From Prairie:
The Fool is now learning to use his intuitive, feminine side in this card. The moon under the High Priestess' left foot shows her dominion over pure intuition. He is learning balance. The 2 pillars the HPS is sitting between are Boaz & Jachim, the pillars of mercy & severity. The Magician learned severity. Now the High Priestess discovers mercy.
The tapestry hung between the pillars keeps the casual observer out & allows only those initiated in the High Arts to enter. The pomegranates on the tapestry are sacred to Persephone. They are a symbol of duty (Because Persephone ate pomegranate seeds, shouldering the duty and responsibility to return to the Underworld every year.) The High Priestess realizes that mercy and severity must both be seen in the light of duty and responsibility.
The blue robe the Priestess is wearing is a symbol of knowledge. So, the Fool has worn the white undergarment of purity, shouldered the red cloak of materialism, and now dons the blue mantle of knowledge.The TORA in her lap is the book of the law, again symbolizing knowledge.
The solar coss on her breast is a symbol of balance between male & female. The Magician is the upright stave, the High Priestess is the horizontal one. Together, they form an equal-armed cross, symbolizing balance.
The palm means fertility of the mind and the cube she's sitting on is the earth, symbolizing her control over the earthly plane, as well as the Spiritual plane. (She is wearing the crown of Isis, symbolizing the Triple Goddess.)
The number 2 symbolizes duality, as well as a form of conflict. The Magician's severity is at odds with The High Priestess' mercy.
The High Priestess is a good card to meditate on when you are feeling out of balance in your life.
EXERCISE::
For this exercise, think about an area of your life that you feel is out of balance. Draw the High Priestess card. Place it on the table, and look at the symbols on the card. Think about what they mean to you. Meditate on this card for a few minutes.
Now shuffle the rest of the deck, concentrating on the area of your life that is out of balance. Ask the High Priestess for guidance. Pick three cards and lay them out below the High Priestess. Read the cards as a story. This should tell you what the real problem is. Now, ask for a solution to the problem, how you can get your life back in balance. Lay out three more cards over the three 'problem' cards. This should tell you the solution.
Take what you have learned and make a positive plan on how to implement the advice the High Priestess has given you. This last step is important! Make a plan and follow through!
Tell us what deck you used, what your insights were, what the solution was, and how you plan to implement this.
I'm looking forward to hearing your responses to this exercise!
From Prairie:
I'm using the Spiral Tarot, a wonderful deck with gorgeous pictures and right-on symbols.
I drew the Ace of Swords, The Sun and the 7 of Swords. This tells me that the area of my life that needs more balance is in my personal relationship.
Because of something that happened recently (AS), my happiness (Sun) has been clouded and the trust (7S) I had has been destroyed.
The next 3 cards were the Princess of Cups, Justice and the King of Pentacles.
The PC over the AS tells me I need to learn to trust more. The Justice card over the Sun tells me I need to make a conscious decision to take control of my own happiness. Nobody can 'make' me happy or unhappy, except me. I am responsible for ALL my own feelings. The KP over the 7S tells me that he is trustworthy and my own security and happiness depends on me trusting him again.
So, my course of action is to consciously trust him, no matter what. Every time I have a moment of doubt, I'll remember the KP covering the 7S and keep my suspicions to myself. Recently, I did another exercise to learn what my spirit guide was telling me, and the message was very clear. I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. This exercise confirms that for me.
From Lynell:
This is somewhat involved, but I spent a lot of time with it. I decided to share most of it with the group. I left out some "particulars."
The High Priestess:
Honoring the Power of Intuition, Dreams, Grace, and Spiritual Knowledge
The Deck:
Goddess Tarot, with Goddess book and Spirit Tarot Book as initial keys
The Story Situation:
4 Pentacles - power, inheritance, talent
Prince of Swords - communication, written message, power of words, decision
Judgment (Gwenhwyfar) - dissolution and resurrection, new cycle, an important decision that could be frightening, confidence in character not pretense or force
The Balanced Solution:
Princess of Swords - fighting against traditional values, convictions, incisiveness, cutting through confusion, focus, defending oneself
3 Cups - harmony and celebration, grace, peace, integration
5 Cups - transition, loss, disillusion with or disintegration of relationships and orientations, desire to move on, breaking through creative blockage.
The Interpretation:
I see a woman with great potential. She carries with her a power and a talent which she inherited from her early upbringing. This may have been from another incarnation. There is presently a movement in her life to use her power to communicate to others, to impart a message of importance for her. Yet she is held in limbo between two directions to take in its regard. She fears judgment and the consequences of her communication. She wonders what she herself will become and how she will relate to others afterward. In this, she tends to want to cling to the security she has and to back away from the challenge of the message. She needs to have confidence in her own character to bring her through the transition and change. She cannot engineer her success, nor gain it through force; she must trust in her divine right to a new life of increased sovereignty.
This can only be brought about by being incisive about cutting through confusion and traditional values that do not support her. She must focus on her own beliefs. Instead of holding back, she needs to recognize that she is supported by her own spirit and by those who do understand and care for her. She needs to look around and become aware of the harmony that does surround her, the integration and growth that has occurred in her life through the life lessons she has mastered. She can look afresh at her future because she has conquered the past. She must not let fear turn her desire for change into a mourning or a morose obsession with this past. The promise is that by releasing past loves, past lives, and past dreams, she will be strengthened in her task and supported in her talent. There is a strong suggestion that the pull from the past comes from another incarnation which she does not even recognize.
The Immediate Step
Free yourself from the lure of a past whose time and task is complete. Name its lesson and allow it to rest peacefully in your soul. Awaken to the truth of the Moment. Claim your crown and sound your decree.
The Lesson, Awakening, and Decree:
(Using the Minchiate Tarot)
9 of Swords & Charity:
healing fears through love, understanding, and empathy
6 of Swords & 9 of Coins:
detaching from problems through self-reliance, balance, and honor
3 of Staves & 8 of Coins:
successful creation through skillful application of knowledge
(Charity, I believe, is the highest wisdom of the Priestess. It is a self-less, ego-less acceptance of life and our places within it. It is a recognition of the divine in every creature, an understanding of spiritual growth and evolution. Through empathy, Charity teaches that we are all united, and therefore, nothing needs to be feared. Genuine love for life transforms the soul. Despite our pain and sorrows, beauty abounds and carries us forward.)
May the Priestess grant me opportunities to practice Charity in my life so that I may become more familiar with her face.
Likewise, may I turn judgment into correct discernment by opening up to ideas of abundance and by honoring the earth and my own place within it. I will honor myself by developing those talents I've been given. I will invest in myself.
I will be diligent in applying my skills and always be willing to learn more. This will lead to my success. I will not be hindered by the prospect of hard work. I will find joy and value even in this effort.
Each day I will do something which I love, allowing myself to enjoy what I am doing without guilt. I will delight in developing more skill and knowledge in those activities I love. And in doing those things which I do not cherish, I will find something of value to honor. If I honestly cannot, I will no longer do those things. I will not deplete my resources with harmful activities.
I will keep a record of these resolutions.
Lynell
From Prairie:
Lynell,
Very good interpretation of the cards!
Excellent solutions! Keeping a record is a good idea. Anytime you feel 'down', read back over your resolution and read your journal to see how far you've come. Thank you for a wonderful exercise!
From Carissa:
Wonderful!
I can tell you spent a lot of time with this.I believe, also, that charity is the highest wisdom of the Priestess. Charity is an act that comes from compassion, and I know that without the charity I have received many times in my life I would not be as happy or confident as I am. Charity is an act of kindness and grace fed by compassion for another.
Your resolutions show that you are indeed taking the lessons of the High Priestess to heart! Good for you!
Hugs and cheery smiles,
Carissa
From Lynell:
Well, I called it upon myself!
I said:
***May the Priestess grant me opportunities to practice Charity in my life so that I may become more familiar with her face.
Likewise, may I turn judgment into correct discernment by opening up to ideas of abundance and by honoring the earth and my own place within it. I will honor myself by developing those talents I've been given. I will invest in myself.***
We just had a call from someone who is asking for serious help. Let's just say that I'm really having to look at the meaning of Charity and how to apply that in a way fair to all. I think there's a double message here. First, helping someone without judgment. And second, honoring one's self.
I ran across the following quote:
"But how shall we expect charity towards others, when we are uncharitable to ourselves?" (Thomas Browne).
Peace,
Lynell
From Prairie:
I, too, am learning a lesson on Charity, but from the other side of the coin. My daughter's house burned down this afternoon. She lost everything! She got out wearing only a T-shirt and underwear. Everybody is okay, but they lost everything. She is pregnant and has a 2 year old son. I've been asking everyone for donations. They aren't sure if they even have a car because it was parked next to the house and the firemen wouldn't let her near it. So, the lessons of the High Priestess can run both ways. It's hard to ask for help, but sometimes it's necessary!
From Lynell:
I have a question that maybe some of you have had experience with. Have you done readings where you've asked a question concerning yourself, but felt like the answer was referring to another person ... even another time?
I know this sounds odd. But when I did the exercise for the High Priestess, I kept feeling like there was other energy there besides my own. Now granted, our own inner worlds do call forth similar experiences in the outer world, and maybe this is why I feel like the reading is many-layered, but I'm wondering if in order to respond completely to the reading, I should begin to differentiate between these energies - my own and others. In fact, I wonder if we sometimes open empathic channels as we work with the tarot and other esoteric tools.
The main cards I am referring to are the 5 of Cups & 9 of Swords. In particular, the 9 of Swords has shown up three more times since my High Priestess reading.
The night I did the original High Priestess exercise, I dreamed that two women, an older woman and a younger woman, somehow changed places in time through a vortex. And when I woke up, I had the impression that my husband's mother had influenced the reading. (She committed suicide several years ago in the house where we are living.)
The next day, my husband's daughter called, very depressed. She's breaking up with her fiancé and doesn't know what to do. She has a two year old.
As for my part, I have related to the temperament of my husband's mother (though not the severe depression aspect). She was a writer and a very independently-minded person. I have often wondered about her unhappiness and frustration with life. I think she was blocked in many ways from the full expression of who she was. And now, I am feeling guilty because we cannot help my husband's daughter more than we are able. Nothing we do seems to make a difference, and I can't find a satisfactory answer for our involvement in her problems.
Any thoughts on these cards and the situation - other energies coming into play? I could use some objective comments. :-)
Lynell
From Shanda:
I have noticed that before in some of my readings.
From Therese:
Maybe you had been unconsiously thinking about someone other than yourself when you did the readiong. This has happened to me before, so I nver do a reading for myself when I have too much on my mind.
Therese
From Prairie:
A lot of my readings turn out on an entirely different subject. Recently, I did a reading for a man who asked one question, but it turned out, he had been subconsciously thinking about his daughter, and the reading reflected this.
## I wonder if we sometimes open empathic channels as we work with the tarot and other esoteric tools.##
This is quite possible. Maybe your mother-in-law had something to say, and when you opened your intuitive senses, she was able to come through. I don't usually believe in channelling, but that's not to say that it doesn't legitimately happen from time to time.
##The main cards I am referring to are the 5 of Cups & 9 of Swords.##
I'm wondering if the 9S showed up to foreshadow the phone call from your step-daughter. Maybe she is tn need of your help right now, and the reading reflected that. The 9S depicts sorrow, but most of the time the sorrow is for another person, and not yourself. This situation is exactly what the 9S would depict... you feel pain and sorrow for her. The 9S doesn't necessarily imply helplessness, though. The 9 has the power to help the other person (the symbols on the blanket show that you have the power to do what it takes to make the other person feel better.) Look to the next card for the solution. The 5C tells you how to make her feel better.
##The night I did the original High Priestess exercise, I dreamed that two women, an older woman and a younger woman, somehow changed places in time through a vortex. And when I woke up, I had the impression that my husband's mother had influenced the reading. (She committed suicide several years ago in the house where we are living.) The next day, my husband's daughter called, very depressed. She's breaking up with her fiancé and doesn't know what to do. She has a two year old.##
I am worried here that your step-daughter may be depressed over the break-up and may be contemplating taking the same path as your mother-in-law. Your dream may have been telling you that you have to take the role of mother and guide her in the same way her grandmother would have.
##As for my part, I have related to the temperament of my husband's mother ....... And now, I am feeling guilty because we cannot help my husband's daughter more than we are able. Nothing we do seems to make a difference, and I can't find a satisfactory answer for our involvement in her problems. ..Lynell##
You say you have the same temperament
as your mother-in-law. Imagine what she would say to the girl and how she would have handled the problem. This should give you a clue as to how you can help you step-daughter. The 5Cups gives you a good clue. In the 5, the person is concentrating on what she has lost (in this case, the fiancee), and not on what she has left. (Her child and a family that obviously cares about her). Help her to focus on the good things in life. Direct her mind to the good things. Find something she likes to do, and remind her that life is worth living, even without him. Take her and her child to the amusement park, or to the ice cream parlor. Focus her attention on the child. Try to get her to do fun things with you. Your goal is to have her go one whole day without mentioning the boyfriend's name. Once she can accomplish that, you know you're on the right track and she's on the road to recovery. Good luck! Let us know how this turns out.
Prairie
From Lynell:
PrairieMoon,
thank you for all your comments. I had similar intuitions as you and it helps to hear them validated.
My step-daughter lives in Arizona while we live in Alaska. That is a big part of the problem. Besides phone calls, occasional visits, and sending money, we are not able to be directly involved in what she is going through. The other grandparents are wonderful people and very close to the grandchild, so at least she has that support despite the looming breakup. At this time, we only have a small, one bedroom home, but are in the process of looking for another place. But for now, I don't see how she and the little boy could stay with us; yet I still feel frustrated.
I think I am remembering my own earlier years as a new mother and later as a single, working mom. I know she's trying to discover her self-identity, and maybe this is why I am getting connections to my husband's mother. Depression often leads us to a crossroad: go more deeply into our soul, or escape in fear of the unknown. (sounds like the 9 of Swords to me) And we have to make that path choice for ourselves. The journey is our own. I must be satisfied with only giving guidance and sharing my experiences. Maybe the best thing to do is to talk with my step-daughter about her grandmother's path. It's a meeting place for the two of us.
This has really turned out to be very real life-exercise with the High Priestess.
Lynell
From Shanda:
I ended up doing this exercise twice. The first time I did it my mind was a total blank so I went ahead and drew three cards. I just couldn't decide what are in my life I needed to think about. The first three cards I drew related to and meant that my income was failing. However the following three cards which would guide me with my solution didn't make any sense to me. So I did the exercise again a few days later. This time I stared at the High Prietess longer. About fifteen minutes. I thought about everything I could that I felt was out of balance instead of just trying to think of one thing. The first three cards I drew were reminders of the fact I hadn't decide what area in my life I needed guidence on. The next cards I looked at that told me the solution, said I needed to see to myself and to communicate my needs and thoughts clearer to others so I wouldn't be so indecisive later.
Also thinking of what I mentioned about needing guidence, while I stared at the card the High Prietess seemed to say "I am the ultimate guide."
From Prairie:
Shanda~~
Tell me the 6 cards you drew the first time you did the exercise. Then tell me the 6 cards you drew the next time you did it.
A lot of the time, the solution is there, but you are so close to the situation, you don't see it right away.
From Shanda:
My cards were the eight of pentacles, King of pentacles, Tower, then five of pentacles, nine of wands, King of cups.
Then on the second attempt it was five of wands, eight of wands, three of cups, then two of cups, Magician, and four of cups.
From Prairie:
Shanda~
Your first attempt was: the eight of pentacles, King of pentacles, Tower, then five of pentacles, nine of wands, King of cups.
First, make a story out of the first 3 cards. You've been working hard (8P) to try and save some money (KP), but something always seems to happen (Tower) whenever you start to get a little ahead. This is the area that needs to be balanced.
The solution was the 5 of pentacles, the 8 of wands and the King of Cups. ...... The 5P covering the 8P tells me that you are working hard, but there never seems to be enough money. The 8W covering the KP shows your impatience with your lack of money. And the KC covering the Tower shows that you and your husband have been fighting over the issue. So......
What does this all mean? It means you need to relax about the situation. Yes, you are struggling financially, and from the looks of things, you are considering going back to work, but you're afraid there still won't be enough money for a babysitter and everything else. (8P & 5P) You are wishing your husband would hurry up and get a raise or a higher paying job. (KP & 8W). You love your husband, but you are fighting over money lately (Tower & KC). My advice would be to budget your money, realize that the situation is only temporary and try not to criticize or argue over this.
Which brings me to the next subject. Sometimes a reading will look like it doesn't make any sense, but if you keep a Tarot journal, write the reading down and look at it a few days later and you may be able to come up with some fresh insights.
Your second reading was five of wands, eight of wands, three of cups, then two of cups, Magician, and four of cups. Again, the 5W shows the arguing. Your impatience (8W) over the situation shows up again, and the 3C shows the concern over the family.
The 2C covering the 5W shows the arguments affecting your relationship. The Magician covering the 8W shows that you have the ability to curb your impatience and make what you want happen. The 4C covering the 3C shows that you are being offered an opportunity that will affect the happiness of the family, but you are so upset over the immediate situation that you are not thinking clearly and can't see the opportunity. So...
The solution would be to let go, trust in your God or Goddess, relax and let it happen the way it's supposed to. I know this isn't the easiest thing to do, but you have the promise of the Magician and the 4C to ease your mind. Things will get better, even though it may not happen as soon as you'd like it to.
From Shanda:
We're not married. But everything esle makes sense. My notebook I'm keeping for this course is turning into a Tarot journal. When I can read my own writing! LOL
