The High Priestess Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The High Priestess is a card in the Tarot deck that is one of the Major Arcana. Also, the Priestess card has the name “Papess”. This name is common, so we will use it to refer to this card.

The card shows a woman. She may be dressed in papal robes or priestly robes. The head can depict both the papal tiara and the headdress of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor in the form of the Moon. The High Priestess holds a book in her hands, and a blanket hangs behind her back. On either side of the Priestess there are two columns. These columns are called Boaz and Jachin, which, according to the Bible, stood in Solomon's Temple.

High Priestess Tarot - meaning

The Tarot Priestess is a truly unique card.
First of all, she is identified with a certain woman. Secondly, it always symbolizes the presence of a certain secret. It is impossible to understand this lasso, taking it literally and ignoring the hints, symbols and secrets of the priestess. The appearance of the High Priestess in the reading suggests that you have a chance to find out everything that was previously hidden. The most mysterious information will gradually come out. It should not be challenged or opposed to such knowledge, you need to accept everything as it is. The appearance of a woman who is identified with the High Priestess can be fateful in your life.

Such a lady is the embodiment of mystery, wisdom, understanding; she is capable of not only accumulating knowledge, but also transmitting it to other people. She seems to tell everyone that everything we need can be found within ourselves. The appearance of the Pope also speaks of calm, reflection, and the search for answers and solutions. Be sure that if you could not answer some question, the solution will come to you very soon.

The map suggests that you should not be guided only by reason and logical thinking. Feel, turn on your intuition. But such a woman has not only positive sides. She is secretive, suspicious, and due to the fact that she has a highly developed intuition, she can accurately identify any deception in a relationship.

It is useless to be insincere with her; in addition, the lady is extremely jealous. The card indicates that there may be some shortcomings, dishonesty, and insincerity in the relationship, but very soon this will come to the surface.

Another meaning of the Pope is the unknown. The future is not yet determined, everything will depend on how you act in the present. At the moment it is difficult to make an accurate forecast about the future.

Upright

In the upright position, the card indicates the need to trust your inner voice. Only a person who controls himself and knows himself will be able to comprehend the secrets of existence. The questioner should not look for excuses for his own decisions. The card encourages you to appreciate every moment spent with yourself, and not to close yourself off from your intuition with everyday activities. The questioner needs to maintain clarity of thinking, show kindness and condescension to the people around him.

In this position, the High Priestess recommends refraining from rude interference in circumstances. If you wait a little, events and affairs will naturally take a favorable position for the questioner. But if he does decide to intervene in the course of things, he must first clearly understand his goals, otherwise he risks harming himself.

Popess - inverted position

The reversed Priestess in the Tarot indicates that a person is returning to active life after a long period of reflection. In an inverted position, the Pope also talks about revealing some secrets, making the truth public.

The card has several negative meanings. For example, for a woman, it may indicate a lack of sexual demand, health problems, difficult childbirth, and women's diseases. For men, most often it is disharmony in relationships with the opposite sex.

If a man wants to get settled in life at the expense of his partner or not make any effort to develop the relationship, then he will not succeed. There may also be some severity of the individual due to the fact that he will avoid a situation where he needs to be more sensual and gentle, various problems are possible.

Most often, for women, a reversed card means an inability to coexist with other individuals of the same sex. Sometimes an inverted Popeess can indicate that it is very difficult for a man to perceive gentle, sentimental and caring women. He craves toughness, severity, and manifestation of masculine qualities from his partner.

Interpretation in layouts

A tiara decorated with the Moon is a sign of cyclicality and all that is hidden. And it is secret information that should have a special impact on the questioner if he manages to discover it.

The quintessence for the Priestess is the sum of all cards equal to 2. Final advice: gather all your strength together, get ready. But be patient and watch the developments. Act only when your sixth sense tells you that the time has come.

Interpretation of a 4-card layout that evaluates the problem:

Reasons - the questioner was influenced by factors that he could not foresee.
Objective analysis - awareness and instinct will help resolve the issue.
The solution is to trust your intuition.
Further development is a favorable outcome, the right choice of path.

For relationships

The second Arcana is passive. It can represent mutual understanding, but also complete indifference. The pope is not strong in everyday life. She has earned an unstable reputation in matters of the heart. Therefore, a detailed interpretation largely depends on the accompanying cards.

Family:

Direct: spiritual intimacy.
Reversed: Alienation.

Vertical: hypersensitive, mystical connection.
Reverse: maintaining distance, neutrality.

Friendly:

Positive: act as an adviser, for which friends sincerely appreciate.
Negative: comrades use kindness for selfish purposes.

Business:

Positive: trust.
Negative: colleagues are perceived as lower in rank.

In fortune telling for love

Platonic bonds. Secret (non-reciprocal) love. Lack of interest in finding your other half. Commitment to personal growth, which results in a rejection of intimacy in general. Weakness, phlegmaticity, infantility towards a partner or relationship.

Spiritual attachment comes to the fore and dominates other levels. Even sexually, the Priestess is not drawn to “physical” pleasure. Intimacy is filled with energy exchange, transformation, healing. This is a person who completely devotes himself to his companion. He allows you to be led, adapts.

Future Relationships for Singles:

Favorable: a cordial acquaintance lies ahead.
Destructive: it’s better to wait out the next year alone. There is a high probability that the meeting will bring suffering.

What does the man think:

Positive: considers his beloved a treasure.
Excessive: the chosen one is full of selfishness.

Treason:

Direct: no infidelity.
Insufficient: the betrothed never admits that he went to the left. Or he will throw off his guilt and come up with a hundred reasons.

Rival:

Vertical: the “third” side, which the fortuneteller does not know about; love triangle.
Mirror: perhaps this person is from a common circle of friends.

Personality characteristics

Knower of the truth. Is in an eternal search for the hidden. Goes with the flow, perceives all blows of fate as inevitable. Close to fatalism. Passive or bystander.

Intuition is involved in all areas of life. Craving for the esoteric, cosmic. Psychic abilities.

Literally indicates a person who has secrets.

Analysis:

Constructive: exploring your inner self. The desire to comprehend all possibilities. The person knows what to do on a subconscious level. She never rushes or tries to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Due to this, she is accepted in the eyes of others as uncollected and illogical.
Unfavorable: lack of demand. Dryness and coldness. Avoids feelings, gives in to emotions. Recreates a kind of “fortress” around itself.

Archetypal correspondences:

clairvoyance, occultism, mysticism;
moon, water, cyclicality;
Artemis, Hecate, Cassiopeia, Aphrodite, Hera;
Sanctuary, Gate;
mystery, wisdom, word;
God's Law.

To work

Papess is compared with quiet activities that require an individual approach. She is alien to pressing deadlines, deadlines, rush and other activities. She represents intuitive actions that lead to great success. Explanations:

Positive: The questioner is not burdened by urgency. He is entrusted with a monotonous task. Or he does not show the proper initiative, so he remains unnoticed in the corner. There is no lasting motivation. This position feels quite comfortable.
Negative: Indecision prevents you from achieving career growth.

All professions where freedom of action is granted or divinatory ability is required. Examples:

psychic, clairvoyant, fortune teller;
healer, herbalist;
freelancer, self-employed.

To your health

Interpretation:

Vertical: mental or psychological abnormalities. Women's ailments - menstrual irregularities, infertility, gynecological diseases. Hormonal disbalance. Infections. Memory loss, insomnia.
Reverse: ignorant, disdainful attitude towards one's body. Ignoring diseases.

Considered a significator of folk medicine, herbalism and healing powers. Sometimes he calls for a review and adjustment of the current course of treatment.

On financial situation

Arkan does not strive for money or earning money. He is not interested in material wealth. Maintains neutrality and characterizes the questioner’s position as stable. Specific concepts:

Favorable: savings. Impracticality, uncontrollable expenses. Budgeting is a waste of time. For women - to be supported after marriage or as a result of caring for a baby. Go on maternity leave.
Destructive: laziness, inaction. To obtain means of subsistence by deception.

For pregnancy

It means lunar cyclicity, comparable to the feminine one. Indicates conception. On the other hand, he may reject this fact. For a more accurate understanding, the entire combination of cards is interpreted.

To the situation

There are many mysteries and secrets before the questioner. To reveal them, he will need to activate his sense. Some of the answers lie on the surface. Be more careful, look closely at even the most insignificant details.

Inverted: the problem is assessed superficially. It needs deep understanding.

On request

Parsing:

Vertical: embodiment is possible.
Mirror: everything will work out if you think strategically.

Work and finance

The High Priestess promises that fortune will be on your side, everything related to science and education will work out. The card is especially favorable for teachers, psychologists, psychics, healers, healers, and all creative people. The pope is directly related to scientific and artistic creativity.

In this case, a person is a conductor between the subtle world, the universe and people. He not only invents something, but also reveals the secrets of the world through his creativity.

At the moment, it is a favorable time to improve your qualifications and possibly be promoted; it is important to replenish your knowledge base; you can change your field of activity and connect your life with science or art.

The card is not entirely favorable in relation to the financial sector. Often it guarantees complete pleasure from what a person does, but at the same time the individual is not practical and often wastes money.

Astrological correspondence

1st house - together with the Magic card. Zodiac sign Aries. Degrees from 16 to 30.

If the Mage is an external, high-quality card. That Priestess is an internal map of the house, quantitative.

The planet of this arcana is not the Moon, but Pluto, a symbol of the entire human psyche. Being Pluto, she rules the Moon, the Priestess is her mistress. That's why we often see images of lunar phases on the map.

The High Priestess is the very law of karma, the mechanism of its execution, as a servant of the Lords of Karma, determining how much energy will be allocated to us, as the implementer-Mage (Mars) for development and implementation in the world.

High Priestess Tarot - meaning in relationships

In any relationship (no matter with relatives, friends, colleagues, loved ones), the card predicts only good dynamics. People have excellent relationships, they are tightly connected and enjoy communication.

The worst thing that the card can predict is that your partner will base his behavior on romance novels, copy the behavior of fictional characters, building a well-thought-out dialogue in his head and be afraid of various everyday situations that were not in a clearly defined scenario.

If we consider the Pope as a woman, then she is truly an ideal bride, wise, persistent, capable of being faithful to one man, but at the same time she has crowds of admirers throughout her life.

The card is not entirely favorable if it falls on a man. In one case, this will indicate that he has a feminine character, and surrounded by negative cards, the verdict will be more severe - he has a mistress. If the Priestess falls in a general relationship scenario, this indicates that love is truly sincere, strong and attracts partners to each other like a magnet.

Features of reading for women and men

When interpreting, the gender of the questioner is important.

Female:

Positive: a lady who is friendly. She is inclined to observe traditions and religious rituals. Gentle, calm character. Virgin. Thirsty for romance.
Negative: depraved, accessible. Attractive, aware of it. She uses sexual beauty to fulfill her desires and to advance her career.

Male:

Positive: significator of mother, wife, sister, friend. Beloved, most disposed towards the chosen one. Manifestation of femininity and gentleness in his behavior. A wife keeping secrets from her husband.
Negative: deliberate coldness, destruction of emotions. The personification of a person who leads by the nose, deceives.

Priestess and health

Most likely, the individual who is identified with this card is engaged in healing. In addition, in a reading for children, the Pope symbolizes an imminent pregnancy. If the purpose of fortune telling was to identify an indicator of illness, then the card focuses on hormonal disorders, problems with memory, sleep, and neuroses.

In an inverted position, the Priestess can sometimes talk about a negative magical effect that is exerted on a person from the outside, and hidden or chronic diseases are also possible, which are very difficult to diagnose.

Tarot Papessa in combination with other cards

In order to more clearly interpret any layout, it is necessary to concentrate attention not only on each individual arcana, but also on their combinations. This will help you see the full picture of what is happening. The High Priestess in combination with the major arcana predicts the following:

Jester - everything secret will become clear;
Magician - there is a lie in the relationship;
Empress - conception;
The Emperor is a reliable and intelligent leader;
Hierophant - gaining knowledge;
Lovers - reluctance to succumb to temptation;
Chariot - let everything take its course;
Strength - you should not tell anything to your friends;
Hermit - possession of a secret;
Wheel of Fortune - passive attitude towards life;
Justice - you can find out the secret only by turning on logic;
Hanged Man - the information is false;
Death - do not trust others;
Moderation - the ability to adapt will be in your favor;
Devil - black magic, lies;
Tower - abortion, premature birth;
The star is the gift of dreams;
Moon - lie, lover;
The sun - the truth will rise to the surface;
Court - success;
Peace - the birth of a child.

Paired with a card of the suit of wands:

Ace - all unclear points will finally be revealed;
Two - your thoughts will become material;
Three - save the information you have;
Four - all cards will be revealed;
Five - quarrel, gaining a skill;
Six - you need to set yourself a clear goal;
Seven - blackmail;
Eight - receiving new information;
Nine - don't believe everything they tell you;
Ten - a lost argument;
Page - investigation;
Knight - absence of enemies;
Queen - secrets from colleagues;
King - you will soon reap the benefits.

In combination with cups:

Ace - do not reveal your feelings to anyone;
Two - marriage in secret from relatives;
Troika is a place where they are treated for addictions (for example, the Alcoholics Anonymous club);
Four - fate is sending you signs, pay attention to them;
Five - unpleasant news;
Six - what you have been hiding since childhood will become clear;
Seven - indecision;
Eight - the true motives are still unknown;
Nine - do not reveal the secret of your happiness to anyone;
Page - a sudden meeting;
Knight - secret mission;
Queen - better guard your inner peace;
King - working with subtle matters.

Paired with swords:

Ace - you will become an obstacle in someone’s path;
Two - too passive attitude towards life;
Three - the news will knock you off your feet;
Four - think carefully about your actions;
Five - revealing the secret;
Six - you have very strong information;
Seven - think over your plan;
Eight - receiving important news;
Nine - you will learn a secret that will turn your world upside down;
Ten - awareness of the truth;
Page - someone is trying to reveal your secret;
Knight - obstacles on the path to improvement;
Queen - you will recognize the woman who destroyed your marriage;
The king is despotism.

In combination with pentacles:

Ace - salary in a black envelope;
Two - fraud related to money;
Troika - secret investment of money;
Four - increase in wealth;
Five - someone is trying to hide their shame;
Six - the appearance of a philanthropist;
Seven - disappointment in life;
Eight - advanced training;
Nine - better think through your plan;
Ten - receiving an inheritance, a family secret;
Page - you need to wait a little longer;
Knight - troubles;
Queen - you are wasting your talent;
The king is a complete success.

What does inverted position mean?

Squatness. Misunderstanding of obvious things. Specifics:

activity after isolation;
lack of foresight;
clarification, reality;
prejudices, stereotyping;
callousness.

Dominance of indecisiveness and timidity. Fear of expressing feelings or complete rejection of them. Superficial judgments. Inability to evaluate soberly, based on facts and arguments. Superiority over others, pride, arrogance.

Disbelief in the mystical or a recommendation to turn to logic. Mediumship. Uncertainty. Internal conflicts, but a reluctance to delve into oneself.

Key Ideas

Details:

lack of insight;
cunning as a panacea;
end all disputes with a compromise;
high self-esteem;
voluntary inaction.

Priestess of the Thoth Tarot

This interpretation is great if you are working with the classic Tarot or Waite Tarot, decks that are made in the Waite tradition. If you decide to use the Thoth Tarot, then you can also rely on this interpretation, since Aleister Crowley’s meaning of the Priestess is practically no different.

The only point: in the description of the card, the author placed more emphasis on its positive characteristics. He argued that the Popess is one of the most powerful, influential and positive cards in all areas. It indicates harmony in relationships, in work, accumulation of resources, obtaining good profits, the desired job.

The High Priestess of the Tarot is the personification of our unconscious forces: premonitions, intuition. It truly is the key to the secrets that hide our nature and the entire Universe. If you want to unravel these mysteries, you should trust your intuition, and not be guided by cold calculation alone.

Symbolism of the arcana in different decks

Most decks depict a prudent and focused maiden. She holds a book or scroll in her hands. In classic decks, the High Priestess wears a robe that hides part of the scroll.

Card in the Rider-Waite Tarot

In the Rider-Waite deck, on the lasso you can see the Priestess sitting on a throne between the black and white pillars. They are marked with letters indicating the Sun and Moon. These columns symbolize opposites - day and night, birth and death, man and woman. In the Priestess’s hand is the Book of Knowledge, which is partly hidden behind the canvas.

The card denotes a future that has not yet been revealed by man. This is an indication of the importance of intuition, tolerance of others, and spiritual work for higher goals.

In the Thoth Tarot deck

The Thoth Tarot emphasizes the positive aspect of the arcana. The Priestess here is one of the strongest lassos, denoting balance. The upper part of her body represents the feminine principle, which is symbolized by the crescent-shaped figures above her head. From the navel to the feet, she symbolizes the masculine principle, represented by the bow and arrow on her knees.

In this deck, the Priestess represents the highest harmony, the realization of personality in activity. The creator of the deck, Aleister Crowley, believes that this Arcana contains the key to understanding the secrets of the Universe and human nature.

There are 78 doors in the deck

The deck depicts a fortune teller sitting in front of a ball. She peers at him carefully. The lasso symbolizes the door to the depths of the unconscious. But in order to comprehend these depths, a key is needed. Such a key in the Tarot “78 Doors” is concentration, a meditative state.

The card means subtle sensitivity, the ability to listen to your inner voice, to see unobvious things. On the other hand, in this deck the High Priestess sometimes symbolizes a person subject to emotions, highly dependent on the lunar cycle.