Women Of The Major Arcana

The High Priestess of the Tarot Women represents a virgin of sorts. She can be seen as being similar to the Greeks goddesses Athena, and Artemis. Many lunar images can be seen on various High Priestess cards because this image is that of a maiden moon or new moon.

This image is usually shown at the feet of the Waite version of cards, as the crescent. The moon, in all three phases is seen in the Isis crown on the card. Two horns depict the waxing and waning phases of the moon. A circle in the middle symbolizes the full moon. Many believe that the High Priestess is a guard of secrets and the mysteries of life.

This is because she is usually shown holding a book or some type of scroll. It is because of this that people believe she is telling us that many mysteries exist and at sometime we might be privy to these mysteries. Unfortunately right now these mysteries are guarded and protected only to be unraveled at another time.

Why? In the unconscious, our ego will only allow us to see truths if we pretend we exist isolated from the rest of the world. To enlighten us, the High Priestess usually tries to engulf us by making us question our very being. This would be our existence.

This is hard for people to accept as they are usually given very little information about their existence. That is all the High Priestess will allow. When a reading is performed, the High Priestess suggests people need to delve inside themselves to find peace.

Is it hard for people? It has been suggested that it can be hard for people to find a truth they cannot explain. When this happens people must accept that if they cannot find their truth or peace, then they need to be tranquil as to not totally lose this inner peace.

The Empress is a feminist of sorts. She embodies amiability, passion, and a desire for opulence. The Empress can be seen as being similar to Demeter, and Aphrodite. Aphrodite is known as the Goddess of love. Another name for Aphrodite is Venus.

Also symbolized by the Empress is a correlation between motherhood and a woman's sexual appetite. Great passion and a yearning for motherhood can be illustrated by the Empress. A female's sexual prowess can be associated with development and abundance of ferocity for life as depicted by the Empress. Early drawings of the vulva symbolize the relationship between fertility and emergence of human life.

Pleasures of life are associated with the Empress because of her direct relationship with fertility. In a reading the Empress is associated with life and emotions. She is also affiliated with the giving of herself like mother gives of herself to her children. Fertility of the body as well as the spirit is stressed by the Empress.

Often in Tarot readings, the Empress blinds us with passion, causing people to be blinded by their personal strife in life. Often the Empress is viewed as a mother in a reading.

The Empress may indicate infertility or rejection when reversed in a reading. Other times the Empress provides enlightenment in order to sway people to more insightful aspects of life, rather than just succumbing to their deepest yearning.