EXERCISE NLc: High Priestess
Date: Wed, 26 May 2004 14:21:25 +0200
From: Moonchild
To: Comparative Tarot http://comparativetarot.com
Adaptation of Emperor Exercise by Nina Lee Braden
Copyright 2003. All rights reserved.This time I'm not going to do the whole exercise. What I basically did
is pull cards with similarities to the High Priestess, and try to
imagine a setting. I chose The Moon, Queen of Cups, Ace of Cups and Two
of Swords. What I'm looking at here is the ancient feminine oracle--the
Sibyl, gazing in her reflective vessel (water, mirror, crystal). I'm a
bit rusty on my mythology, but I know the ancient Greeks had them
(Circe, Pythoness, Delphi), and there's one on the floor of the
cathedral in Siena (so the Catholics had them?). There are stories of
the priestesses of Avalon seeking visions in a pool, and let's not
forget the wicked stepmother from Snow White.The Priestess is the Sibyl herself, in her spiritual role. The Queen of
Cups shows her specifically scrying. The Ace represents the vessel,
which is the connection to the otherwise unseen and unknown (also
represented by the HP card itself). The Moon signifies the reflective
yet influential aspects, and amplifies the concept of feminine "hidden
things." The Two of Swords represents the process of interpreting the
messages, as well as the decisions we must make about how they will
affect our actions. There was one story in which a warrior asked a
sibyl about an upcoming battle. She replied something like, "If you
cross the river, an army will fall." Of course, he thought she meant
the *other* army. He was wrong. Maybe the Two of Swords should be Prudence.One Love All Love,
Moonchild~~~~~~~~~
Every time that I look in the mirror,
All these lines in my face gettin' clearer. <Aerosmith>
This page is excerpted from my original contributions to the Comparative Tarot discussion group.
Graphics created and generously shared by Full Moon Graphics.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/personal/exercise/EXnl02.html
