Whoever draws The High Priestess in the tarot almost always arrives with an objective question and leaves the table with the feeling of not having received an answer. The frustration makes sense, and yet the reading was given.
Arcanum II is the card of what exists and is not yet available. It does not inform: it informs that it is not the time to know. Recognizing this changes the entire spread.
This guide brings the profile of the arcanum and the symbols that Arthur Edward Waite described in 1910. It also brings the history of a card that was born with a papal tiara and the reversed reading, with a detail that almost no Brazilian site shows.
Does The High Priestess answer what you want to know?
No. And that is the information.
Arcanum II describes a position, not an outcome. It says that the matter is still forming, that someone did not say everything, or that you have already noticed something and still have not admitted it.
Notice the drawing: almost every element of the card covers something. The veil covers the background, the mantle covers half of the scroll, the two pillars stand side by side without her choosing one. Nothing there is fully exposed.
That is why haste is the worst counselor when The High Priestess falls on the table. The card asks for time, silence, and the collection of information before any move.
If The Magician shows someone ready to act, The High Priestess shows someone who knows when not to act. The two cards complete each other, and that is why they come in sequence.
Arcana II Profile
| Field | The High Priestess |
|---|---|
| Number | II, the second numbered arcanum, right after The Magician |
| Other names | La Papesse (Marselha), La Papessa (Visconti-Sforza), The High Priestess (Rider-Waite-Smith). In Portuguese: A Papisa and A Suma Sacerdotisa |
| Correspondence | the Moon, in the most used astrological attribution |
| Upright (current reading) | intuition, inner wisdom, silence, patience, study, mystery that asks for time |
| Upright, by Waite (1910) | secrets, mystery, the future not yet revealed, silence, tenacity, wisdom, science |
| Reversed (current reading) | ignored intuition, a secret that leaks or suffocates, self-deception, decision made by external noise |
| Reversed, by Waite (1910) | passion, moral or physical ardor, presumption, superficial knowledge |
| Yes or no | tends toward maybe, in the criteria that the blog uses in tarot yes or no |
The Hebrew letter associated with the card varies between Beth and Guimel depending on the esoteric school. This is a system attribution, not a consensus, and it is worth telling the reader. The complete list of the 22 arcana is in the guide to the major arcana of the tarot.
Symbol by symbol: what the image hides
The description below follows the text of Waite in the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, from 1910, which remains the primary source of the most used deck in the world.
- The pillars J and B: she is seated between the white column and the black column of the mystical Temple, Jachin and Boaz. White and black mark the duality that she sustains without taking sides.
- The veil of palms and pomegranates: the veil of the Temple is behind her, embroidered with palms and pomegranates. The pomegranates refer to the cycle and fertility, the palms to the masculine principle.
- The Torah scroll: the scroll in her hands brings the word Torah, the Greater Law. The mantle covers part of the scroll on purpose, to show that some things are spoken and others remain implicit.
- The crescent moon at her feet: the lunar cycle, the mind that works in phases and not in a straight line.
- The diadem with the globe: the lunar crown of three phases on her head.
- The solar cross on her chest: the solar balance within an entirely lunar card.
Waite also writes that she was once called Occult Science at the threshold of the sanctuary of Isis, but that the most precise name would be Secret Church.
From the heretical popess to the guardian of the Temple
The High Priestess is one of the cards that has changed faces the most over five centuries.
| Phase | How the card appears |
|---|---|
| Visconti-Sforza, around 1450 | La Papessa is a nun wearing a papal tiara. Tarot historians, including Michael Dummett, associate the figure with Maifreda da Pirovano. She was a Lombard nun elected popess by a local sect and executed by the Inquisition in 1300 |
| Tarot de Marseille | La Papesse, the woman enthroned with a tiara and a book. The French name translates as The Popess, a nickname that stuck in Brazil |
| Rider-Waite-Smith, 1909 | the papal tiara comes off. The pillars of the Temple of Solomon enter, the pomegranate veil and the Torah scroll |
Behind the oldest version is also the legend of Pope Joan, the medieval story of a woman who supposedly occupied Peter's seat. She appears in 13th-century documents, with chroniclers such as Jean de Mailly and Martinho de Opava. Modern historiography rejects the legend as fiction, likely of satirical origin.
What matters here is iconographic. The card began as a provocative image and ended as the guardian of a knowledge that is not given to just anyone. The current reading carries both layers.
The High Priestess in the reading: love, work and combinations
In love, it indicates an existing and yet unspoken feeling, a bond in the observation phase. It is not a card of declaration or of defining a relationship. The advice is to trust what is already perceived before demanding proof. The general criteria are in the tarot of love guide.
At work, it points to study, backstage, information that has not yet circulated, and tasks that require secrecy. It also usually signals a conversation happening behind the scenes.
In spirituality, it is the card of seclusion and listening. Here is a caveat: seclusion is a present value in many practices, and this does not make the card equivalent to nothing.
In yes or no, the practical result is to wait. The card does not deny the request, it only informs that the answer is not yet formed.
Most searched combinations:
- With The Magician (I): the pair of doing and knowing. Action on one side, listening on the other.
- With The Moon (XVIII): two cards of veil in the same spread. The Moon speaks of what confuses and scares, The High Priestess speaks of what is kept hidden. Together, they ask that the decision stay off the table for now.
- With The Sun (XIX): the secret that finally comes to light.
The High Priestess Reversed and the shadow of the card
In contemporary reading, the reversed card usually points to ignored intuition. The person perceived, chose not to look, and decided by the noise from outside. It also appears as a secret that leaks at the wrong time, or a secret kept until it becomes a burden.
Waite, in 1910, listed another thing for the same position: passion, moral or physical ardor, presumption, and superficial knowledge. The contrast is useful. In his key, the inversion of silence is not a lack of listening, it is an excess of ardor and the certainty of someone who studied little.
It is worth reading both layers together. The person who ignores their own perception is usually the same one who convinces themselves too quickly.
None of the readings is mandatory. The method of working cards in reverse is explained in reversed cards in tarot. Each reader decides whether to use the inversion or read the card by its position in the spread.
One final caveat. Tarot was born as a card game in 15th century Italy and is not part of the liturgy of Umbanda or Candomblé. The High Priestess is not an orixá (orisha) and does not correspond to any. Correspondences of this type belong to the own system of tarots of orixás, which has a Brazilian structure and a different logic.
Frequently asked questions
What does The High Priestess card mean in tarot?
It means knowing that something exists but is not yet available. It indicates intuition, study, silence, and patience, and signals that the subject of the question is still forming. The practical reading is to observe and gather information before deciding, instead of demanding an immediate answer.
What is the number of the card The High Priestess?
It is number II, the second of the 22 major arcana, right after The Magician and before The Empress. In Roman numerals, it appears as II, and some decks bring the name The Popess instead of The High Priestess, mainly in versions linked to the Marseille Tarot.
What does The High Priestess reversed mean?
In the current reading, it indicates ignored intuition, self-deception, or a secret that leaks. Waite, in 1910, recorded different meanings for the same position: passion, moral or physical fervor, presumption, and superficial knowledge. It is worth considering both keys before finalizing the interpretation.
Is The High Priestess in tarot a yes or no?
It tends toward maybe. As it is the card of what has not yet been revealed, it pushes to wait and gather more information instead of closing the answer. In objective spreads, the most honest thing is to say that the question does not yet have a formed answer.
Why is The High Priestess also called The Popess?
Because in old decks, she appeared as a woman with a papal tiara, called La Papessa in the Visconti-Sforza and La Papesse in the Marseille. Waite removed the tiara in 1909 and placed the pillars of the Temple in its place, but the old name continued circulating in Portuguese.
Where to buy tarot decks and items
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what you need to study and to work with the cards:
- Rider-Waite tarot decks: the classic edition, with the art of Pamela Colman Smith
- Marseille Tarot and Romani deck: for those who study the oldest systems
- Towels and reading cloths: in various fabrics and colors
- Candles, incense, and fumigants: to prepare the space before the reading
- Boxes, pouches, and crystals: to store and cleanse the deck
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or talk to us via WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil. We also offer tarot readings with Joice.
Tarot is a tool for symbolic reading and self-knowledge. It does not predict the future in a closed way, it does not replace a doctor or therapist, and it does not decide anything in place of the person asking.
References
- Arthur Edward Waite: description of arcana II in the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part 2
- Arthur Edward Waite: the original divinatory meanings of 1910, part 3
- Wikipedia: The High Priestess entry, with iconography and identification by Maifreda da Pirovano
- Wikipedia: Pope Joan entry, about the medieval legend and its rejection by historiography
- Maria Antónia Jardim, Meer magazine: reading of the Popess as arcana II in the Tarot de Marseille
