Major Arcana · II

The High Priestess

A priestess sits between a black and a white pillar, a half-hidden scroll in her hands: Waite's card of secrets and hidden wisdom.

Upright

Yes / No: Maybe

Waite ties the High Priestess to secrets, mystery and silence, to steady tenacity, and to wisdom and learning. She also stands for what has not yet come to light. Sit with the uncertainty for a while, listen closely, and pay attention to what is implied rather than said.

secrets
mystery
silence
tenacity
wisdom
things not yet revealed

Reversed

Yes / No: Maybe

In reverse, Waite gives passion and fierce ardor, moral or physical, along with conceit and shallow knowledge. Is intensity crowding out patience? Or are you settling for a surface understanding of something that deserves closer study?

passion
intense ardor
conceit
surface knowledge

Love & relationships

Upright, the High Priestess brings a quiet, reserved quality to a connection, where much is sensed and little is said aloud. Feelings may not be ready to be voiced yet, or the bond may deepen through patience rather than pursuit. Listen to your own intuition, and respect the other person's need for privacy and time.

Reversed, the High Priestess suggests intensity rushing ahead of understanding: strong passion, but only a surface knowledge of each other. Assumptions may be filling the silence. Getting to know the other person as they really are, rather than as you imagine them, may do more for the bond than certainty.

The image

She sits between two pillars, one black and one white, lettered B and J, and behind her hangs a veil patterned with palms and pomegranates. A crescent moon lies beneath her feet, a horned crown with a globe at its center rests on her head, and her chest bears a large solar cross. The scroll she holds carries the word Tora and is partly hidden by her shimmering mantle.

Symbolism

For Waite, Tora stands for the greater, secret law, and the mantle drawn over part of the scroll shows that some things are only hinted at while others are said outright. He calls her the Secret Church and the Shekinah, the glory that dwells within, and a queen of reflected light. In certain respects, he writes, no card of the Greater Arcana is higher or holier.

In a reading

Upright, the card values quiet, patience and the things you sense but cannot yet name. Reversed, it turns to restless passion or a touch of conceit: are you skimming the surface of something that calls for depth?

The yes / no answer is our editorial reading of the card’s overall tone, not a prediction.

For self-reflection and personal insight. Not a prediction and not a substitute for professional medical, legal, financial or mental-health advice.

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