The High Priestess : Tarot

By Andrew Blanco | Published October 21, 2009

The High Priestess2 – Revelation

Keywords: Occult, Secret, Subtle, Mysterious

The High Priestess sits in front of a floral tapestry that hides a wide vista of open water. She holds a half-concealed scroll under her flowing robe; this scroll is the Torah and it represents knowledge via revelation. A crescent moon lies at her feet, representing waxing knowledge. Next to the High Priestess are two pillars of opposite color: a black pillar with the letter B, and a white pillar with the letter J. This refers to the pillars Boaz and Jachin that framed the original Temple of Solomon, considered to be the holiest of holy places in ancient Jerusalem.

The symbolism in this card suggests that there is more to life than meets the eye. The highest and holiest knowledge is hidden from plain sight. The other major point of this card is that all knowledge is gained through a progressive revelation, a period of learning.

In a tarot spread the High Priestess represents experiences in your life that make you feel like you are learning or gaining knowledge. However, the High Priestess can also represent a period of time where one feels confused and has fantasies of being knowledgeable about a given subject or person.

This entry was posted in Tutorials and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

About the Author

Andrew Blanco
A jack of all trades with Spanish roots who hails from the land of New Jersey. Andrew blogs in his sleep when he's not busy saving the world.

6 Comments

  1. Greg Molyneux
    Posted October 21, 2009 at 10:56 am | Permalink

    So then the Boaz and Jachin pillars must be very important in Masonic iconography as well. Dating back to master mason Hiram Abiff.

    In fact I just did a little research and it is so:

    It has been shown convincingly that the names of the two great pillars inscribed on the columns stood for the initial, or key words, spoken by oracles. In seeking to endow the Davidic dynasty with power and also to express King Solomon’s gratitude to the Almighty for his support, the oracles would have used invocations such as: “Yahweh will establish (jachin) thy throne forever” and “The king’s strength (boaz) is in Yahweh”. Contrary to views sometimes expressed, the bowls were not representations of the then known terrestrial and celestial globes, nor did the pillars serve as archives for the constitutional rolls. (Freemasons.freemasonry.com)

    Andrew, would you say it is safe to assume that the Tarot has masonic ties?

    Reply
    • Andrew Blanco
      Posted October 21, 2009 at 3:56 pm | Permalink

      Arthur Edward Waite is the creator of the Tarot deck most commonly used today (the one I use in these posts). He was a prominent member of the Masons, the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn (of Aleister Crowley fame), and the Societas Rosicruciana, which was a group for master masons.

      To say the Tarot has masonic ties is an understatement.

      Reply
  2. Greg Molyneux
    Posted October 21, 2009 at 12:52 pm | Permalink

    And in other, far more immature news, B + J = Awesome.

    Reply

Post a Comment

Your email is never published nor shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*

You may use these HTML tags and attributes: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>

get Gravatared!

Want to see your mug next to your comments?
Sign up for your own Globally Recognized Avatar. It's easy, it's free, and we will show you how!