2. The High Priestess
i.The Nutshell
Upright
The High Priestess indicates a period where reflection, discernment, and inner awareness are essential for making informed, thoughtful decisions. She is the one sitting quietly in the corner watching everything while saying nothing. She’s not being rude, she just already knows what’s going on. Representing deep intuition, stillness and the in-between, she reminds you that sometimes the best move is no move at all. She’s the connector of divine intelligence with the human heart and wants you to stop refreshing your brain like it's a browser and instead tune into the quiet. Insight flows and pauses for you to take a moment and notice little signs.
Keywords: Intuition, mystery, stillness, inner voice, what’s unsaid, divine silence, divine feminine, your truth is within
Translation: You’re unshakable in your inner knowing; keep trusting yourself even if its intangible.
Reversed
When the High Priestess is in reverse it’s asking you if you’re trying to rationalise your doubt. You might be second-guessing yourself, ignoring your inner wisdom, or binge-scrolling for answers you already have. She can also point to secrecy, shame, or spiritual shrinkage, a bit like you’ve stuffed your intuition in a drawer because it doesn’t fit into social conversation, or the ideals your parents had for you. If this card turns up reversed, it’s an instruction to listen to yourself and not the voices you were programmed with. Validation starts and ends with you, so notice any self sabotaging behaviour that blocks your intuition, leaving you believing someone outside of you knows better.
Keywords: Blocked intuition, secrets, self-doubt, spiritual avoidance, spiritual shaming, disconnection, withdrawal
Translation: You know the answer yourself, but you’re outsourcing your trust in an external source.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The High Priestess’ symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck - what's hidden in plain sight?
Scroll (TORA) - Inner wisdom that holds power beyond the subconscious.
Moon at Her Feet - Subtle forces of watery intuition as foundation.
Pillars (B & J) - Sits in between: Boaz - What you feel but can’t name, and Jachin - What you know but haven’t felt.
Veil with Pomegranates - A boundary between surface and depth that not everyone crosses.
Triple Crown - Time-bound wisdom. What’s known will move with the cycle.
iii. Influences
Planetary: The Moon governs The High Priestess, symbolising intuition, the subconscious, dreams, emotional fluctuation and hidden realms. It represents the ebb and flow of inner wisdom and the power of receptivity. Neptune also has a subtle influence here, representing mysticism, illusion, altered states and the dissolution of boundaries. Together, these planets guide us toward inner knowing, and trusting in the unseen.
Natal House(s): The Fourth House relates to emotional security, family lineage, the inner world and one’s roots; mirroring the High Priestess' connection to the past and the intuitive body. The Twelfth House also resonates here, governing the unconscious, spiritual insight and solitude. It speaks to sacred knowledge, the hidden self and the realms we access only when we turn inward.
Astrological Sign(s): Cancer, ruled by the Moon, reflects the High Priestess’ nurturing, protective and intuitive nature. Cancer’s emotional intelligence and instinctive knowing align with the card’s focus to trust the unseen. Pisces, ruled by Neptune, further deepens the spiritual and mystical connection. It represents dissolution of ego, spiritual awareness and the blurred lines between dreams and reality. These signs suggest a path of inner exploration, attunement to feelings and sensitivity to the energetic undercurrents in life.
Numerologically: Two symbolises duality, balance and the power of stillness. It’s the number of relationships, between the conscious and unconscious, seen and unseen, inner and outer. The energy of two calls us to pause, reflect and hold space for paradox. With the High Priestess, this number reminds us that wisdom often emerges through quiet presence and deep listening.
In numerology, when you arrive at Master Numbers linked here as 11, 22, or 33, keep them as they are as these hold a distinct frequency. While their root numbers of 2, 4, and 6 still carry important foundational energy to explore, your primary focus needs to be on the vibration of the Master Number itself. For example, if a calculation totals 22, like the year 1975, recognise it as a Master Number rather than reducing it to 4. The Master Number 33 normally presents in an entire birth date, for example 1+3+05+1+9+6+8=33.
Element: Water rules emotions, dreams, and our inner world. The High Priestess draws you inward; she is reflective, sensitive, and calm. What feelings or intuitions have been trying to get your attention beneath the surface?
iv. A Day in the Life of The High Priestess
Well That Escalated Quickly
You misread a sign and assume your barista is your twin flame, spending the afternoon decoding their latte art like it's a prophecy. You dismiss a persistent inner warning, attributing it to anxiety or overthinking, only to later face consequences that could have been avoided. Intuition is sidelined or questioned, and you experience frustration or confusion as events unfold without your awareness.
Adjusting the Knobs
You journal obsessively about a dream you only half remember, or you pull a tarot card for clarity... then pull five more because you didn’t like the first one. You turn inward, trying to interpret subtle feelings or symbols, and revisit thoughts but struggle to trust the meaning. This leads to second-guessing or over-analysis, which clouds rather than confirms your understanding.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You get a weird gut feeling about someone and you’re totally right. You’re now aware of your instincts and trusting them, confirming their accuracy through experience. Moments of stillness offer insight, helping you navigate your day with increased awareness, even if the guidance is quiet or easily overlooked.
Writing the TED Talk
You trust your instincts, say nothing, make all the right calls and leave everyone wondering if you’re psychic, or just annoyingly good at reading the room. Which you are, and you won’t be explaining. You operate from a place of deep internal trust, allowing intuition to guide your decisions without hesitation or need for external validation. Your choices reflect a clear understanding beyond surface facts, resulting in effective outcomes and a sense of grounded presence that others recognise as exceptional insight.
v. Working with these Energies
Balancing Inner Stillness with Subtle Power
The High Priestess is not interested in your Pinterest board. She wants you to calm down and listen carefully because your intuition is trying to share insights. When she shows up, especially reversed, it can mean you’re outsourcing your knowing, gaslighting your own knowing, or ghosting your inner world altogether.
1. Reflect and trust in the unseen:
– When did you last listen to your intuition over your doubts?
– What did your inner voice say, and did you follow it or just say “meh, later”?
– What’s being heard in the silence right now and could it be clearer if you turned external volume down?
2. Honor your inner world and intuition:
– Think of a recent moment when you felt pulled by an unexplainable urge.
– Did you embrace it, or did you ‘logic’ your way out of it?
– How can you stay true to your intuition without turning it into an emotional roller-coaster?
3. Harness the Moon’s and Neptune’s elusive energy:
– In what areas are you being asked to go deeper, even if you don’t have all the answers?
– How do Neptune’s fog and Cancer’s emotional pull show up in your daily life?
– What one step this week can help you trust the current, even if you don’t see the shore yet?
4. Navigate the extremes of sensitivity and detachment:
– When have you recently been too wrapped up in your emotions or too distant?
– What triggered the flip between being all in or checked out?
– How would the High Priestess guide you to find peace in the balance?
5. Practice presence with intuitive action:
– Pick something that connects you to your inner world, perhaps a quiet walk, journaling, or simply being in your own space.
– How does your body feel when you stop ‘doing’ and just ‘be’?
– Could these small acts of stillness help you align with the more intuitive, subtle energies of the Moon and Neptune?
vi. Building Skills
Witnessing the Story Without Becoming It
The High Priestess prefers silent observation because she waits for truth to rise from within. Working with her energy means learning to observe the painful stories you carry without attachment or letting them define who you are.
Consider this: Sit quietly and notice the narratives your mind tells about your past. What story do you often return to when you're unsure, hurting, or afraid? Is it a story of abandonment, failure, not being good enough? Or maybe it's a tale of survival - or a strength that cost something.
Acknowledge the facts but don’t let them become a script that limits you. You're not here to relive every wound on repeat but to understand instead how those chapters shaped your inner landscape, and where you now choose to read from.
The High Priestess teaches that wisdom doesn’t erase the past, instead it holds space without mistaking it for your entire identity. Let your inner witness speak more kindly than your inner critic. That's where intuition begins.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot is a language, but it’s also a felt experience. Embodiment is how you move it from the page into your body, your senses, your real life. This is presence. Before you try and memorise what The High Priestess means, feel its meaning. When you learn a card through sensation, i.e. what it smells like, where it lands in your body and how it shows up in your day, you make it personal and move beyond concept. Consider these to embody The High Priestess:
Smell: If The High Priestess were a scent, what would it be? Incense? Cool night air? Old paper and moonlight?
Body: Where do you feel it when you think about intuition or mystery; your gut, your skin, your spine?
Soundtrack: What song feels like The High Priestess’ energy right now?
Action: What could you do today that feels quietly powerful, reflective, or inward-focused, even if it’s small?
Nature cue: Step outside. What in your surroundings reflects High Priestess energy? A shadowed path? A still pool?
Notice what shifts: The goal is to feel connected without active thought.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The High Priestess card in your own deck. Take a moment to observe without analysing.
What’s the first detail your eyes land on?
How does this card feel in your body or mood; still, curious, calm, distant?
If this card spoke one sentence to you, what would it be?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to reflect on what The High Priestess means to you personally.
When have you known something without needing evidence?
Where are you being asked to listen rather than act?
What would it look like to honour what you feel, even if you can’t explain it yet?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using The High Priestess as your anchor:
What truth is waiting beneath the surface?
What’s clouding your ability to trust it?
What would support deeper connection to your intuition?
Pull cards, observe your feelings and let them arrive quietly. Write three relatable ‘you’ words:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.