Secret of the High Priestess Spread

 

 

Difficulty: Average

This spread makes a nice alternative to the Celtic Cross, which covers basically the same ground. It is useful when a question doesn't quite call for the Ankh spread. This tarot spread is helpful for looking into a current trend. The High Priestess may or may not present a mysterious secret to be analysed after the rest of the spread.

1. & 2. Main impulses representing the topic at hand. They may compliment or oppose one another.

3. This is the current influence at this time.

5. The Waning Moon is the influence that is moving into the past.

4. The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon, or the approaching influence. This is the immediate future.

7. The Light is what is clearly recognized, consciously.

6. The Dark indicates what is there but not fully perceived, though noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.

8. The Next Step is the near future, where this journey leads.

9. The final tarot card, only if it happens to be of the Major Arcana, reveals the Secret of the High Priestess. This is a special message that should be given added weight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Secret of the High Priestess Reading

The Waxing Moon 8 of Swords – Interference	The Full Moon 8 of Cups – Indolence		The Waning Moon Prince of Swords
	Significator #1 The Devil	Significator #2 Queen of Cups
The Dark Knight of Wands	The Secret of the High Priestess Ace of Swords		The Light 5 of Wands – Strife
	The Next Step The Beast

 

 

 

Significator #1 

 

The Devil

Capricorn

The Devil is your opposite, <%custom1%>, your Anima or Animus, your Demonic Self. (s)He is your dark side and your inner child. The traits that we lack in our own selves causes us to seek completion in many of our relationships. Most of our earthly relationships are based on fulfilling this Devil inside of us. In certain people such as the very well-rounded or spiritually developed, this part of the personality may already be fulfilled. The children walk with The Devil hand in hand.

Meaning:
Temptation, obsession, impulsiveness, ambition, materialism, self-fulfilment, fate.

 

 

Significator #2 

 

Queen of Cups

5:00 – 7:00 Female
Cancer

The Queen of Cups sits on a waterfall throne in front of a cave. In her right hand she holds a lotus and in her left she holds a silver cup. On her crown is a crab, a symbol of Cancer. In the background is a dark canyon and in the foreground her reflection is visible in the water. She represents the most passive and receptive type of person.

Meaning:
A dreamy, imaginative, tranquil, poetic, and extremely receptive woman. Generous, yet not overly hospitable. She is very dependent on the neighbour cards in determining dignification.

 

 

The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past. 

 

Prince of Swords

2:00 – 4:00 Male
Aquarius

The Prince of Swords rides the sky in his cloudy chariot of air, pulled by three young men representing his thoughts and ideas. He symbolises purity of the intellect, but also instability. As he pushes forward with his sword, he is frustrated. His thoughts are all over the place. In his left hand he holds a sickle, symbolising his tendency to destroy his creations as quickly as he makes them, perhaps overly critical of his own ideas.

Meaning:
A pure intellectual, clever but unstable of purpose, a mind full of various contradictory ideas and opinions.

 

 

 

The Full Moon is the current influence at this time. 

 

8 of Cups – Indolence

Saturn in Pisces

Eight cups stand on a bed of mud where the water receded. Dark clouds have rolled in to overcast the pale-yellow sky. Half of the cups have been spilled. This is the morning after.

Meaning:
Success abandoned, apathy, misery, transience, instability, a small victory. Sometimes means abandonment of materialistic pursuits in favour of the spiritual.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence. 

 

8 of Swords – Interference

Jupiter in Gemini

Two swords of one kind have gone on a power trip over six swords of different kinds. They have interfered with the natural chaos in establishing order.

Meaning:
Waste of energy in attention to details at the expense of the big picture. Restriction. Bad news, sickness, crisis, censure, distress, hardship, misfortune.

 

 

The Light is what is clearly recognized. 

 

5 of Wands – Strife

Saturn in Leo

Conflict. Five male lion heads together represent opposition and a battle of wills. The nature of each lion is to dominate his territory, so five in one place is not good. They butt heads in the struggle for supremacy.

Meaning:
Struggle, competition, opposition, violence, quarrelling, lust and carnal desire.

 

 

 

The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness. 

 

Knight of Wands

Sagittarius

The Knight of Wands rides a white horse charging forward. The white horse symbolises the conscious side of awareness. It also symbolises the purity of fire, the vital energy and passion that boldly drives the organism. The Knight has his torch in his right hand and arrows on his back; bow and arrow being the weapon of Sagittarius.

Meaning:
A man of action, generosity, pride, and impetuousness.
When ill-dignified: A cruel, bigoted man without mercy.

 

 

 

The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you. 

 

The Beast

Leo

Also known as Lust or Strength. The carnal experience. The whore rides the great beast of the apocalypse. She knows one way to tame the beast.

Meaning:
Strength, courage, energy, control of vital forces, resorting to magic, love affair.

 

 

 

The Secret of the High Priestess - if, and only if, this card a Major Arcana, it reveals the Secret of the High Priestess. This is a special spiritual message that you should pay extra special attention to. If it is not a trump, the Priestess has revealed no secret. 

 

Ace of Swords

The Root of Air

The initial embodiment of the spirit of air is the bearer of light. The sword penetrates the crown of Kether. In the background ten rays pour out of the spiritual sun, indicating the full potential contained within the seed of the Ace. The beginning of a new way of thinking.

Meaning:
Invoked force, conquest, strength through tribulation, triumph of force. A spiritual understanding with heaven.