The High PriestessTarot card meaning
The High Priestess is card 2 of the Major Arcana. In tarot it means intuition, the unseen and stillness. As a yes or no answer, it says not yet.
You already know. Beneath the noise of reasons and opinions, something quieter has been telling you the answer all along. The High Priestess asks you to sit still enough to hear it.
In a yes or no reading: Not yet clear · yes or no tarot →
- Arcana
- Major Arcana
- Astrology
- The Moon
- Number
- 2
What the card shows
A woman sits between two pillars, one black and one white, marked B and J: the doorway of the temple, and she is the threshold. Behind her hangs a veil sewn with pomegranates; what is behind it is not shown. A crescent moon rests at her feet and a scroll sits half hidden in her lap. Everything about the image says: the answer exists, and it is not being shouted.
The High Priestess reversed
A secret is working against you, possibly one you're keeping from yourself. Reversed, she points to ignored instincts and the cost of pretending you don't feel what you feel.
How to read a reversed card →The High Priestess in love
In love, the High Priestess is what goes unsaid. Seated between the two pillars with the veil closed behind her, she keeps something that cannot be read yet: an unconfessed feeling, a story the other person has not told. The card asks you to listen more than you speak. What you need to know will surface on its own, if you leave silence for it to enter.
Is The High Priestess a yes or a no?
The High Priestess answers not yet clear, and says so with the scroll half hidden in her lap and the veil closed behind her. The answer exists, but it cannot be read yet. Something has not been told to you, or something you know has not been said to yourself. Wait until the one who has to speak speaks, then ask again.
The High Priestess and its neighbours in the arc
| Card | Keyword | Element | Yes or no |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Magician | will | Major Arcana | Yes |
| The High Priestess | intuition | Major Arcana | Not yet clear |
| The Empress | abundance | Major Arcana | Yes |
| The Sun | joy | Major Arcana | Yes |
Cards that often appear with it
- The Magician
The card before it in the major arc
- The Empress
The card after it in the major arc
- The Sun
Its mirror from the other end of the arc
- Ace of Cups
The ace that speaks its element at street level
Number and correspondence
In the deck's old correspondences, The High Priestess belongs to the Moon.
Will this card find you tonight?
✶ Begin your readingNew to the cards?
Major and Minor Arcana →