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 ![]() The Empress |
The Full Moon ![]() The Norn |
The Waning Moon ![]() Queen of Pentacles |
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Significator #1 ![]() 3 of Wands The Secret of the High Priestess |
Significator #2 ![]() The Moon |
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The Dark ![]() The Tower |
![]() 5 of Cups |
The Light ![]() The Emperor |
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The Next Step ![]() Balance |
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Significator #1
3 of Wands
Two wands to keep them rowing in circles past death, one wand to put an end to it.
Significator #2
The Moon
Tranquillity, calm, beauty, and for some reason I never understood, lobster. Don't ask me, blame antiquity.
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.
Queen of Pentacles
You can prefer quality over quantity or quantity over quality, but both are valid for different applications. Sometimes a lot of cheap crap does the job, sometimes fewer of the finest is better. Know which is which and don't mistake the two. When in doubt, go with tons of the best.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.
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 Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.
The Empress
Regime change in action, it happens more in the sewers than the senates. One goes out, another comes in.
The Light is what is clearly recognized.
The Emperor
In this case King Sargon of Akkad. A great ruler in his own time rarely even makes the history books in ours.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.
The Tower
10:00 – Card 4
Male, Earth, Libra.
Failure and Loss. Defeat and ruin. The higher it's built, the harder it falls and the more it crushes when it does. That doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't worth building. Defeat can be accepted and the ruins left behind in favour of greener pastures, or one can start to rebuild. The latter is more difficult, but often more rewarding.
The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.
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 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.
5 of Cups
The problem with a hand of glory is that wax melts and glory fades.