The High Priestess: An intuitive approach

As I look at the Pagan Otherworlds High Priestess my focus is drawn to the open book. But why? I’m not sure yet so I just simplify things. How? By asking basic questions.

What sort of book could it be? Since she’s the High Priestess I’m imagining it’s a book of secrets so I’m going to say it’s a journal. But why is she holding it like that? It doesn’t look natural. She’s gripping it. Is it someone else’s journal and she has just discovered something she wishes she hadn’t? Then a thought starts to form.

How often do we go searching for truths that we don’t want to find? We say we love the truth, we want the truth, we expect the truth, we even demand the truth, but as the scene from A Few Good Men plays in my head I am forced to consider whether that is in fact the truth.

Now as I relook at the image I notice that the book appears to be face down. Is that denial of a truth, or trying to hide the truth from someone else? Lots of questions, but still no direct answers as yet.

Now, to be fair, when I first drew this card two cards came out. The other was the King of Pentacles which is the Minor Arcana card astrologically assigned to me. This makes me wonder whether someone is hiding something from me; I’m hiding something from someone else; or, I’m hiding something from myself.

That last one rings true. It feels right and that feeling sets everything in motion.

When I started this post it was going to be about using the tarot as a writing tool, but it turned into a post about reading intuitively. I didn’t expect that, although the appearance of The High Priestess probably should have given me a heads up.

But here’s the thing. Over the years I’ve learned that it doesn’t matter how long it takes me to unravel the thoughts in my head. Sometimes things are instantly clear, other times it’s a process. All that is important is that I come out at the end having learned something of value. I’m not after predictions. I’m after understanding.

I actually think that when I have to explore things I discover much more than when a keyword type answer just presents itself. My subconscious and I have time to work together. But I digress. Back to The High Priestess and what she showed me.

I love to write. I’ve studied writing and I have always wanted to write. But I’m drawn to the tarot. So much so that my bookshelves in my office are now lined with tarot decks rather than books. Yet I still try to return to the idea of being a writer when I know that I am also a reader. Although in a way I see them as one and the same.

Studying cards is my true love. Hearing them, and the parts of me I’ve silenced, speak to me regardless of whether I like what they have to say or not is magical to me. So are the cards themselves. The artwork, the research pathways they send me down, curating a collection, unpacking stories, and yes writing about them. All of it.

Now I see the book turned face down in a different way. It’s telling me it’s time to lay the book and the old stories it contains down, quieten my mind, and focus on what I truly love. Writing and reading — reading and writing. As I look at the card again and see the two white pillars I hear the message to stay in my lane. The space where these two ideas merge. Every time I try to step off the path I get lost in the fog. I’m being urged to realise that I’m trying to reinvent myself rather than be myself. That is a truth that is hard to face but one I yet again need to be reminded of it seems.

Like Temperance, this High Priestess has one foot in the water and there is a mountain off in the distance. Though unlike Temperance there is no visible path as yet. But that’s okay. Facing the truth and owning the truth is enough for today.

Now I see why The High Priestess and King of Pentacles came out together.

You’ve probably noticed that I paid no attention to the rock she’s sitting on, the armour, the overall colour of her clothing, the moon phases in her hand, her posture, her bare feet, or the colour of the sky. Other times one or more of those things will stand out and tell me their stories. That is the intuitive part. You just need to trust that what stands out to you is trying to tell you something. Be patient and let the answers come through.

Publishing details

The featured decks are:

• Pagan Otherworlds Tarot created by Linnea Gits and Peter Dunham and published by UUSI
• Smith-Waite Tarot Deck Centennial Edition published by US Games Systems Inc in 2015