heart shaped world

Along with The Magician, the most misunderstood and misread of cards.  Many divinatory packs – for the Tarot did not start as an oracle – reserve these two as significators.  Whilst The Magician stands for the artifice of humankind and the power of language which we have created, The High Priestess represents Nature – natural magic, laws we obey though without understanding how and why they work.  Occult – hidden, and arcane knowledge is accessed through our High Priestess. It is instinctual, often sub-conscious and beyond the realm of simple language.  Such do we speak of a sixth sense, of intuition, which is often ascribed as feminine.  Since the Sun God replaced the Moon Goddess in the civilized world, she stands for the profane, as opposed to the sacred and women’s intuition is variously revered or grudgingly acknowledged.
Completely feminine and the counterpart to The Magician, the High Priestess is the Gatekeeper of the subconscious. She travels in worlds which most of us only glimpse in our dreams. Her realm is that of unseen truths, untapped potentials, and hidden dangers. The Calling of The High Priestess is to go beyond the obvious and visible to tap those powers which are veiled from normal vision. While she is passive by nature, she has the power to uncover unknown potential and is very aware of the infinite potential all humans harbor within them. She is also very patient. She can wait for events to blossom in their own time.
    Seen from her favorable side, she is the expression of patience, understanding, goodness, and the willingness to forgive. As helper, healer, or prophetess, she uses the power of the subconscious for the good of others. However, her darker side represents the archetype of the "evil woman," the witch who uses her black powers to seduce, lame, and hurt other people.