ANOTHER HIGH PRIESTESS FOR THE FOUND TAROT

This much fudged with photo of mine of gemstones on a cloth, is the first in a long time to jump out at me as a card for my Found Tarot. Given it's THE HIGH PRIESTESS (2-6-18 024v2tHP) I'd say I really need to listen to what wisdom I've accrued thus far in my 78 years, and even more importantly allow that "wisdom" to be guided and informed by my intuition. That's quite a task as for some time now I've not really been trusting either what I've learned from experience over the years, or my intuition. Too much is going on that's way too new. Which throws me back almost entirely on intuition. And although I've always found my hunches, etc. to be almost always accurate they've not been perfectly so. Given this I just drew a card online and got the Nine of Wands. A support for my sense that I need to expect changes and even tribulations. But that it's possible to take a restful stance during them all if I hew to my inner knowledge and intuition. Not let all the external stuff knock me off center. Stay like the HP, centered between the pillars. And like the virginal HP, remember that I am -- as in the ancient meaning of the word virgin -- complete unto myself. (I.e., not missing something important inside.)

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*ABOUT THE FOUND TAROT: Since sometime in 2009 I've been making occasional posts here of photos of mine in which I see Tarot cards. However, I don't take these pix with the Tarot in mind, rather only see cards in them at some point later once they're on my computer screen. If you'd like to see previous Found Tarot posts, you can use the search function at the top left of this page, or "The Found Tarot" label at the very bottom of this post. There are also multiple versions of some cards. If I should ever wish to produce a physical version of this deck, I'll simply have to choose one. But that eventuality is highly unlikely. I simply enjoy indulging myself here in sharing pix of mine in which I see Tarot images.

N.B. A small thing, but just in case: some of the extra reference links offered at the very end of my oldest (years old) posts no longer work. As there are so many posts here to go through I am choosing not to search for and change all of those links that are "dead." (Though I immediately delete any I now stumble across that lead to questionable sites.) If you are interested, you can try Googling for the name of the site or article referenced. I'm finding that some are still around in new locations or incarnations, some not.

'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only; and THE MARKER TAROT.

THE HIGH PRIESTESS REDUX (A Meditation)

Years ago when I was still offering Tarot classes, I would study a deck new to me along with my students. Each evening as "homework" we would meditate on a card in our respective new decks. During a class I taught in 1987 I studied the wonderful Xultun (Mayan) Tarot by Peter Balin.* I have previously posted here my meditation on The Emperor in this deck. Today I'm sharing the results of my meditation on The High Priestess (please excuse those light stripes starting on the left of the image, my scanner has trouble with the surface coating on some Tarot cards):



THE HIGH PRIESTESS MEDITATION (done in 1987)

I chose The High Priestess tonight because I sometimes identify with her intense intuition. This one, however, doesn't move me as much as those in other decks. She looks rather more stern than necessary. And too active. She's obviously speaking and gesticulating in an almost irritable way. Most High Priestesses invite, in an unconscious way. Their imperatives are usually in the content of what they say, not in their manner. There's a vaguely asian flavor to this card (as in many of this deck's cards) and the sense of a guru. I find the latter off-putting. Is this because I'm still (even after all the years of consciousness raising) not accustomed to women gurus? I find I'm not taking her quite as seriously as I do The High Priest, her male counterpart. Actually, I think it is only partly my sexism, the rest is in the design. I am irritated by her apparent irritation. I remember my grandmother Hill and her voice, and I feel better; my Grandma's wonderful deep voice. What is this card trying to tell me? Ignore the package or picture, and consider the content? This High Priestess has many eyes and does not care if she's liked or not, share her wisdom she will. She sits behind or beyond all contradictions. Knowing them to be only illusions, categories we cling to for a certain clarity. She does not face us directly. Her knowledge reaches us via other than conscious channels. Her dress is modest by The Emperor's and High Priest's standards (IV on left and V on right):



The material world means little to her, and less if it weren't for all the manifested lives who need her wisdom and guidance. She is intimate with the night sky; it's colors wave on a staff in the foreground. She is almost as much at home in its cold reaches, as she is in the watery depths of the sub- and unconscious. New creations wait to be manifested just beneath her feet, carved from and clinging for now to the base of her throne. Is this her irritation, that they will not let go and fully take on incarnation?

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In typing in this meditation I got quite a nostalgic giggle out of the term "consciousness raising." It's been years since I've thought of those days, and all those meetings and heady feminist ferment. Also, you may note that the images on The Emperor and High Priest in this deck "fit together." The 22 Majors of this unique deck form one large picture.

If you have never done a meditation on a different Tarot card over a series of days, it's an excellent way to become familiar with a new deck. By meditate I mean simply finding a quiet time and space and sitting just looking at the card you have chosen (for any reason or at random). You need not ask any questions of it or plumb it for information, but rather let impressions, thoughts, questions, reactions to the specific images on the card rise in you as they will. Then, after several minutes at least, or when you feel the meditation is over, take notes. The notes you keep of all the work (and play :-D) you do with The Tarot will ultimately become a rich diary.

*The Xultun Tarot, Arcanum Publishing Co., P.O. Box 2, Wilmot, WI 53192 copyright 1976 by Peter Balin.

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Resource: Online Reading with The Greenwood Tarot, I sometimes find an online reading helpful, and the Greenwood Tarot is a lovely deck.

Please see the top of the sidebar for my background with the Tarot and a recommendation to beginners.

‘til next time, keep being sensitive to what's behind the surface, and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for some articles about Tarot.****

THE HIGH PRIESTESS (II)

TODAY'S CARD IS The High Priestess (II). The below version is from The Millennium Tarot by Dorothy Simpson Krause, and is used by permission (I will be reviewing this sumptuous deck at length in the future):



For comparison, here's The High Priestess in the Rider/ Waite/ Smith deck:



THE HIGH PRIESTESS: I've hesitated to address II here yet as She is so strongly associated for me with a dear friend I took care of as she died and I wanted to present this card in a more objective fashion than that might allow. But when it comes down to it, our relationship to The Tarot is nothing if not highly personal. So, here I go... Brenda was the one who introduced me to The Tarot. She loved The High Priestess especially as her first and middle name initials were B and J, the letters on the pillars on either side of the High Priestess in the RWS version.(see Footnote) Brenda's birthday was January 8th (along with Elvis :-D), so now seems the appropriate time for me to explore this card. As synchronicity would have it, doing other sorts of Tarot research I came across the Millennium Tarot's High Priestess and was bowled over. The woman on the card above, reaching toward a sketchy outline of a traditional High Priestess or Goddess in the background, could be Brenda in the bloom of her healthy youth. So I feel my dear friend has yet again checked in to say "hello."

DIFFERENT OR LESS COMMON, EVEN QUIRKY MEANINGS FOR THE HIGH PRIESTESS (i.e. the below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with this card):

Rarely, but can represent addiction or an addictive personality (devotion is a quality of this card, and addiction can be seen as it's "lower octave").

A disconnetedness from one's deepest intuition and wisdom. Maybe due to the necessity of focussing on outward and material challenges and needs.

Someone so introverted and concerned/fascinated with their own inner processes as to be unavailable for intimate relationships.

If she/he is seemingly hard to relate to, it may be for a good reason on their part. Consider if you are ready for the challenge or even want to take it on.

Can indicate a very wise but distant teacher.

Usually, if referencing a close relationship, it would be a platonic one. However, it can be someone whose passions are not obvious because they run so deep. Someone who has to first actually be perceived, or sought out; or who requires that a lot of trust be developed before deeper and/or physical intimacy can occur. (Just contrast Her to The Empress, who is open and available, and readily embracing.)

"Let go, and let God/dess."

Above all, for me, The High Priestess is about intuition and deep inner wisdom. She shows up in a reading and I am on even higher alert than ever. She asks us to listen, deeply. She is not an "easy" card to read, does not readily let Herself be unveiled, but rewards the efforts Her appearance precipitates in us.

Lastly, the RWS version of II is a glyph of the entire Tree of Life in the Qabala. For instance, the pomegranates on the curtain behind Her are placed as the Sephirah (globes/lights) are on The Tree of Life. (For a Tree of Life link, see "Resource" below.) This, for me, goes along with what I've read that all the waters seen anywhere in The Tarot, flow from Her robe. If it can be said that there's a central figure in The Tarot, She's it to my mind and in my heart.

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Footnote: The letters stand for Boaz -- strength, and Jachin -- establishment. I've also seen them referred to as the active and passive principles; and as the pillars of severity and mildness in the Tree Life in the Qabala (see Resource link below).

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Resource: Tarot Moon: The Tree of Life in the Qabala.

Please see the top of the sidebar for my background with the Tarot and a recommendation to beginners.

‘til next time, keep listening for the depths in yourself and others, and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for some articles about Tarot.****