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 ![]() 4 of Swords |
The Full Moon ![]() 8 of Wands |
The Waning Moon ![]() 4 of Cups |
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Significator #1 ![]() 3 of Pentacles The Secret of the High Priestess |
Significator #2 ![]() 10 of Swords |
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The Dark ![]() The Norn |
![]() 10 of Pentacles |
The Light ![]() 7 of Swords |
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The Next Step ![]() 7 of Pentacles |
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Significator #1
3 of Pentacles
Nature grows in the most desolate, diseased places. Study how nature does it to survive your own climate.
Significator #2
10 of Swords
Classic iconography. Classic significance: Absolute destruction.
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.
4 of Cups
When you order people to do something, be certain that your orders are clear.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.
8 of Wands
The means by which you arrive are not necessarily the means by which you'll stay.
The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.
4 of Swords
Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam!
(Today is a good day to die!)
The Light is what is clearly recognized.
7 of Swords
An Homage to Kurosawa. Seven swords belonging to seven Samurai.
In a realistic movie, even masters can die, and life has a tendency to move like the most implausible plot.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.
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 Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.
7 of Pentacles
'And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof'. –Rev 5:5
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.