The High Priestess
The High Priestess guards the threshold between the seen and the unseen, counseling stillness, intuition, and respect for what is not yet revealed.
Major Arcana II
Upright keywords
- intuition
- mystery
- inner knowing
- stillness
- hidden knowledge
- receptivity
Meaning when upright
The High Priestess sits between the black and white pillars of the Temple, keeping watch over knowledge that cannot be forced. She asks you to be still, listen inwardly, and trust the quiet signals of intuition, dreams, and pattern. Not everything is ready to be spoken or acted upon; part of her scroll is covered for good reason. This is a time to observe, reflect, and gather understanding rather than push for answers.
On the card
- black and white pillars lettered B and J
- Boaz and Jachin of Solomon's Temple: severity and mercy, darkness and light, the duality she holds in balance.
- veil behind her embroidered with pomegranates and palms
- The veil of the Temple concealing the inner mysteries; pomegranates for fertility and the feminine, palms for the masculine and victory.
- scroll inscribed TORA, partly covered by her mantle
- The Greater and Secret Law; Waite says it is partly covered to show that some things are implied and some spoken.
- horned diadem with a globe between the horns
- The crown of Isis and Hathor: the waxing, full, and waning phases of the moon.
- crescent moon at her feet
- Lunar reflection, cycles, and the realm of intuition and the unconscious.
- equal-armed solar cross on her breast
- Balance of the four elements and the union of opposites.
- flowing blue robes
- Water and the receptive lunar current of the psyche; Waite calls her vestments flowing and gauzy, suggesting a shimmering radiance.
- seated at rest on a stone seat
- Stillness and the patient guardianship of the threshold.
In Waite’s words
She has the lunar crescent at her feet, a horned diadem on her head, with a globe in the middle place, and a large solar cross on her breast. The scroll in her hands is inscribed with the word Tora, signifying the Greater Law, the Secret Law and the second sense of the Word. It is partly covered by her mantle, to shew that some things are implied and some spoken. She is seated between the white and black pillars—J. and B.—of the mystic Temple and the veil of the Temple is behind her: it is embroidered with palms and pomegranates. The vestments are flowing and gauzy, and the mantle suggests light—a shimmering radiance. She has been called Occult Science on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis, but she is really the Secret Church, the House which is of God and man. She represents also the Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother.
In a manner, she is also the Supernal Mother herself—that is to say, she is the bright reflection. It is in this sense of reflection that her truest and highest name in bolism is Shekinah—the co-habiting glory. According to Kabalism, there is a Shekinah both above and below. In the superior world it is called Binah, the Supernal Understanding which reflects to the emanations that are beneath. In the lower world it is Malkuth—that world being, for this purpose, understood as a blessed Kingdom—that with which it is made blessed being the Indwelling Glory. Mystically speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and when he reads the Law she gives the Divine meaning. There are some respects in which this card is the highest and holiest of the Greater Arcana.
- Divinatory meaning
Secrets, mystery, the future as yet unrevealed; the woman who interests the Querent, if male; the Querent herself, if female; silence, tenacity; mystery, wisdom, science.
- Reversed
Passion, moral or physical ardour, conceit, surface knowledge.
Correspondences
- Element
- Water
- Astrology
- Moon
- Hebrew letter
- Gimel (ג)
- Path on the Tree of Life
- Path 13: Kether – Tiphareth
- Number
- Two is duality and receptivity: the High Priestess sits between opposing pillars, holding the balance and reflecting the Magician's single point of will.
To reflect on
- What do I already know that I haven't admitted to myself?
- What is not yet ready to be spoken or acted on?
- How can I make more room for silence in my life?
In your readings
Hasn’t appeared in your readings yet.
Ask about this card
Marguerite, the traditionalist, answers from Waite’s text, what is drawn on the card and its correspondences. You can choose another reader in settings.