The High Priestess

Today the High Priestess is calling me. I’ve got  a crazy busy week ahead of me and she’s telling me to trust that it’s all good. She possesses hidden power. The kind of power that  can come across to others as seeing right through them. She stays quiet about it—no need to alert everyone she can read their minds—they sense that she knows too much anyway and steer clear of her like the faerie tales with the old witch in the woods.

She’s actually, though, more of a healing goddess that sees straight to the heart of things. It’s only those who are still trying to hide that think she’s out there in the forest with one eye in her head and the other one in her pocket. She’s mysterious, pensive and to herself, not forthcoming with all of her knowledge unless she feels that she can trust. I mean really, what’s the point if they’re not ready to hear the deep mysteries of the Universe anyway? They know who she really is, and when they’re ready, they seek her out.

Intuitive, psychic, understanding motives that others haven’t even considered yet, she sees the world from a unique place. A place that she keeps centered and calm. It’s like that Sandra Bullock movie where she’s in rehab and she’s trying to lift the horse’s foot to show that she is grounded within herself, that she can trust herself. But, when she tries aloofly and with an overly-confident attitude, the horse won’t budge. Horses are spiritual and sensitive animals. It knows she’s coming with untrue motives and doesn’t trust her.

When she tries again after looking deeper into her own situation then realizing compassion for herself and for others, the horse trusts her. It understands the place where she’s coming from—that deeper understanding of herself. She picks up his foot with no effort at all. He practically picks it up for her.

The High Priestess is that calm knowing presence that won’t budge unless the energy is right. And she knows intuitively when it is and when it is not. She has the knowledge of being through it. She’s been through everyone’s “through it.” She’s connected with the collective conscious in a way that silently conveys to her the motives, intentions, and dynamics of others. They may not acknowledge they possess these motives and qualities in their energy, or they secretly do and are not ready to face that information much less deal with someone else knowing their secrets.

As the second Major Arcana card, The High Priestess possesses duality. She can be a healer to those who want to live in alignment with their higher-self life, and a mirror to those who are shameful and refuse to face and let go of their fears, mistakes, and regrets. She trusts herself. She’s patient, she waits. She observes. She sees it all and grounds in the knowledge.

She will help and be of service when she trusts that the situation is open to receiving her gifts. She’s definitely not frivolous with them. They’re too sacred to throw pearls to swine, so to speak. She is confident enough to be solo and not feel pressure. She understands there is no reason to sell out or give up on herself. She is the epitome of Divine Goddess Spirit. The often unspoken feminine.

Reversed, The High Priestess shows a woman who is misusing her gifts of intuit. She is manipulative or, on the other extreme, superficial. There is a strong need to go within and look at a situation without the ego when this card appears reversed. Be aware that this presence has a great affect on the seeker’s life. This is a strong dynamic that needs distancing from if it represents another person in the seeker’s reading that is not the seeker herself.

Pip Cards and Numerology

Pip cards have elemental values as well as numerical values.
Pythagoras believed that life can be analyzed and explained through numerical terms. Each number has meaning. When you combine elemental values and the meanings that go along with the pip numbers, you can start to really see a story come together through the cards.

Even numbers have feminine energy and Odd numbers masculine.

0: Fool card. 0 Unbiased potential. If the Fool card is reversed it can mean old business or something that you’ve experienced before.

1: Aces. New beginnings in the most literal sense. Birth of a child, a project, a relationship. Reversed indicates delays of these things. Ace of Swords reversed straight out just means no.

2: Choices presented, decisions to be made, partnership, nurturing a part of yourself (e.g. the Lovers card sometimes symbolizes this). Back-and-forth contemplation.

3: Wisdom of the Goddess triad: maiden, mother and crone. Partnerships forming a group. Insight into a situation: the third eye.

4: Foundations, security, equality, material manifestations. Homes, marriage, solid business.

5: Opposite of 4’s feeling of foundation, 5’s are about shakin’ it up. It’s about change, which can create insecurity. Not always a bad thing, change, it can create a sense of fighting for what’s right, self, or a situation. 5 can be seen as (or felt as) marketing and promoting, or fighting for your livelihood. Competition. This might feel like crisis or instability. It can be excitement.

6: The harmony number. Figuring things out. Reestablishing stability after a 5 stretch. Empowering yourself with knowledge through planning.

7: Introspective. Reevaluating. Analyzing. Can be disruptive to the harmony as you uncover some truths about why things played out the way they did, what exactly happened… A come to Jesus with self, if you will. Acknowledging reality and letting go of a fog you might have been living in. Waking up after nurturing denial.

8: Power number. Material manifestation (4) times 2. This is also the infinity number. Universe number that reminds us of abundance. “There’s not just one flower, there are fields.”

9: A cycle is complete. Fulfillment achieved from this completion.

10: Abundance to an excess. A bit of duality: the cycle is over and a new one is beginning. 0 and 1 at the same time. Potential and starting all at once. Kinetic energy.

 

Suits and Their Astrological Attributes

Each suit has astrological attributes depending on their element.
If you know anything about astrology, even if you’re not an astrologer (I’m not), it’s helpful when interpreting the feelings of the pip cards and court card personalities.

Cups = Water Signs
Swords = Air Signs
Wands= Fire Signs
Pentacles = Earth Signs

Cups = Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Swords = Gemini, Libra, Aquarius
Wands = Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Pentacles = Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn

 

The Five of Swords

Up:
The Five of Swords is all about sneak thievery and sabotage. Whether it’s an item that is stolen, trust that is broken, or nasty backbiting—malicious talk behind the seeker’s back, it’s a card that signals mistrust, and rightly so. Often, however, it may be someone that the seeker does not suspect. The slanderous bi-otch may show up in the spread as a court card. It can also signify a situation that is not of high standing or of divine purpose that may be introduced to the client by someone whom he or she trusts.

Reversed:
When the Five of Swords is reversed, the seeker’s name is cleared in some way. They are deemed trustworthy. The cat has been let out of the bag and the betrayer has been spotlighted in some way. Blame and guilt is removed from the seeker. This card, depending on the surrounding cards, like Temperance for instance—a healing card, can mean that the seeker has forgiven past assholishness dished out by another party.

The Ace of Cups

Up:
The Ace of Cups is a strong yes card. It’s about new beginnings for love and friendships, relationships, fulfillment of emotions. Depending on the surrounding cards, the Ace of Cups can refer to renewed existing relationships or relationships on the horizon. It shows the opening of the heart chakra, it is a receiving card. It shows positive karma entering a situation. In business it can mean working with a soul group or working on a mission-based project.

Reversed:
When this card is reversed it can show that wishful thinking is going on in regards to a relationship or situation. Waiting for things to get better in a situation where it’s unlikely to happen. It can also mean delays in a relationship or in a situation that you wish for and that you feel would fulfill your heart’s desires. If this reversed card is paired with the Knight of Cups up, it means that a relationship may have started with a sexual encounter. If the Knight of Cups is reversed with the Ace of Cups reversed, it can indicate a solely sexually-based relationship or love drained away (love lost) depending on the surrounding cards.

One of the major Yes/No Cards