1. Tarot
  2. Major Arcana
The High Priestess
Card "The High Priestess" Credit: Tarot Rider-Waite

II The High Priestess

This letter has its energies related to the Moon

The High Priestess is a reminder that we cannot know everything about a situation. She indicates that either we have not received all the facts, or we do not see all the facts, or other people may be withholding important information. When this card appears, it indicates secrets and that it is best to look for the answers.

You should ponder the situation and know that there may be some events going on behind the scenes that you are not fully aware of. The card shows that in order to know the whole truth about something, we have to use all available resources, such as our intuition, our power of conviction and reflection.

The High Priestess is a highly spiritual arcanum, but she is not limited to that. She deals with facts and suggests that we do not have access to all of them at the moment. That is why it is not a card that invites us to action but, in a subtle way, invites us to reflect. The more we ponder a situation, the more likely we are to get the answers we seek.

A little more about the card The High Priestess...

The High Priestess is a seemingly perfect figure, but suggests she has more secrets than meets the eye. In fact, this Major Arcanum is indeed shrouded in mystery. It indicates that a situation may be more nuanced than you realize or think you know, and there may be information that you still do not know about a situation.

The card also indicates that feminine energy can be an important part of the situation at hand, and the scroll in her hand shows that everything can be discovered and revealed. The High Priestess is also known by other names: Persephone, Isis, The Maiden, the Inner Voice, among others, and transits between darkness and light, which suggests that she is the mediator of the passage to the depths of some reality.

The tapestry hanging between the pillars keeps the curious away and allows only the initiates to enter. Pomegranates are a symbol of duty. The blue robe traditionally symbolizes knowledge and she is also wearing the crown of Isis. The solar cross on her chest is a symbol of balance. In her lap, she holds a half-revealed and half-hidden book, representing the teachings of higher knowledge. The moon under the left foot shows her mastery over intuition.