Welcome to this guided meditation to invite the wisdom and magic of the High Priestess tarot card.
If you have a version of this card with you,
Please feel free to have it visible while we work with this meditation.
But if you don't,
That's fine,
You don't need one,
As we will be working with the realm of imagination anyway.
If you haven't already,
Take a moment to get yourself settled.
Sit comfortably or lay down if you prefer.
And it's completely fine to allow this meditation to carry you towards sleep.
Let your awareness drop down into the earth below you,
The land that you are on right now,
And your relationship with this land,
The season,
The time of day,
Maybe you happen to know what the moon is doing.
Notice your breath,
Notice your body.
When you feel ready,
Turn your attention to the High Priestess.
You may gaze at her if you have that image there,
Or simply imagine her in your mind.
This is one of the most beloved cards in the tarot deck.
The High Priestess is beautiful and mysterious,
Standing before a veil that shimmers in a windless breeze,
Seeming to invite us into her secrets.
She has been drawn in many ways by many different artists,
But she is best known in the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck,
Where she sits on a throne between a black and a white pillar,
A lunar crown on her head.
Her blue robes fall to her feet like water,
A crescent moon seemingly caught in its waves.
The veil behind her is decorated with ripe pomegranates,
And just beyond it we see a glimpse of the endless ocean.
Close or soften your eyes if you haven't already,
And notice what comes up in your mind's eye,
Your intuition or your imagination.
What details pop out at you?
How do you feel as you sit with this image of the High Priestess?
The High Priestess is generally paired with the Hierophant in the tarot deck,
Whose role is essentially the Pope.
He represents spiritual authority,
Especially from a Catholic perspective.
But the High Priestess is not simply a female version of him,
Especially since there is no such thing as a female Pope in the Catholic Church.
So who is this High Priestess?
Whose mysteries does she protect?
Some believe she is a rebel,
A woman who tried to change Catholicism by creating a world where women could be Pope.
But she may also be much older than the Pope,
Older than Christianity itself.
Once upon a time the Goddess was the supreme divinity of the universe,
And she was attended by a High Priestess,
Maybe many.
There are hints throughout the tarot that this Goddess could be the Greek Demeter,
Goddess of Grain,
Especially with the pomegranate symbol associated with her daughter Persephone,
Who became Queen of the Underworld after eating several of the ruby red seeds of this fruit.
She could attend Aphrodite,
The Greek Goddess of Beauty,
Who became central to the practice of alchemy,
The occult ancestor to chemistry,
Where practitioners worked to find the perfect balance of ingredients that could turn lead into gold.
This Goddess,
The High Priestess' Goddess,
Could even be Asherah,
Goddess of Trees,
Once the consort of the Hebrew God in ancient Canaanite beliefs,
Erased from the Bible,
Suppressed,
Represented by a pole or a pillar,
Possibly like the ones we see here.
If the High Priestess serves a Goddess,
A feminine deity,
How does that shift the way you feel about her?
What do you notice in your body when you connect with the concept of devotion to a divine feminine source?
The deep ocean behind the High Priestess' veil is a symbol for the waters of the unconscious,
And perhaps also this divine feminine realm.
What might you need to feel ready to move past that veil and enter these deep,
Mysterious waters?
If the High Priestess is here to initiate you into these mysteries,
Would you like to know what is on the other side?
Imagine that you are here with her,
This imposing High Priestess,
Who may initiate you into these divine feminine secrets.
Imagine you are with her in the temple,
Attending her,
Learning whatever it is you might need to know to go further.
Do you want to peer into these secrets?
What might you want to learn about yourself,
Should you wade into the waters of your own unconscious,
Your own intuition,
Your own,
Maybe,
Divine feminine?
If you are willing,
And when you feel ready,
Imagine that you can.
Imagine that the High Priestess opens this portal for you to walk through.
Spend a little time imagining what might be behind the veil for you.
You may see something,
You may feel something in your body,
You may converse with the High Priestess,
Or you may simply rest in the darkness behind your eyes.
I will give you a little time to be here in your own time and in your own way.
Receive the wisdom of the High Priestess to whatever degree happens today,
And whatever it is,
Allow that to be enough,
To be perfect.
You are welcome to spend as much time as you like here.
When this practice does feel complete,
Gently surface,
Returning from the deep waters of your meditation with this wise woman.
Notice if there are any messages that are becoming clear for you,
Anything you need to remember or pay attention to moving forward.
There may be nothing today,
And that's completely fine.
But I do advise you to pay attention to your thoughts,
Feelings,
Body sensations,
And dreams over the next few days,
And see if the High Priestess is trying to send you a message.
Thank her for being with you here either way.
Take your time to return to your world,
Your body,
Your breath,
The room you're in,
Whatever else you'll be attending to today.
Thank you for spending this time with me,
The High Priestess,
And your own intuition.
Your meditation is complete.
