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 9 of Cups |
The Full Moon The Wheel of Fortune |
The Waning Moon 4 of Cups |
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Significator #1 5 of Coins |
Significator #2 3 of Coins |
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The Dark The Sun |
The Secret of the High Priestess 4 of Coins |
The Light 5 of Swords |
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The Next Step 8 of Swords |
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Significator #1
5 of Coins
Wealth and poverty are separated by a wall. The rich man is wearing white gloves. He doesn't want to get his fingers dirty. The poor man has a missing middle-finger, the centre has been lost. His stick is brittle.
The colour blue separates the colours red and yellow from brown and green. The yellow is similar to gold. Red used to belong to the most expensive colours. Green is also the colour of mould and brown is the colour which at first appears to be inert.
The candle is helping the poor man to find sense and the distant path, as far as he is aware of them.
Significator #2
3 of Coins
The picture shows an attestation as a symbol of real development and change, framed by symbols of different areas of life: a fish, sausages, a hammer and compass for handicrafts, a lute, a palette and brushes for art, a book for knowledge, appreciation and education, the two hands for social understanding.
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.
4 of Cups
A fourth cup, which, does not really want to fit in the well-balanced harmony of the other three, joins the three cups. The hand with its intensive colour shows the rejection it experiences. The fourth fish is green, as though it felt ill. Altogether the colours are lighter than those of the Three of Cups.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.
The Wheel of Fortune
In the middle of the diagram three discs can be seen. I often use the number three in the descriptions as a basic universal number. The inner disc is blank. On the second disc we can make out the hourly Roman numerals. They appear anticlockwise to show that time's direction is relative.
The signs of the zodiac on the outer disc show a further meaning for the course of time. Around these discs or rings, as though one could present them how one liked, the four elements are arranged. They seem to be rotating and moving in a circle from light into dark and back again.
The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.
9 of Cups
The content of the nine cups is being poured over the picture and meets in a whirlpool in the middle. Three colours refer to the number three, out of which the number nine (3x3) exists. Notes (music/art), grapes (food/drink) and a heart (love/friendship) stand for areas which contain pleasure and well-being.
The colour red points to warmth, blue symbolises refreshment. The colour green can be understood as referring to a negative aspect on the card e.g., exaggerated personal pleasure.
The Light is what is clearly recognized.
5 of Swords
The middle sword divides the scene. It symbolises disconnection in itself and is the only one that has remained whole.
The 'winner's' sword, decorated with a laurel wreath, seems to be less bent than that of the 'loser', but it is also unusable. The pierced heart shows the 'loser's' certainty of having injured his enemy in the worst possible way.
The dark colours in the picture show that it is a matter of something unpleasant. The energetic connection, portrayed by the waves at the top and bottom, has been cut off.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.
The Sun
The sun can be seen clearly and it dominates the picture. The last walls are being conquered and in between them flowers are already growing. This lets us suspect that the difficult path is at an end. The path, which continues, can already be seen beyond the wall.
The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.
8 of Swords
The swords look like a cage. The eye is closed; it is looking into the inner vision; it is trying not to be aware of its own feelings. Some of the fingers are being dipped in the water; there is already contact here. The colours blue and pink show the strong contrast between understanding and emotions, which are trying clear the way for themselves.
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.
4 of Coins
The safe symbolises the need for protection. Certain themes are referred to: money, possessions, love and relationships. The star stands for the vision, which is worth holding on to.
The blue-and-white checked-pattern portrays narrow-mindedness through misunderstood reliability. At the bottom of the picture the devil's horns and some hell-fire have found their place, illustrating dependence.
