Faerie Tarot (Hertz):High Priestess

She is shining with astral light that looks almost electric. The small stars shine on her head and the beautiful crescent moon and jewel (moonstone or amethyst?) shine on her forhead. The two flowers look like Cattleya orchids, which are very valuable and unique.
The colours of this card are lovely. There are many shades of blue, lilac and green.
What really strikes me is her green grass hair. Or maybe it is moss? Her green moss/grass hair grounds her and unites her beautifully with Mother Earth so that she is not just floating up in the air.The sparks of energy and light seem to rise from the moss/grass itself and there are spikes of some organic material growing from her head. Maybe they are horns, antennae, corals or plants? She is wonderfully grounded in Nature.
She has the scroll of all the High Priestesses in her hand, but this one looks like it´s made of some ordinary organic material. It could be brown paper or leather.It is not very thick so maybe not very much is written (or drawn) on it?
The LWB says her gaze is "frank and soft" but I don´t see it as particularly frank. I see it almost as the opposite; soft but secretive and mysterious. Her smile is engimatic,too.

This High Priestess gives me the impression of gentle, caring wisdom. The LWB connects her with maternal love, something I more usually associate with The Empress. Although the expression on the face of the High Priestess is soft and inviting, the voluminous robes she wears tells me that there is much she conceals. She also holds the usual closed scroll in one of her hands, another symbol of hidden knowledge.

The crescent moon -- signifying mystery, feminine cycles, and the female divinity -- found in most depictions of this card is here as well, at her forehead. The orchids in her hair are a beautiful and unconventional touch. Along with her green hair and the use of green elsewhere, it conveys to me the impression of a fertile imagination from which her intuition blossoms. She also has what looks like tree branches sprouting from her head and reaching out to the stars that surround her head, possibly the source of her inspiration. This is one of the loveliest cards in this deck.

Alan

Is it just me, or is she a twin sister to Froud's Faery Godmother?
http://www.fairiesworld.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=39&pos=3

Hemera and Alan, I loved your interpretation of the hair! I had already wondered about this, and it gave me a new angle to ponder.

I think it´s just you

There is similarity, but I don´t think for a moment that a gifted artist like Hertz would need to copy anything from anyone. It is more likely that she has just got this picture somewhere in her unconscious while drawing her own Priestess.

Also one of the Kings (King of Swords, if I recall correctly) looks a lot like some of the Druidcraft kings. (Sorry, I don´t have the deck with me at work) but I think it is also coincidental. There´s just no need to copy anything when you are
good enough. like Nathalie is. Just my 2c..

Wow! Twin sister is right! I would say the resemblance is too close to be coincidental. I looked in the LWB for any credit or reference to Froud, but I couldn't find any.

I seem to recall a recent thread on Linda Ravencroft's Mystic Faerie Tarot where some posters felt she was cribbing from Froud, but I wasn't completely convinced. Nathalie Hertz's High Priestess seems to me a much more obvious "homage" to Froud.

Alan

Hemera said:

I don´t think for a moment that a gifted artist like Hertz would need to copy anything from anyone. It is more likely that she has just got this picture somewhere in her unconscious while drawing her own Priestess.

Click to expand...

I suppose that's possible, but the resemblance is certainly uncanny. Whether consciously or unconsciously, it's clear to me that Nathalie had Froud somewhere on her mind when she did this card.

Alan