The High Priestess Tarot Card Keywords
Upright Keywords
Intuition, Instinct, Inner Voice, Spirit, Spirituality, Mystery, Enigmastism
Reversed Keywords
Secrets, Mistrust in Self, Unperceptive, Psychic Blockage, Psychological Complex
The High Priestess Tarot Meaning
The High Priestess is a tough card to fully wrap your head around and for good reason. She is an energy that represents the intangible aspects of the divine feminine energy. She is the bridge between the spirit and the real world, transmitting intuitive and instinctual messages to our conscious so we can take action on them.
The High Priestess – in traditional Tarot decks like the Rider Waite-Smith deck, sits in front of two pillars with a curtain draped behind her, hiding what lies on the other side from the ordinary passer by. She is the keeper of this deep unconscious knowledge and she will only share it under unique circumstances. Instead, she prefers to deliver the messages she receives from this great unknown, meaning that there is often a lot left unsaid or in need of further investigation.
Often she can be a frustrating card to work with because as a society, we are so used to having all the information at our fingertips, but The High Priestess is here to keep us humble and remind us that not everything is meant to be known.
The High Priestess Upright Meaning
The upright meanings of The High Priestess refer to a healthy and strong connection with the unconscious and the spiritual self. It can be an invitation to explore these parts of ourselves to better understand our own thoughts and actions.
When The High Priestess appears upright, intuition is at work, there is a knowing that wants to come forward but it’s not yet fully formed in a way that the conscious mind can comprehend. Instead, we have to work with the clues that The High Priestess is willing to offer to us, in order to piece together the puzzle and start to build the whole picture. Be prepared to leave without all the answers though. The High Priestess upright is very much like the oracles and seers of ancient civilisations, she can help to give us the general thread to follow, but she won’t be giving you the answers you’re looking for on a silver platter.
Should The High Priestess appear upright in your Tarot reading, look for what is hidden. Try and read between the lines, look beneath the surface, think outside of the box. There may be a riddle that needs to be solved.
Journal Prompts for The High Priestess, Upright
If I woke up tomorrow and could completely change just one detail of my life what would it be and why?
If there were no boundaries or limitations, what would I want to achieve?
How might I be keeping myself small right now? How might I be denying the things that could help me reach my full potential?
“The medial woman stands between the worlds of consensual reality and the mystical unconscious and mediates between them. The medial woman is the transmitter and receiver between two or more values or ideas. She is the one who brings new ideas to life, exchanges old ideas for innovative ones, translates between the world of the rational and the world of the imaginal. She “hears” things, “knows” things and “senses” what should come next.”– Clarissa Pinkola Eseté
The High Priestess Upright Meanings | Love, Career & Finances
In a love reading, The High Priestess upright hints at things left unsaid and things being kept under wraps, whether for better or for worse. Don’t believe what you see on the surface, especially when it comes to how YOU feel about the relationship and your own feelings towards this partner.
In a career reading, The High Priestess upright could suggest a big learning opportunity, but not in terms of skill. This learning could come in the form of finally understanding what you want to work for or what the true value of your work is within the grand scheme of your life.
When it comes to finances, The High Priestess upright reminds us that money is often an energetic transference. Our money mindset can put obstacles in our way that otherwise not exist, so making sure you’re always working on your perspective and beliefs around money is imperative to feeling abundant.
The High Priestess Reversed Meaning
The High Priestess moves within the underworld, the world beneath the world, the underbelly, the subconscious and mysteries behind the vale of the universe. When The High Priestess is reversed, there’s often discourse in these realms. It can manifest as psychological complexes, repressions, denials or the suppression of deeply intuitive instincts.
We move through the energy we see in The High Priestess reversed more than we know because we’re not as connected to our natures as much as we used to be. There is a disconnect and within The High Priestess card, this can result in our inability to really trust in the divine or trust that there is a force bigger than us that is guiding us. Within the realms of science there is so much we don’t know, things happen all the time without any logical rhyme or reason and when that is mirrored within our own psyches, that’s when we start to notice The High Priestess reversed popping up.
With this card, we’re already looking inwards, questioning the things we thought we knew, but when it’s reversed, we need to go deeper. We need to ask harder questions, ones that feel alien to us, ones that we’d never dream of asking anyone else. We need to be able to step outside of ourselves, hovering overhead and taking a perspective of our internal world that may be uncomfortable or difficult to reconcile.
Journal Prompts for The High Priestess, Reversed
What might I be avoiding or overlooking in favour of the things that make me feel good or support my pre-existing beliefs?
How many times over the last month have I ignored my intuition and what was my conscious reasoning?
What is my current viewpoint around my spirit, soul or existence and how could I challenge them to gain a fresh perspective?
“We feed the deep intuitive self by listening to it and acting upon its advice…” – Clarissa Pinkola Estés
The High Priestess Reversed Meanings | Love, Career & Finances
In a love reading The High Priestess reversed could indicate a repression of intuition around a potential partner. These will be red flags that may seem very subtle and almost invisible at first, until we take a magnifying glass to them and see what is at the root.
In a career reading, The High Priestess reversed could suggest a wealth of possibility, but maybe not a clear or traditional road to success. This role will be what you make of it, it will be filled with twists and turns and you may never know what’s coming next. Decide whether this sounds exhilarating or exhausting in order to move forward.
In a financial reading, The High Priestess reversed can indicate a reluctance to admit how deep your financial matters go. This could be in terms of a true lack of financial security, or even an underestimation of just how secure you are. In either of these cases, there’s usually a deeply rooted money belief that is causing you to repeat old cycles.
Nurturing Our Spiritual Self
Any divine feminine energy within the Tarot, whether it be The High Priestess, The Empress or The Queens of the Court Cards, is here to nurture the energy it is channelling.
For The High Priestess, it is the spiritual self that is being nurtured. That little voice of wonder that whispers to you when something ‘lucky’ or ‘spooky’ happens and sends a shiver of thrill and excitement down your spine, is The High Priestess empowering and nurturing that spiritual connection and curiosity.
The High Priestess | Esoteric Correspondences
Astrological Sign
The Moon
The Moon is a celestial body that matches The High Priestess’ ever changing cycles and represents how much or little she is willing to show.
Elemental Energy
Elemental Water
The High Priestess is elemental water due to its free flowing, emotional and creative energy. It matches the element of the moon.
Numerology
Number 2
The number 2 is all about balance, decisions, and can also form a portal through which a transition can be made, just like our card.
Learn To Read Tarot Intuitively & With Ease
Twice a year I open the doors to my Foundational Tarot Course. This course is designed to teach you a much more personal and intuitive way to read the Tarot, catered for absolute beginners.
