by Cards 1 and 2), but now you are at a crossroads. Guess who's waiting for you? Everything hangs in the balance here. Will you freeze in fear? Turn aside? Turn back? Move forward? Are you ready for what may follow?
HP is Card 4: You have successfully negotiated the normal ups and downs of life. You've even passed through a significant challenge (Card 3) and achieved some of your aims. However, now you face the HP. Why? The problem you have solved or the advancement you have attained has uncovered even more challenges and questions. The peeled onion layers have revealed more onion. Don't cry. Talk to the HP.
HP is Card 5: You can readily see what precedes her, what leads you to her, but you cannot see what lies beyond. With courage, openness, and humility you approach, sit in her presence, and wait....
Note: Check out Aeclectic Tarot-an excellent site for sample cards and reviews of the decks mentioned above:
[The preceding material may not be reproduced in any way, either in part or in its entirety, without the expressed written permission of the author.] Volume 1, Issue 11 -- March 17, 2001 DancingWorld Ezine Editor: Eva Yaa Asantewaa Copyeditor: Deborah Feller
This page was created August 26, 2002.