Key Meanings

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Intuition, inner knowing, the subconscious mind, mystery, stillness, wisdom, patience, hidden truths, divine feminine energy, spiritual insight, passive power, sacred knowledge

Reversed

Ignoring your intuition, someone is keeping secrets from you, losing touch with who you are, trying to hide your feelings, being superficial, someone is keeping information from you, lacking your inner voice, thinking too much, using silence to manipulate you, shutting yourself off from the world, being confused, losing touch with your instincts

General Interpretation

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The High Priestess is the keeper of the unconscious mind. She signifies that still small inner voice that the majority of people have learned to ignore. When this card appears we need to stop focusing on the logical and outgoing left-brain and give attention to the intuitive and incoming right-brain. There is something going on beneath the surface that has yet to come to light. The High Priestess tells you that the answers to your questions will not come from others or the outside world. You already know the truth deep down, you can feel it without needing to logically prove it to yourself. Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts. This is a time for patience not action. This is a time when silence is golden.

Reversed

When reversed, The High Priestess can indicate that you are not listening to your inner wisdom. Where is that gut feeling you used to get? You may have so much "noise" in your life that you can't hear your intuition or you may be completely ignoring it. The High Priestess reversed can also indicate secrets. Not the kind of secrets that are kept for the sake of diplomacy but the ones that create mistrust and confusion. You may feel that something is wrong but not know what. It can also be an indicator that you have severed a link to your emotional or spiritual side and are choosing to stay at the surface rather than delve deeper. This can lead to making decisions from a place of anxiety rather than from a place of calm.

Love & Partnership

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In an existing relationship, The High Priestess indicates deepening the emotional or intimate side of a relationship. It signifies a level of understanding between you and your partner where sometimes no words are needed. It can also indicate that one partner may be withholding feelings or thoughts from the other but not in a deceitful way, just that they sense it's not the right time to share.

For single people, this card can indicate that you are taking a little time to get yourself ready for love! The type of attraction you will experience now will not be attention seeking or loud, it will be subtle and magnetic. Someone is attracted to you but they haven't made themselves obvious yet! It may also be a sign that you need to trust the process rather than trying to force a relationship to happen.

Reversed

In relationships, The High Priestess reversed is not a great omen as it can signify emotional distance. One or both partners may be holding back, keeping things to themselves or not willing to have the "real" talks. Misunderstandings fester in this kind of environment. What appears peaceful on the surface may really be avoidance and the distance between you will increase if it continues.

For the single person, in some cases, The High Priestess in reverse can indicate that you have ignored red flags or overrode your instincts about someone you were interested in. You may have tried to rationalise your feelings away or got caught up in fantasy rather than reality. It can also signify a time of being emotionally unavailable to love, even if you think you are available.

Social Relationships

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In terms of friendships and social circles, The High Priestess indicates that you will become a trusted confidant within your existing friendships and social circles. People in your life will come to you for advice or just to vent their frustrations and be listened to. You have the ability to discern the meaning behind the words in a conversation and understand what people are trying to convey even if they don't say things directly. You will have fewer friendships but the quality of your friendships will be very high.

In terms of new social connections, The High Priestess indicates that first impressions can be deceptive. A new person in your life may have more to them than they are initially letting on. It can also signify that the best connections are made in intimate settings rather than large social gatherings. A coffee one-to-one is preferable to a packed party in this context.

Reversed

For existing friendships, the High Priestess in a reversed position can indicate gossip, betrayal of confidence or feeling like someone close to you isn't being genuine. Trust issues come to the fore. A friend may be keeping something from you or you may feel that you are not being fully informed of what's happening in the friendship group. It's that kind of tension you can feel but is just under the surface.

With new people, The High Priestess reversed warns you to be careful not to misread the signals. Someone new in your life may be presenting themselves as something they are not. Alternatively, you may be putting qualities into a new person's character that are not actually there. Your social intuition is off in this position which makes it more difficult to form genuine new connections.

Work & Career

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The High Priestess in a career context indicates quiet competence. It signifies that you know more than you're letting on in meetings and you are aware of the office politics that others are oblivious to. Keeping your cards close to your chest is one of your strengths. It suits a career in research, analysis, behind the scenes work or any job or situation where having a keen mind is an asset but being a chatterbox is not! It can also mean that you are in a holding pattern in your career, gathering intelligence before making your next move. Not every career opportunity needs an immediate answer!

Reversed

Reversed in a work setting, The High Priestess reversed can represent workplace politics, hidden agendas or being kept out of the loop. It can indicate that there may be decisions being made behind closed doors that will impact you. It can also represent second guessing your professional instincts or ignoring your intuition that something is not quite right in your work environment. Another theme with this card is caring too much about what other people think rather than trusting your own expertise and experience.

Money & Finance

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Financially, The High Priestess is not a Big Risk or Big Investment card. It indicates a more reserved financial approach to investing and money. Take your time to research and think things through. Hidden financial information may be revealed during this time. Your financial instincts will serve you well in this period, particularly if your instincts are telling you something is amiss but it's not reflected in the figures.

Reversed

In a financial context, The High Priestess reversed can indicate missing something in the fine print. There may be hidden fees, terms and conditions may not be clear or someone may be intentionally hiding financial details from you. It can also indicate that you are spending impulsively without thinking, based on emotion rather than common sense. Your financial worries may be affecting your judgement and causing you to make decisions that seem like a good idea now, but will not be beneficial in the long term. It can also signify that you have not thought things through or are choosing to be ignorant of the reality of your finances.

Spirituality

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The High Priestess is one of the most spiritual cards in the whole deck. You will be connecting to the inner you with this card in your Tarot reading. Meditation, dreamwork, journaling and any practices that quiet the mind are all favoured. Your spiritual development at this time is all about stillness rather than action. The answers are not in another book or with another teacher. They are inside you, just waiting to be noticed.

Reversed

Spiritually, The High Priestess in a reversed position can indicate that you have disconnected from your inner life. The noise of the outer world may have completely engulfed you and any spiritual or intuitive practices which used to give you clarity have fallen by the wayside. It can also be a sign of spiritual bypassing, where you use spiritual concepts as a way to avoid confronting emotional or psychological issues. Alternatively, it may indicate that you do not trust your own spiritual experiences or you are brushing off your intuitive nudges as "just my imagination". Usually the way to resolve this is to take the simplest first step: make time for quiet.