Being an ever-practical Capricorn, I’ve never had a close relationship with
"Llewellyn Encyclopedia, High Priestess" href="http://www.llewellyn.com/encyclopedia/term/high+priestess">The High Priestess card. But lately, I’ve been actively seeking her wisdom. Even
though I believe I’ve made progress, The High Priestess still seems like a challenging card. She’s not exactly easy to get to know! But she is, ultimately, worth the effort. Not only is she
fascinating in her own right, but she reveals worlds within ourselves that can be astonishing.
In Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom, Rachel Pollack gives an
in-depth look at the historical, esoteric, and mythological aspects of The High Priestess. She also discusses psychological approaches. One of the most intriguing features of The High Priestess is
the fact that she (traditionally) sits before a veil. The whole question is “what is behind the veil?” Often (again, traditionally), there is just a glimpse of water just barely visible on the other
side of the veil. Pollack believes that these waters represent the unconscious. By this she means, “[t]he vast sea of life beyond our personal experience, needs, and desires. Myths, inspiration of
divine wonder, dreams that seem to come from a deeper place than the usual anxieties—these all give us glimpses of the unconscious behind the veil of everyday existence.” She points out …
