Term: High Priestess

A female Witch who, often with a High Priest, is the leader of a coven. In traditional covens, to achieve this level requires extensive training and experience. In covens that have a three-degree system, a High Priestess will have been initiated into the third degree. It is often abbreviated as HPS.

The 2nd Major Arcanum of the Tarot

Image: a high priestess seated in front of a veil, crescent moon at her feet with the horns upward

Hebrew letter: Gimel

Divinatory meaning: Intuition, Revealed Wisdom, Ebb and Flow

Path on the Tree of Life: 13th path connecting Tiphareth to Kether.

Qabalistic Description. The 2nd Key, the 13th Path. The Priestess of the Silver Star. The Path of the High Priestess connects Kether to Tiphareth along the Middle Pillar, and functions as the purest root-essence of consciousness. It is the direct connection from the highest consciousness, across the Abyss, to the middle consciousness. The letter Gimel means camel whose ability to store water enables the traveler to cross the Great Divide.

Card Description. The High Priestess rules the long path uniting Kether to Tiphareth, crossing the reciprocal Paths of Venus and Leo. She is the great feminine force controlling the very source of life, gathering into herself all the energizing forces and holding them in solution until the time of release. Her colors, pale blue, deepening into sky blue, silvery white, and silver, relieved by touches of orange and flame, carry out these ideas.

Interpretation. Change, alteration, increase & decrease. Fluctuation (whether for good or evil is shown by cards connected with it.) Compare with Death and the Moon.

Psychological Value.  This Arcanum may be used when you are having difficulties in discerning the hidden elements of a problem or situation, or when you need to let go of certain emotions, entanglements, or situations you have been stuck in. It is especially useful when you are prone to periods of tension, anxiety and selfishness. You can invoke this Arcanum when you are experiencing difficulties in achieving inner peace, are seeking serenity, or when you are trying to become most like your truest inner self. It can also be used when you need to receive inspiration, or develop and improve your skills of mediumship and psychometry. (According to the Divine Arcana of the Aurum Solis—Divinity: Pontos;  Greek Letter: Delta.)

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