You’ve most likely encountered the High Priestess before, but in other forms – she can be seen in the archetypes of Persephone, Artemis, Isis and many more. When you encounter her, you will see her sitting on a cubic stone between the two pillars at Solomon’s Temple, Jachin, and Boaz. Jachin (right) is generally referred to as the Pillar of Establishment and Boaz (left) is the Pillar of Strength. The pillars also depict the duality of nature; masculine and feminine, good and evil, negative and positive, darkness and light.
Her veil represents the separate conscious and subconscious realms, the seen and the unseen, and serves to keep casual onlookers out. Only the initiated may enter.
The High Priestess wears a blue robe with a cross on her chest and a horned diadem (or crown), both a symbol of her divine knowledge and her status as a divine ruler. In her lap, she holds a scroll with the letter TORA, signifying the Greater Law (according to A. E. Waite)
The black and white colours of the pillars symbolise duality – masculine and feminine, darkness and light – stating that knowledge and acceptance of duality are required to enter this sacred space.
The High Priestess’s location between the two suggests that it is her responsibility to serve as a mediator between the depths of the reality, between darkness and light…
She is the third pillar – the path between. She believes that both pillars are equal and there is knowledge to be learned in both worlds. You will also notice that she wears the crown of Isis which can mean that she is a believer of magic. The high priestess wearing of the solar cross denotes that she is connected to the season of the earth and the earth itself.
The crescent moon at her feet symbolises her connection with the divine feminine, her intuition and subconscious mind, and the natural cycles of the moon and life.
High Priestess shows the divine feminine – the mysterious female that understands and holds the answers to the deep unknowns; religion, self, nature. She represents someone that is intuitive, and beginning to open to her or his spirituality. Meditation, prayer and new spiritual work is indicated.
She tells to rely to your intuition rather than prioritizing your intellect and conscious mind. Sitting at the threshold of the conscious and subconscious mind, the High Priestess has an innate ability to travel between these realms effortlessly. She teaches you that the world is not always as it seems and more profound influences are often at play. She ushers you through the thin veil of awareness, offering you a deep, intuitive understanding of the Universe and a heightened awareness of secret or hidden information.
The presence of night-time scene, meaning that the world in which she protects and guards is one that may at first seem frightening, but has the potential to lead us into the growth of the self. She is calling to you to listen to her message, and follow her into your own depths. There is searching within yourself to be done for the answers that you seek. The answers to the questions you have are within, not without.
The High Priestess signifies spiritual enlightenment, inner illumination, divine knowledge and wisdom. She shows up when the veil between you and the underworld is thin, and you have the opportunity to access the knowledge deep within your soul.
The High Priestess embraces the Divine Feminine – connection to your intuition, compassion, empathy, and inner wisdom.
