Modern Day Tarot Play: Know yourself, shape your life

Portrayed in a womanly form, symbolizing the passive female principle, the High Priestess understands that using the masculine ego-fired intellect alone without any input from the liquid-intuitive heart (3S) ultimately limits what you can achieve in life (8S).

By paying attention to anomalous information as it enters the mind, no matter how irrational, illogical and nonsensical, Priestesses know exactly what, when, how and why, as their intuitive mind leaps over any slower cognitive processes.

The key to the success of the High Priestess is in their over-riding of the ego, which perceives their inexplicable intuitions, instincts and gut feelings as a threat to its position in the psychical hierarchy.

Characterized by their far-reaching vision or foresight (3W, Star, World), the High Priestess has a penetrative and omniscient mind. Whether divining the future or understanding the hidden truth of a current scenario, they utilize a wide range of specialist skills and tools to gain greater understanding of the subtle forces at work in any given situation. These skills include claircognizance, clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience; the divination arts: tarot, astrology, psychic work, mediumship; out-of-body experiences, lucid dreaming; and dream, symbol and image interpretation (Empress, KS, QS).

However, under the influence of impure (Devil), imaginary (Moon, 7C), immature, exaggerating (Pages), scattered or ungrounded (Fool) influences, this archetype can indicate being deceived by false, inaccurate or self-fulfilling prophecies.

Personal Life

In a relationship reading, the High Priestess represents a deep, sincerity of feeling (KC, QC) devoid of any co-dependent or self-validating ego attachment (2C). When this card appears, showing your true complete self and sharing your innermost thoughts and feelings with a trusted partner (2C) are paramount. This archetype is often deeply attuned to a partner’s needs (2C) and their unions can feel sacred or tantric, spiritually connected or divinely inspired (1C).

The High Priestess can also indicate hidden or secret relationships (7S), where one or both parties are kept in the dark mentally, emotionally or even physically if there is a proverbial ‘hidden woman’ on the scene.

As is their dualistic nature, the High Priestess can represent either the hiding or revealing of ‘closeted’ romantic feelings, intentions or sexuality. Being ruled by the Moon, they can symbolize cyclical romantic feelings that ‘come and go’, ebb and flow, as the Moon moves the tides (Lovers, Moon).

If you are single and seeking a partner, this archetype can sometimes indicate the meeting of a new love interest (1C, KnC) via spiritual friends and connections (3C).

Professional Life

The High Priestess represents those whose work life is devoted to compassionately bettering the lives of others, helping them realize and actualize their fullest possible potential (World). They often work from home or behind the scenes, working nights (Moon) or undercover, perhaps as super-sleuths, detectives (Justice), in espionage, with hidden surveillance systems (Star), in the intelligence services (KS, QS), in hidden, secretive or sensitive work, or investment speculations (Strength), as futurologists predicting economic or market trends (World), as researchers (KC, QC) or archivists (6C, Moon), in counter-cultural, fringe or taboo-themed industries, as spiritual teachers and mentors (Hierophant), counsellors, life coaches, psychotherapists, spiritual advisers (KC, QC) or well-being or spiritual events facilitators (3C, Hierophant).

This archetype, which delights in highlighting cultural corners and edges, can even work for counter-cultural, grassroots, fringe organizations, or any sector beyond the tight, spotlit sphere of centralized comprehension and experience (Sun).

Wherever it happens to be, whereas the Magician is the active, masculine power behind the throne, the High Priestess works predominantly in hidden or passive power positions. They are the office or employer’s confidante, the person who knows, but never shares, what is going on behind the scenes (7S). Due to their secret partnerships or alliances (2W, 2C) they are often in and out of covert or secretive talks and meetings (3W, 3C).

This ‘left of field’ archetype stays on top (7W) by obtaining their information or ideas via rare, unusual, eccentric, out of the box, unconventional or inaccessible sources or methods. They possess rare skills, talents or knowledge that can either be feared (9S) or celebrated (Sun) and sought after by others (3P). Yet their subtle work efforts can be easily eclipsed or overlooked when they are competing with more mainstream or commanding personalities (Emperor, Empress, KW, QW). However, the sometimes torpid world of work can be shaken out of its stupor (4S, 4C) by the Priestess’s exotic, fascinating, unusual, unconventional and non-conformist approach.

Flanked by high-visibility influences (Sun, World), the truth, wisdom and insight of this archetype, portrayed in obscure, unconventional, private, fantastical, otherworldly (World, 7C), underworld or taboo themes, is likely to celebrated and well received (Sun, 3P).

Property – Finances – Resources

Being spiritually inclined, the High Priestess can signify unmaterialistic living with few financial obligations, commitments or dependants and an impartial attitude to money and resources (Fool).

They may or may not be materially rich, depending on the surrounding cards, but instead have immaterial or spiritual wealth and riches in abundance (1C, 10C). Akin to the wandering ascetics, nuns or monks, the Priestess often attains unlimited access (Fool) to their spiritual gifts in those times when material resources are voluntarily renounced (Hermit) or involuntarily limited (5P).

Unless influenced by more social (3C, 3W, 3P) or high-visibility (Sun, World) cards, the High Priestess indicates buying land or property in a quiet or largely unfrequented place.

When flanked by other benevolent cards, they tend to put earned material abundance towards altruistic acts of charity (World, 6P), doing what they perceive as the right thing (Justice) regardless of personal cost.

When flanked by a malefic (Devil) or miserly (4P) card, they can represent the concealing or sudden discovery of secretly hidden wealth and resources.

Health and Well-being

As the earthly vehicle of the soul, the High Priestess worships and respects their body and mind as they would a religious house or sacred temple (Sun). However, a person under the influence of this archetype can also lose sight of the true earthly purpose of life, their sacred outlook rendering them blind to the necessary counter-balancing effects of an ordinary life (Moon, 4C).

When influenced by benevolent cards, the High Priestess can serve themselves and others by using their insight and divinatory skills for the purposes of self- or soul-realization: unburdening or ‘en-lightening’ the mind and spirit of mundane concerns (Sun).

Influenced by cards pressing a shadow agenda (Devil), however, the High Priestess can be prone to hidden or secret obsessions and addictions. Their passive attitude to exercise, which ebbs and flows like the tides, can be the cause of any health or well-being issues.

Sometimes this card can indicate a hidden or undiagnosed health issue, but more often it indicates a deep, intuitive understanding of any health or well-being imbalances.

Regardless of whether they are active (Wands, Swords) or inactive (Pentacles, Cups), this night-owl archetype may suffer from a vitamin D deficiency or other imbalances connected to a lack of exposure to sunlight.

Being the archetype of openings, this card can also represent health issues involving the nine aperture windows of the body. It can also indicate the decision to conceal the news of an illness or pregnancy (Empress, 1C, 1W), perhaps only until the end of the first trimester.

3 The Empress III

‘Allow yourself to be beautiful and all the rest will follow.’

THE BUDDHA

Personification – Psychology

The Empress is a vivacious character who personifies charm, grace, beauty, creativity or fertility (Sun). Empresses are dedicated to nurturing and nourishing others and making them feel good about themselves, and so are often greatly valued, loved and respected.

Their social identity can be either the well-regarded or highly creative woman or the primary matriarchal guardian, mother or mother figure, whose self-validation (Sun) or sense of wholeness and completion (World) derives solely from their physical fertility and reproductive accomplishments (Pages).

Mother figure or not, Empresses experience great life satisfaction and often share their good fortune with others, whom they treat with great kindness, love and affection, which is key to the Empress’s inner and outer success.

The Empress’s primary concerns in life are love, happiness and harmony; marriage, love-making, enjoyment, amusement, charm, delights, pleasures, pleasantries, deliciousness, sugary or indulgent food, fine wines, art, design, creativity, music, concerts, dance, dancing parties, sociability, sensual pleasure, perfume, scents, decorations and ornaments, all forms of comfort and prosperity promotion, accumulated wealth, ornamentation, fine clothes and accessories, jewels, gems, precious stones, make-up, beauty, fashion and womanly products and experiences.

The Empress’s complete immersion in the joys of life and unrelenting pursuit of pleasure and sensual fulfilment (9C, 10C) are often experienced in highly civilized or agreeable surroundings (9P, 10P). Unless flanked by destructive cards (Tower, Death, 3S), the Empress is a maker of relationships – one who listens, appreciates, unconditionally accepts, understands and responds to others’ needs (6P).

While some archetypes devote their time and energy to the forceful pursuit of rule and domination (Emperor), the Empress rules and dominates via attraction (Lovers) and accommodation (Temperance). Chinese strategist and philosopher of the Zhou dynasty Sun Tzu once wrote, ‘Success is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy’s purpose,’ which gives an idea of how we might effectively apply Empress energy to contentious, difficult or challenging situations. Indeed, the highest, purest expression of this energy, in which the archetype wields the greatest power and influence, can be seen in all the Empress’s loving, kind and tender-hearted words and actions, motives and agendas.

However, if the Empress is all heart and no head, they can overindulge or be too obliging to those around them. Also, sometimes the Empress themselves can be spoilt by having had too much of a good thing, and so be prone to a kind of ‘gilded cage’ syndrome, where lethargy, boredom, laziness and procrastination (4C) rule their thinking.

Undoing any fixed expectation or deeper sense of entitlement (Moon, 1S) often involves much pain and suffering, so the higher the ego climbs (Sun, KW, QW), the harder it falls for this elevated archetype (Tower). If left unchecked, the Empress’s pretentions, pride, prejudice, vanity or queenly behaviour can be their downfall (Tower, Death, 10S). Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, made such a faux pas, which cost her her life, when she replied to a call from her starving people for more bread with ‘Let them eat brioche.’ Whether these were her actual words or political anti-monarchic spin, the queen’s past vanity, prejudice and pretentions gave the people cause to believe her capable of saying them.

Spirituality and Philosophy

Being primarily concerned with the superficial, material or sensual aspects of life (KP, QP, KnP), the Empress can have only skin-deep spiritual awareness. However, this archetype’s core spirituality can be excavated and expressed via creative pursuits and endeavours.

By remaining out of touch with harsh, unpleasant or obscured realities, such as the poverty of others, the Empress puts themselves at a spiritual disadvantage, though, for their rose-tinted outlook makes it difficult for this archetype to look at or confront their own unlikeable shadow aspects.

Unless more active and assertive cards are present (Emperor, KW, QW, 10W, KS, QS), this wholly passive archetype always takes the path of least resistance in life. However, in their internal battle to subdue and integrate the ego, their passive approach does have a key spiritual role to play. ‘The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting’ is Sun Tzu’s description of the Empress’s application of the passive female principle to bypass male ego-activated intentions.

Thus the Empress’s influence can help us accomplish great spiritual feats when we allow things to happen by simply tuning into the vital life-force energies that surround us, rather than attempting to own and control them with our ego.

Personal Life

The Empress indicates mature, sincere, unconditional love and acceptance, romance and attraction; a diplomatically balanced and harmoniously allied marriage or relationship (2C, 10C); feeling loved, irresistible, worshipped and adored; having several admirers (8W) or sensual fun and pleasure providers (KnP, KnC, 2P); overflowing with sweet and sincere feelings (1C); providing emotional comfort and security (10C); sweet, deep, true love and commitment in relationships (2C, 10C); someone looking out for you, making sure all your wants, needs and desires are fulfilled; a very pleasant, loving, caring, content or rewarding relationship (9C).

As a partner, the Empress can be highly appealing, attractive, sexual, fertile, delightful, charming, elegant, virtuous, graceful, polished, refined, cultured and liberally minded, with strong, exalted feminine graces or highly civilized feminine values.

The Empress is the agent of magnetic attractiveness, charm, passive possessiveness and incoming energy, used both consciously and unconsciously to draw in a mate (2C) or to matchmake for others (Magician). In its most positive expression, this archetype signifies the wife, the committed mate (2C) and those in counselling and advising roles, such as friends, family or professional marriage or relationship counsellors (High Priestess, KC, QC) who help to strengthen partnerships.