HearthCricket
My thoughts on the High Priestess!
I love this card! Colour-wise it is one of the darkest cards of the entire deck and therefore immediately gives us the atmosphere of mystery. The High Priestess dons a crescent crown while the full moon shines behind her, reminding us of her Goddess stature! Her long brown mantle is very earthtoned, but if you removed it, she would almost disappear in the details of the card! We see no body or figure of her own, but rather that of many eyes of the ancients peering on and the scroll almost floating in front of her. An octopus, whose face we never see, has arms enveloping her. According to the artist it is embodying "insight and wisdom". An open pomegranate reminds us of the legend of Persephone as well as the seeds used to invoke the Triple Goddess, giving us the idea that the High Priestess has access to many worlds and many forms of knowledge that others cannot reach. A flower blooms below it and seems to be giving off an incense-like smoke that reaches up to the fruit, and to me it is almost blessing or invoking its powers. She stands on a crescent moon. Two fey-like creatures stand on either side of her, one with open arms and the other with arms crossed, perhaps inviting one to embrace one's intuition and inner wisdom and the other reminding to keep it secret and mysterious! Two birch-like trees are on either side of her and if you look carefully pentacles, runes and fey faces are found upon them, as it reaches upward and out of the picture into other realms. The two bees (wasps) reminded me of wisdom and in the LWB represent harnessed "female warrior energy". Overall the card definitely depicts mystery, wisdom, secret knowledge, intuition and the feminine divine! I really love the use of the eyes in this card!
I love this card! Colour-wise it is one of the darkest cards of the entire deck and therefore immediately gives us the atmosphere of mystery. The High Priestess dons a crescent crown while the full moon shines behind her, reminding us of her Goddess stature! Her long brown mantle is very earthtoned, but if you removed it, she would almost disappear in the details of the card! We see no body or figure of her own, but rather that of many eyes of the ancients peering on and the scroll almost floating in front of her. An octopus, whose face we never see, has arms enveloping her. According to the artist it is embodying "insight and wisdom". An open pomegranate reminds us of the legend of Persephone as well as the seeds used to invoke the Triple Goddess, giving us the idea that the High Priestess has access to many worlds and many forms of knowledge that others cannot reach. A flower blooms below it and seems to be giving off an incense-like smoke that reaches up to the fruit, and to me it is almost blessing or invoking its powers. She stands on a crescent moon. Two fey-like creatures stand on either side of her, one with open arms and the other with arms crossed, perhaps inviting one to embrace one's intuition and inner wisdom and the other reminding to keep it secret and mysterious! Two birch-like trees are on either side of her and if you look carefully pentacles, runes and fey faces are found upon them, as it reaches upward and out of the picture into other realms. The two bees (wasps) reminded me of wisdom and in the LWB represent harnessed "female warrior energy". Overall the card definitely depicts mystery, wisdom, secret knowledge, intuition and the feminine divine! I really love the use of the eyes in this card!