2 - The High Priestess
Note: This guide is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. Other tarot decks may have unique meanings, or some of these meanings may not apply.
| Upright Keywords: | True knowledge, intuition, inner voice, wisdom, truth, tenacity |
| Reversed Keywords: | Ignored intuition, incorrect gut feelings, secrets, shallow understanding |
The High Priestess is dressed in white robes and a white crown with a sphere nestled between curved horns. Around her neck is a cross, in her lap is a scroll of wisdoms labeled "TORA," and at her feet is a crescent moon. She sits between black and white pillars against a backdrop of pomegranates and palm trees. The background behind is a light blue.
She's positioned between worlds, light and dark, with a balanced understanding of both. She communes with the divine with a sense of capital-T Truth that comes from deep within her own mind.
In Readings: Upright
The High Priestess sits in the space between the light and the darkness. She's someone who has received divine wisdom from her chosen source - the universe, her deities, nature, and so forth. She has a powerful intuition that's been trained and honed to a fine point.
In the upright position, the High Priestess indicates someone who has this wisdom, should seek this wisdom, or who needs to listen to their intuitive inner voice. Despite the card's position as a priestess, it doesn't necessarily imply an overt religious meaning. It can be very secular.
This card can indicate that there's a message waiting to be heard. It is a call to listen and pay attention to the inner world and to the spiritual realm. The High Priestess knows that there are secrets to be found, and she suggests that the way to uncover them is by practicing devoted understanding. She's a herald of truth and knowledge.
Card Combinations:
Suggestions for possible meanings of this card when combined with others.
Six of Cups: There is wisdom to be found in childlike whimsy and nostalgic stories.
Knight of Wands, reversed: Superficial beliefs and restless energy are the enemies of deep knowledge. Listen to your inner voice before leaping over the edge.
Four of Pentacles: Anxieties of the mortal world can be soothed with information from the metaphysical world.
The Hermit: Seek your enlightenment through quiet introspection. Do not be swayed by the outside world.
In Readings: Reversed
When reversed, the High Priestess's wisdom is warped or lacking. Her vision is unclear, her thoughts disorganized. The truths she claims to know are held closely to her chest as secrets, never to be shared.
The reversed High Priestess suggests someone who is ignoring their intuition - or whose intuition is incorrect. It indicates that someone's understanding is shallow or incomplete.
There's a need to look inward and see with honest eyes. It isn't enough to have a knee-jerk reaction, you also have to have the willingness to challenge those reactions. Intuition isn't infallible; it's still a product of the imperfect human mind.
Card Combinations
Suggestions for possible meanings of this card when combined with others.
Queen of Wands: Just because it's spoken with authority doesn't make it true. Think critically.
Eight of Pentacles: Getting stuck in the grind of hard work and little details obscures the whole picture. Widen your gaze to enhance success.
Four of Cups: Feelings of dissatisfaction are obscuring the truth of the situation at hand. Stop ignoring the good just because one thing is bad.
Judgment: An incorrect assumption leads to the wrong conclusion. Feeling right and being right are not the same thing.
Other Perspectives
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