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 ![]() 10 of Swords |
The Full Moon ![]() 6 of Swords |
The Waning Moon ![]() Page of Swords |
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Significator #1 ![]() 8 of Pentacles The Secret of the High Priestess |
Significator #2 ![]() 6 of Pentacles |
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The Dark ![]() 9 of Swords |
![]() 10 of Pentacles |
The Light ![]() 3 of Cups |
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The Next Step ![]() 10 of Cups |
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Significator #1
8 of Pentacles
Things grow from other dead things. Don't overlook them for their dark origins, and don't dismiss the dead as a total erasure of what was.
Significator #2
6 of Pentacles
Don't overlook a good solution just because it's obvious.
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.
Page of Swords
Chaos is dangerous to both belligerents. If you have all the arms and all the thorns in the world, you're just as much a danger to yourself if you don't keep track of them.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.
6 of Swords
Something has to make the rain come down. It got up there but once there's enough of it, it falls back to Earth. It's not enough just to let it happen, if you want to understand you have to observe.
The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.
10 of Swords
Classic iconography. Classic significance: Absolute destruction.
The Light is what is clearly recognized.
3 of Cups
Based on Canova's Three Graces. And don't say there's nothing to do in the Doldrums. Time spent doing nothing isn't wasted if it was enjoyed, only if it was miserable boredom.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.
9 of Swords
Drawn on July 4th to the sound of fireworks. Weapons and explosives are now components of ritual as often as components of battle. I suppose they always were.
The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.
10 of Cups
The most valuable things in the world are worthless if you throw them down the drain. And yes, those are Zebetites.
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.
10 of Pentacles
The tree of life doesn't play out flawlessly like it does in the diagrams. It's actually far more distorted than that. Don't mistake the map for the territory and follow books blindly.