RWS II The High Priestess

[firemaiden]

Terenar --I see the cross. I think it is very convenient the cross is there -- yes, I thought it might be there to bring all the religions together in one card too, but I also like it because it goes with the crossed swords of the two of swords, and because I feel it also ties her to the Virgin Mary (read: the resurrection of Isis).

 

[firemaiden]

hidden wizard in the skirt

I am reminded since viewing the "hidden faces" thread, that some see a wizard hidden in her skirt. I haven't particularly been able to see this wizard, but in the skirt of the HP in the Secret Tarot I see a watermark which ressembles a wizard for sure, as well as a slain deer (or wolf). Obviously, if this watermark was intended in the Secret Tarot, then was inspired by this famous wizard hiding in the skirts of Rider-Waite-Smith's High Priestess.

I particularly like seeing the High Priestess's skirt as water tumbling about a rock, and in which one can discover hidden faces -- water is transparency, movement, passage, reflections, water is the scrying medium, the stuff of visions.

If her skirt is made of water, she is both of and about water. That means, all at the same time, she is the keeper, the means, and the traveler of this passage through the gate.

She is all at the same time:

• 
  A Medium: -- one who can see through to another world,
  
  the medium: -- the means, or instrument, by which one can access a deeper world,
  
  medium: -- one who stands in the middle, obscuring the pathway, and
  
  the medium -- the very stuff itself of visions: water.

 

[firemaiden]

pomegranate

Pomegranates show up on both on the veil of the High Priestess and the dress of the Empress? (am I right? these are pomegranates in each case?).

In the Persephone myth the pomegranate seed is the magic seed that gives Hades his power over her. He slips her the seed so she must stay by his side in the Underworld. The eating of the seed also suggests their sexual union. And I have heard it said that the Eve's fated apple is really a pomegranate.

A seed the color of fire weds day to night, spring to winter, heaven to hell.

Here is a collection of images related to Persephone (just don't read the idiotic commentary)
Here is a link to the part of the Homeric Hymn about Persephone and the pomegranate.

 

[jmd]

The red seeds of the pomegranate, contained within the womb of the fruit, certainly lead to considerations of their sexual symbolic meaning - and also knowledge of Good and Evil.

As with this symbol, the High Priestess card is also clearly connected - and yet opposed - to the next card, it may be an appropriate time to begin on the next card (continuing discussions here too, of course ).

Firemaiden, even if your posts do not seem to have many responses, from past PM experience this only indicates that your thoughts are well read and vastly appreciated... silence is at times like the space created when someone says something of value, allowing its echoes to distill and metamorphosise in various ways upon the hearers.

 

[Richard1]

The crown fits where Da'ath would...wow, I didn't even THINK of that! It's one of those things that's totally obvious once you think about it...gah.
It always struck me that the crown and the veil around her head look like the sign of Pisces, the astrological sign connected to the card of the Moon, and thus a reinforcement of the lunar symbolism.

 

[Kiama]

and the Torah scroll is where one would expect the veil (Paroket).

I'm a bit of a heathen when it comes to Qabalah, but I think I can remember some of what I've learned recently, and I think I heard that the Veil of Paroket is what one has to cross to get to the Adept stage: It's the Abyss of something... (Again I say, I'm a heathen when it comes to Qabalah and am probably getting all the jargon completely wrong.)

If the above IS the case, then the fact that the HPS card is the card which 'carries' the seeker across the Abyss (Her Hebrew letter is Gimel, the Camel) to the Magician (Adept) stage could be indicating that in order to be carried across, or to get across, we need a certain kind of knowledge, indicated by the Torah scroll... Bearing in mind this deck has significant Qabalistic tendencies, the Torah can be seen as a holy book even if we ourselves aren't Jewish, so maybe it is spiritual knowledge and understanding we need in order to finally cross the abyss?

Any thoughts, or am I completely off-track here?

Kiama

 

[Umbrae]

Just a thought here…We see through the curtain, and there is water on the other side.

In the Bible, they tell us that outside the Temple, was a large pool, a sea cast in bronze. It also describes the wood used on the inside…

Therefore, would our viewpoint then be from the inside looking out?

 

[firemaiden]

That is a really cool thought Umbrae. From the inside, looking out! If so, what might the implications be for meaning, I wonder.

Perhaps out is in and in is out?

(Is my mind just permanently stuck in the gutter?
We are talking about a virgin... a veil between two pillars...the salty sea beyond...hmmm)

 

[Kore Persephone]

As somone who's pagan, the Jewish symbolism just really doesn't mean much to me, nor does the Tora. Being pagan, I don't follow any sacred book. I liked the concept that The Magician means knowledge from without and The High Priestess knowledge from within. I see the pillars more as meaning yin-yang. The moon represents the goddess. I think each card is very personal and different for everybody.

 

[strings of life]

Here is my interpretation:

In a reading, The High Priestess Tarot card represents unconscious thoughts and tapping into the power of discovering the true meaning or potential of something that may not be obvious at first. She is the gatekeeper to knowledge in this card, and she represents any person who would be in this same role. There is much that is unknown to the naked eye, or mind, in this card. If one opens up the gates–and causes a flood–there is endless potential.

I am using the Universal Waite Tarot deck, so I didn't put the imagery/symbols in this post (that's on my bog).

However, I do want to participate in the threads in this study group since the parallel themes are similar. There isn't a separate Study Group for the Universal Waite and it was suggested that I follow along with this group as I start out.