Book of Thoth Study Group- The Priestess

linabeet said:

Are the items at the bottom offerings?

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In his book, Understanding the Aleister Crowley Thoth Tarot, Duquette writes, 'The objects that appear at the bottom of the card are not lunar symbols per se. The camel is, ofcourse, indicative of the Hebrew letter Gimel (the Hebrew letter attributed to the High Priestess), but the other objects, the crystals and the seeds, are suggestive of the hidden and mysterious secrets of the beginning of life'. So, perhaps these are not so much offerings as they are symbols included in order to emphasise the whole secret and hidden nature of the Priestess.

Duquette writes, 'The Abyss she traverses is, quite literally, the desert of the soul, and like the desert camel, she is the only vehicle capable of crossing that terrible wasteland'. When I read that, I had in my mind the image of the Priestess, embarking upon a journey through a barren desert, using a camel as her mode of transport.

Interestingly, Duquette also suggests that the bow held by the Priestess is actually a harp: 'If you look carefully, you will see that her bow is actually a three-stringed harp 'for she is a huntress, and hunts by enchantment'.

Harris used projective geometry throughout the Thoth... using a wild array of lines, and such like. I think that the Priestess is a great example of this. Duquette suggests the following: if you turn the Queen of Cups upside down, and place her above the High Priestess, then it looks almost like a reflection. Very neat!

Centaur said:

Harris used projective geometry throughout the Thoth... using a wild array of lines, and such like. I think that the Priestess is a great example of this. Duquette suggests the following: if you turn the Queen of Cups upside down, and place her above the High Priestess, then it looks almost like a reflection. Very neat!

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This is one of the many reasons I like the Thoth so much, is the style of Harris' drawing with the geometry / lines. Thanks for posting this Centaur - I am racing off now to dig out the HP and Q of Cups to look.

CreativeFire

Priestess

This thread is very thoughtful and inspired.I like what MystiqueMoonlight said awhile ago,that the Priestess is "fertile mindfulness in the deepermost Self"(slight paraphrase).When I look at the whole picture, this really helps.The upper weaving of aqua,blue,and soft golden swirls and spirals and arcs are received down to the solar plexus,into a bowl-like structure from wrists to abdomen.This is the receptive mindfulness.full of living archetpal thought.(Anthroposophical veil painting and projective geometry are key to the artistic technique,still used in Waldorf Schools.)Far below are crystallized patterns of thought,as beautifully previously described---including mineral,plant,animal.The bow/harp(thanks to Mr. Duquette's observation of the three harp strings)is exactly positioned between the upper field's start above the head and the patterns below,between the yin and yang--the harmony center amidst meditative and created?One more observation:the upper field curls in, is centripetal, while lines radiate centrifugally under the bowl receiving the Priestess' "fertile mindfulness".Can someone consider where the bow/harp is?Why three horizontal strings?

Interesting! The Queen of Cups does look like a reflection of The Priestess. When I compared the other Queens to The Priestess, I noticed the following:
Queen of Disks - the crystal on her staff repeats the one on The Priestess
Queen of Wands - her wand repeats the pinecone
Queen of Swords - the bodice of her gown repeats the veil ( I had to use a magnifying glass to see this clearly)

Lady F. sure knew what she was doing!

I find it interesting that people find the lower part of her body male, just because it is still? Or because of the Egyptian stylization, which is so geometric? I find her very female, in contrast to the magus. That is, very internal, as opposed to manifesting physically. The moon crescents seem to exmphasize the female aspect of the priestess.

I also see the piece on her lap as a muscial instrument, perhaps playing the music of the spheres?

I agree with the sense of the veil as protecting us -- there are mysteries too bright for our eyes. There are stories in the Torah of people being struck dead by the power of the Arc, even when trying to protect it - not as a punishment, just by the sheer power and force of the mystery. It is the same for the High Priestess.


The camel to me is a reminder that we carry her within us throughout the journey of our life, like the water carried by the camel, she is life, and will get us through the dry times.

Centaur said:

Harris used projective geometry throughout the Thoth... using a wild array of lines, and such like. I think that the Priestess is a great example of this. Duquette suggests the following: if you turn the Queen of Cups upside down, and place her above the High Priestess, then it looks almost like a reflection. Very neat!

Click to expand...

actually there are quite a few cards which can 'interlock' geometrically like these two...

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/mysunrise/prkoenig/stephen/claas/olive_e.html

Alobar said:

actually there are quite a few cards which can 'interlock' geometrically like these two...

http://homepage.sunrise.ch/mysunrise/prkoenig/stephen/claas/olive_e.html

Click to expand...

Interesting link Alobar. I spent around ten minutes or so gazing at the combination of the Empress and the Moon. It is quite hypnotic!!! Would anyone have any idea of why the HP blends with the Queen of Cups in that same manner? Could this be related to the whole concept of the Queen of Cups as linked to intuition, and the more feeling aspects of our existence, thus relating to the almost mystical and meditative qualities of the HP?

i saw the priestess in a dream

Princess diana came to me in a dream, she was a white scaled reptilian, she had a larger than normal scale in the location of the third eye.
I was standing in front of her, she was very beautiful in a strange sort of way, and she had a warm and calming aura of a Queen, i just knew she was the high priestess.
I awoke shortly after, and when i tried to go back to the image of her, without any creative thought on my part, she went for me in a sudden and vicious attack. Before she touched me my thoughts broke, the attack made me jump, wide awake. Teeth and Claws the lot!!

thats when i checked the cards, and in the rws pack the priestess has got a clawed reptilian foot.
I think she was toying with me. What do YOU think.

I`ve got the thoth deck but found the rws version on
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tcc/tcc02.htm
This is quite interesting aswell.
http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/tob/tob15.htm

Oh Yeah, i was looking at the death card (thoth), just before i fell asleep.
I was thinking about his posture, hes on his left knee with his left toe's curled backwards and his left toe's are curled upwards. His hands and wrists are facing upwards and hes cutting through his 'little' ghosts(demons,we all have them, i know) and turning them into 'little' creatures, it`s all in his mind of course.
I think that the death card is the creative visualisation of the hanged man (he wants to be like the emperor). The death card is his new begining, but the fools jurney is still far from over.

You might not agree with what i`ve said, but these were just my thoughts before i fell asleep. I`ve associated myself with the fool, because i think my body language is abit backward at times too. lol. so i can really relate to the images in the cards.

thanks for reading.

The Priestess feelings of intuition acting in accord with impulses.

Here's my IDS on the Priestess!

Lots of correlations with Art. Rainbow, bows and arrows. The moon is the bow of Diana. The Priestess is also Diana, but as Artemis, virgin huntress, not Diana the many-breasted. She is also Isis, crowned with the moon. Not only is she crowned with a moon crown with a waxing crescent, full moon, and waning crescent, but she is crowned by many other crescents. 7 at my count. Maybe they are the planetary spheres, and the full moon of her crown is really the white sphere, Kether. (ETA: Snuffin says 7 is the number of Venus, so the 7 crescents are there to connect her with all things feminine. I like my idea better!)

She has partially lowered the veil of heaven, but she is still veiled by light of all colors. As mentioned with the Queen of Cups, the Priestess’s body also forms a cup, the feminine receptive. There is an emptying moon crescent below her throne.

She is flanked by pillars, but they are not different colors that I can see. In front of the veil are earthly symbols potential life: seeds, pinecones, grapes. Even crystals grow. (I need to get over to the platonic solids thread to sort out the different crystals.) But they ARE different, showing the potential for great and varied life.

And there is the camel carry us across the abyss to heaven. The Priestess is the straight path, not the Hierophant. Truth and understanding have to be internalized—brought within or come from within—to achieve a true spirituality. Religion can point the way, but many of us are stuck here looking at the finger.

The highest meanings of the moon would be purity (as in silver), femininity, unattainability/ virginity, change in stability. Snuffin points out that the name of Isis can signify “throne,” and extrapolates moon + throne = change is stability.

In a reading: Spirituality as opposed to religion; independence regarding things of the spirit. Inner wisdom and inner knowledge. (You KNOW the truth, not just understand it mentally.) Spiritual aspiration, desire for a path. Be open to receive inspiration from above.