| The Women of the Tarot
The Women of the Tarot are very varied in their aspects. In the Major Arcana there is the High Priestess and the Empress.
From the pictures you can truly see the difference between them. The High Priestess sits between the pillars of Solomon’s Temple, named Boaz and Jachin, signifying the negative and positive life forces. She is not influenced by either one of them; she sits firmly in between them; she is non-reactive in that regard. You can see that she is a Moon Goddess from the moon on her head to the moon lying at the hem of her gown. The cross that she wears also signifies the male and female aspects of life, the yin and yang, positive and negative. Again either does not influence her.
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When one approaches the High Priestess, one feels the austerity that she emanates. She is the Virgin Goddess and the sign Virgo resonates with her. She resides within the Temple of Solomon and thus depicts innate wisdom as shown by the Torah, book of Hebrew wisdom, sitting on her lap.
Like the Empress, she has pomegranates, symbols of fertility in her backdrop. Unlike the Empress however, she does not wear the pomegranates on her gown. This means that she has the capacity for manifesting, but does not do so.
The Empress is all about manifestation. She is truly connected to the Earth energy, from the wheat in front of her to the lush foliage around her. The Empress is the creator of the earth and represents fertility and Venus, as shown by the heart-shaped shield inscribed with the feminine symbol of Venus. The trees in the background are cypress trees, again representative of Venus. You will notice the scepter she carries shows her dominion over the earth.
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The High Priestess is the Goddess of the Moon and thus represents everything that is unconscious, and latent. She is hidden, mysterious and occult. She depicts the coolness of the moon whereas the Empress is the sun goddess, radiating warmth, fertility and abundance.
There are many times in our lives when we find ourselves expressing our High Priestess self when we ask for wisdom within detachment and ourselves. Females are not known for the detachment more commonly seen in the male personality; When a woman is detached, it is more of a rarity; and thought of as a male attribute. The Empress is involved in all aspects of the world. Her purity comes from her extraordinary connection to the earth. She carries the strength of the earth and can signify pregnancy, birth and nurturing. She is present in all aspects of life, from birth to death. She contains all as it was.
When one receives the High Priestess card, it is time perhaps to withdraw from life for a time and reside in one’s wisdom. It is a time of mediation and cultivation of one’s wisdom.
When one receives the Empress, one has resource to a fount of fertility and is capable of being creative, feminine and procreative. When a client once asked me if she could get pregnant, I received the Empress card and it turned out to be a true omen.
Look carefully at these cards and see how you these attributes resonate within you. They are very powerful and can perhaps evoke feelings that you were not aware that you possessed. When one stares at the cards for a long time, it is not unusual to feel yourself merging with the cards. That is the true magic of the Tarot.
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