Paulina Tarot Study Group~The High Priestess

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!
 

Owl Song

I like the use of the eyes on this card, too. They remind me of the "eyes" on a peacock's feathers. I love the inclusion of the pomegranate, too, which links the HP to Persephone's story. The ancient looking birch trees that flank the High Priestess are reminiscent of the traditional columns. It's also unusual the way the High Priestess is part of the background of the card; she's immersed in the night sky itself. Perhaps she is a very part of the "veil" that she helps us to see through. The scene is still and meditative. I agree that the dusky color scheme works perfectly and enhances the atmosphere of mystery.
 

Aulruna

What a spellbinding, compelling scene – a mysterious bayou at midnight, under a bright full moon, Spanish moss and all!! The whole setup oozes mystery and arcane knowledge, but also hints to dangerous depths.
Arms of the octopus – connections to the uncharted depths of the soul. While intended as a benevolent symbol by the author "embodies insight and vision", but to me it also represents the unknown which can induce fear … like the creature in the Moon card of the Pictorial Key Tarot.
The pomegranate is yet another symbol for the access to the underworld.

I love the idea of the cloak being a portal (as the LWB says). In fact, the whole figure of the High Priestess appears to be a portal to other planes, worlds and all kinds of knowledge, some of it secret, some of it dangerous to wield, some of it just hidden.

The LWB speaks about "totem trees" - are these connected to totem poles? What's the story?
 

SarahRacheal

When I first looked at this card I couldn’t work out if she had a spider body or not, as spiders have 8 eyes and the shape under the cloak looks very arachnid. Spiders having hidden wisdom I feel the image would work well with the HP card.
The fumes coming from the flower made me think of opium and mind altering drugs that seers used to use to trance and communicate with the divine or to enter other worlds.
Sarah x
 

Ambrosia

To me she almost looks as though she is actually a tree. She has peeled back her bark to show her ancient wisdom.

A "totem" I believe, is a post or pole with carvings, decorations and symbols of power etched into it. I also believe they take the place of the pillars in other decks.

I love the flower giving off its scent, with the little heart just above it. I'm into aromatherapy and natural perfumery so this is lovely for me as I find those arts to be very spiritual too.

The word "incense" means "through smoke" and was traditionally used as an offering to the gods.
 

Elendil

Has anyone else noticed that the base of the flower at the bottom of the card resembles an owl's head - or am I just recalling the whole 'owls or flowers' confusion that reigns in Alan Garner's The Owl Service?

Also, is that a butterfly ascending from the incense behind the pomegranate?
Is the top of her crown a sunflower head? Are there horns at either side of her crown?

I only recently acquired this deck and find it fascinating.