Talk:The High Priestess

old talk
The "interpretations" in this article are completely unsourced. Rather than tag the article, may I ask some Adepts to give us the interpretations that are presented by some of the Tarot's many modern interpreters in print? --Wetman 01:53, 6 February 2006 (UTC)

Not sure what you mean by "unsourced." Are you asking where each assertion came from specifically? I've been throwing tarot for 17 years and studying it for longer; I don't think I could begin to figure out where I picked up each piece. Since it's just a hobby (I'm a lawyer in real life), I don't have the greatest notes on it. I've tried to post the sources I found the most useful up -- that's why I added eight references.

As far as modern interpreters -- in my experience, most tarot manuals are frankly terrible; if you really want to learn this, you gotta go back to the source myths or to writers like Campbell or Freud or Jung. And it's not like there is a standards and practices board for tarot, or even student editors at law schools, picking which pieces are any good. But maybe I'm missing your point. . .Lutanite 00:35, 12 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Wikipedia is not the place to vent original research: see No original research for the policy. It's hard to believe that none of the authors of books on tarot in an Adept's library contains a grain of quotable sense. --Wetman 12:03, 12 February 2006 (UTC)

Ah. I think I know what the problem is. Tarot is about archetypes; it's quite literally a card catalog to the archetypes. Mastering the tarot is about mastering these archetypes. There is broad concensus on what archetypes are evoked by the cards, and these sources all get into the archetypes in a deep, but accessible way. I've seen most of them cited in the better tarot manuals. In the context of tarot (though I understand very few other things on wikipedia), I don't think that should be considered original research. That's just picking the best source for the job; unconvering the underlying symbolism. Anyone looking to check if I just made stuff up, I relied heavily on the Banzhaf book on Tarot and the Journey of the Hero; most of what I said can be found in there or sources cited therein. It is an excellent book and I had it open when I composed my edits to the pages.

Not sure what an adept is. Lutanite 01:03, 13 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Perhaps the briefest report on Hajo Banzhaf's use of Jungian archtypes in his interpreting this card, with a succinct quote fromTarot and the Journey of the Hero would help tie this article to specifics. I've read some Joseph Campbell but missed what he says of Tarot: perhaps the reference could be more specific. --Wetman 19:19, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

I removed the "Examples" section since it was entirely Original Research which Wikipedia does not allow. I left the "mythopoeteic interpretation" section because that may have come from a reputable source but it seems to be something based on personal interpretation like the "Examples" section. - DNewhall - In the sub-section Description and symbolism, let's have a clearer, less private description of "the second meaning of the Word".


 * I'm sure your suggestions would improve this mightily, Wetman. My plan is to write up something for all the major arcana cards -- I'll be more assidious to cite sources internally, rather than rely on a "source" section.  Once I'm finished, I'll try to go back and add such detail to the ones I've done already.  Alas, I didn't write the kabbalistic stuff; I also don't know what the second meaning of the Word is.  Lutanite 05:07, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

I´ve written some keywords...I think it will be helpfull to beginners. If you disagree or have something to add... - Don León Cavalero

High Priestess & the Cathars
Could someone enlarge on the link between the High Priestess and the Cathars as mentioned in the opening section of this article? A tantalising comment which is, alas, pretty obscure. Please enlarge. ThePeg 17:30, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

B & J
The text suggests that B & J could represent Baal and Jehovah. I thought they were the names Boaz and Jachim which are what the two main columns in Solomon's Temple were named. Also, I would like to add that the two pillars are the right and left columns of the Kaballah's Tree of Life. The High Priestess sits in the middle. This card is associated with the Sephira Tiphareth, Beauty, which stands in the central column of the Tree, mediates between Gevurah (Judgement) and Chesed (Loving-Kindness) and connects the earthly realm - Yesod and Malkuth - with the Divine - Kether. The High Priestess, then, is the third column or door of the Temple and holds the wisdom of the universe (as symbolised by the flowers behind her, also grouped as the Sephiroth. If you look at the Idra Suta in the Zohar you will find this passage: 'Then he called his son Eleazar and had him seat himself before him. Near him, he placed Rabbi Abba and said: 'We now form a triangle, the primordial figure of all that exists: we represent the door of the Temple and its two columns.' Rabbi Simeon then refrained from speaking, and his disciples likewise. An obscure murmur made itself heard, like that of a large gathering. It was the spirits of heaven who had come down to listen... [Then Rabbi Simeon said] 'Heaven bends down to listen to us, but my words must remain veiled. The earth movrs in order to hear, but what I say will be in symbols. We are, at this very moment, the gate and the columns of the universe.' At last Rabbi Simeon spoke, and tradition presevered in the Mystery of Mysteries assures us that when he opened his mouth, the earth trembled beneath his feet and that his disciples felt it trembling...'. Thus the High Priestess, like Simeon who now dictates the Zohar, sits between the two columns and receives the Divine Wisdom and is able to impart it. Neat, huh? :-) ThePeg 20:47, 23 November 2006 (UTC)

B & J - more
I would suggest that B & J might be Belial and Jehovah. I am working on Satanic interpretation of the tarot and came across your comment. The point is that in Satanic literature Belial is a spirit that often connects to Jehovah in his more negative aspects (Belial helps him, tricks him, and occasionally betrays him). Belial is the utter enemy of Leviathan and Satan and in a Satanic deck the 'Devil' is often Belial. Another alternative is a female aspect/spirit, Leviathan has many lost names and I'm sure one begins with B. Or there is Baphomet who is supposed to be male and female.

Jehovah by the way has several cards connected to him - the main ones are the Emperor (lord), Judgement, the Fool, and the Chariot (war). - The Fool of course is symbolically 'god' in the Tarot mythos - having the number zero.

As for original research, I'm not sure the concept has any real meaning here - my work like most is partly psychic in origin. You cant even understand works like the Tarot without some of this ‘psychic’ feeling. Lucien86 11:11, 1 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Arthur Waite says "pillars--J. and B.--of the mystic Temple" which means Boaz and Jachin. AnonMoos (talk) 14:47, 2 January 2011 (UTC)

Unverifiable and unbalanced content
The article is just personal opinions from an occult enthusiast about the nature and meaning of a particular tarot card. No peer reviewed books or journal articles are cited. No references or footnotes are given. When a new statement is added, the source needs to be cited, and the source needs to be verifiable, and reliable. Waite is not an unbiased, factual source on the history or evolution of tarot cards. The work can be cited properly, however: "Waite's opinion in his book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot ... etc" The other sources are definitely of questionable academic weight. Yes, you do need to cite each statement of fact. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, not an essay collection. Its goal is academic verifiability.

The card in question has a history of over 500 years in European card games in which it is used as trump card (see Tarocchi). The article is unbalanced in that it only features the recent uses of the card for divination. This makes the article biased due to its recentism. Since the article ignores use of the card for game play in Europe and other parts of the world, it offers an anglo-american perspective that raises NPOV issues. There are academic sources and sources from international organizations discussing the history and evolution of the "Popess" card as well as its use in games. Such sources need to be utilized. Dummett has even found evidence for the iconography in this card and its relation to an actual historical woman. - Parsa 08:13, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

So fix it
I wrote a great deal of the apparently offensive text. While I clearly have little capital here, I will tell you that the notion of a peer reviewed tarot resource is silly. It’s a card game and a symbolic language, not rocket science. Admittedly, I might feel differently if I was in fact an “occult enthusiast” rather than an atheist and a lawyer who throws tarot as a hobby, but while I’ve read dozens – maybe hundreds – of books that touched on tarot over the last 25 years, there’s not one I would describe as authoritative or peer reviewed. I listed the major sources I relied on, though I notice someone removed many of them from many of the pages I made my poor effort at improving.

If the folks nattering on about my offensive failure to cite sources have actual improvements to make, I’d love to see them. Be happy to critique them. But I have no interest in going back through books I read over the years to determine what page which factoid was on. I certainly can’t imagine anyone else is going to. You have my blessing and encouragement to delete whatever I’ve written on tarot. The response I’ve gotten has killed my interest in continuing the project anyway. Lutanite 01:54, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

replaced by other cards in some packs
It should aslo be worth mentioning that in two patterns of Tarot cards, this card has been replaced to aviod offence to the church. In one instance, this card and the Pope, were replaced by Jupiter and Juno. In the other instance, this card with the Pope, the Empress, and the Emperor were all replaced by The Four Moors - four trumps of equal rank that are unique to the game Ottocento. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Philebus (talk • contribs) 12:14, August 25, 2007 (UTC)

Moving the Article
Since the historical name of this card was the Popess, and the High Priestess was used only recently, would it make sense to move this article to The Popess?72.137.187.109 (talk) 21:20, 1 September 2008 (UTC)


 * "Recent" in this context means 100 years... AnonMoos (talk) 18:59, 25 May 2009 (UTC)

Nina Simone
Simply because Nina Simone was called a "High Priestess" doesn't mean that it's a reference to the Tarot. Until a direct connection can be established this should not be listed as a pop-cultural reference (85.72.132.79 (talk) 22:11, 1 February 2010 (UTC))

German Wikipedia article
The corresponding article on German Wikipedia has a whole detailed history and scholarly apparatus. It may or may not be solid, but it looks impressive to someone with only a slight knowledge of German... -- AnonMoos (talk) 11:54, 16 November 2016 (UTC)