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 ![]() 2 of Cups |
The Full Moon ![]() 5 of Wands |
The Waning Moon ![]() Balance |
|
Significator #1 ![]() 10 of Wands The Secret of the High Priestess |
Significator #2 ![]() Ace of Swords |
||
The Dark ![]() Ace of Wands |
![]() The Empress |
The Light ![]() The Norn |
|
The Next Step ![]() The Fool |
|||
Significator #1
10 of Wands
The average Tarowandian can spend up to 65% of its life span brushing its teeth. No matter what the fates bring, never forget to brush your teeth twice a day and floss. Also be sure to see a dentist twice a year to check for cavities, and brush your gums too to maintain a healthy pink colour. Red gums mean you may be susceptible to GINGIVITIS.
Significator #2
Ace of Swords
'At the east of the garden of Eden he placed the Angel and a flaming sword that turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life'. –Genesis 3:24
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.
Balance
AKA Justice in traditional Tarot.
Not the scales of a common religious moralist and no longer a cardinal virtue, but the raw, heartless justice of nature.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.
5 of Wands
The means may be grotesque, but if they get you what you want you'd do well to use them.
The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.
2 of Cups
And two for my homies. Never forget past orthodoxies, past people or past events. Those who don't know their history aren't doomed to repeat it, they're doomed to fail history class and look like idiots. One feels no shame in repeating something they never saw in the first place, but stupidity is the greatest sin.
The Light is what is clearly recognized.
The Norn
2:00 – Card 10
AKA The Wheel of Fortune in traditional Tarot. Female, Air, Gemini.
Symbolic of fate, and what is fate but change? Everything changes in time; change is the only constant. What one cannot control one must predict, and act in accordance with. Opposition to the inevitable yields only pain.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.
Ace of Wands
A wand is a means to a magical end. If you don't like what you're seeing, use yours to change the channel.
The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.
The Fool
6:00 – Card 0
Male, Water, Pisces.
Ignorance is a trait of the most basic. To let the currents of time and fate dictate one's actions completely, to seek the lowest, easiest path will lead one downwards. One's hunger will destroy what's beautiful, resulting in the squandering of things put to better use.
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.
The Empress
Regime change in action, it happens more in the sewers than the senates. One goes out, another comes in.