RWS II The High Priestess

lupo138

She sits between two pillars, that symbolize the entrance to the temple of Jerusalem on the one hand. On the other hand these pillars stand for the tree of life and thus making herself the middle pillar. According to the GD her path is in the middle and leads from Kether to Tiphareth.

The veil behind her is the veil of the temple, again showing the tree of life with the ten Sephiroth on it. In her hands she holds a scroll with "TORA" written on it,so it is the holy text of the Jews. (the Tora comes again in the Wheel of Fortune). On the bottom of the cards is a Moon as the card is assigned to that "planet". The HPS´s hat seems to symbolize the waxing, full and waning moon as well - but I am not sure about that.
 

Kazz

Hi Lupo138, I too am unsure about the hat, but I always thought of the moon at the bottom as a symbol of her 'intuition'. She to me stands for 'Innocense and Wisdom', like being naive with street smarts.



Cheers
Karen


:TQC
 

Macavity

I always assume the hat is a stylised version of the Crown of Egyptian Goddess Hathor as fairly often worn by the Goddess and High Priestess Isis. The two cow horns either side of the Ra solar disk... :)
 

Phoenix

I've always read her like this: where the Magician symbolizes knowledge from with out, the High Priestess symbolizes knowledge from with in.

The two pillars could also be seen to represent the vagina(so says Rachel Pollack in 78DW). This would represent the sacred feminine.

Let's also look at the colours used in her clothing. Blue and white. Blue represents healing and emotions. White represents purity. Together they make a very regal combination, showing not only he purity, but also her emotional side, which is chown by her associations with the moon.
 

Teranar

What about the cross she has on her chest? There is a white cross on her chest in my deck, and I've always wondered if they intended the card to be a equalibrium between all religeons.
If no one else's deck has the cross I can scan my card to prove I'm not crazy.
 

Phoenix

Please do. It always helps to have a pic to look at. ;)
 

lupo138

a picture can be found here http://www.learntarot.com/bigjpgs/maj02.jpg

anyway I do not know about the meaning of the cross. The HPS is on the middle pillar so she could wear a sign of Tiphareth, namely the six-pointed star. The equal armed cross would be Chesed, but her path does not lead there. Maybe the cross is to be seen in connection with the hat and so telling us that she unites the old as well as the "new" religion(s) ?
 

jmd

One of the interesting aspects of the placement of the High Priestess 'over' the background of the Pomegranate Tree of Life pattern is that whilst her head is located where one would find Da'at, the Cross, over her heart, has its lower arm at Tifaret's location.

Her throne itself is the firm Foundation upon which she sits, and the Torah scroll is where one would expect the veil (Paroket).

With regards to her crown, that the two lunar crescents also reach, respectively, Hockmah and Binah should also be noted...

Just some of my reflections on some of the 'less' obvious aspects as I look again at this card.
 

lupo138

just read about the cross today in one of Regardie´s books: The equal armed cross stands for the balance of the four elements, and for Tiphareth, as each part would stand for one letter of Y-H-V-H.

much of love to all of you

L.
 

firemaiden

skirt = water

I think it is interesting that her skirt falls in what looks like curling waves about her feet. It ties in with the moon card as well and its reflective pool of water.