ALL THE SECRETS ARE INSIDE
YOU JUST HAVE TO GET BACK THERE
IF YOUR INTENTIONS ARE GOOD
SHE JUST MIGHT LET YOU INSIDE
THE HIGH PRIESTESS holds all the secrets to the Tarot and is easily the most important card in the deck. With the scroll on her lap that reads "Tarot" she carefully guards the entrance to her temple and everything about her has a hidden aspect including the fact that we can't see the last letter of Tarot on her scroll. She represents the moon and is depicted as Diana, the goddess of the Moon. The pomegranates and oak leaves on her veil are there because those were two of Diana's favorite things. She wears the crown or headdress of Hathor, a pair of cow horns with a sun disk. Hathor was a sky-goddess of love, beauty, motherhood, foreign lands, mining, and music.
Back behind the veil are all the secrets of the Tarot as well as all the secrets and special wisdom of life itself. The cross on her chest represents her inner most special secret which is why it is over her heart. Very important to understand is she is the feminine version of the Magician. The Magician is male and outward, the High Priestess is female and inward, The Magician stands, The High Priestess sits. The pure gaze in her eyes stares right thru you as you approach and based on your intentions she will make a decision on whether or not to let you in- in where the secrets are and if you think about it, this is a karmic law of any spiritual searching. Good intentions will yield good revelation.
When she shows up on a reading she always represents inner secrets or hidden things but this can take on many manifestations and meanings and as usual is dependent on the cards around her, which positions, and the question or topic being consulted. A.E. Waite also says that if the person who you're reading for is a male, then this card can represent the women he has an interest in, and if the person you're reading for is a female, then the card represents themselves. Because she represents the moon, we automatically make an association with Pisces and because of the pillars we make an association with the Heirophant and Justice.
For further reading and exploration on this card-
James Rioux (all this guy's stuff is great) - http://www.ata-tarot.com/resource/cards/maj02.html
Aeclectic Tarot - http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/learn/meanings/highpriestess.shtml
Bridget Ellesmont - http://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/major-arcana/high-priestess/
