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I think it's time I and the High Priestess parted ways.
The High Priestess has a tendency to work at a subconscious level, I'd even say at what's more like a sub-subconscious level. She does work through dreams and the collective unconscious archetypal symbols, but during pathworking, the changes she tends to make are in areas of which collective and personal subconsciousnesses aren't even aware.
She pushes things to the surface, the things we don't admit to ourselves, the things we bury fathoms into ourselves. Things that have been driven into the barren anaerobic muck of pain and anger. It's not all about suffering, though - brilliance can be found hidden here, too - creativity, true love, acceptance... but it's so deep. There aren't even any giant isopods down there, the whale graveyards are miles above, and not the smallest speck of phosphorescence is visible. When we pull these buried things to the surface, netted in the cradle of the High Priestess' crescent moon, they are barely recognizable for what they may have once been. It takes a lot of clear, cleansing water to wash everything away and render those hidden items usable.
During my interactions with the High Priestess, she at least made me stop fighting so hard at just pushing my way through the muck and seek help. She's made me look at myself, not in the harsh light of day - I've been down too deep to be ready for that - but in the mild light of the Moon, and told me it's time to move forward, but the going will be easier because I'm not weighed down by tons of solid silt and the remains of eons of sea creatures.
The High Priestess is Isis Veiled, Keeper of Secrets, and as such she dictates that we do not have to bare our souls to the world. There are things we can keep to ourselves, things we only have to share if we feel the need. There is very little regard for privacy today, even in the face of identity theft - reality television, online confessionals, security cameras on every corner and in every building. If you live open to the world, you lose a great deal of your self. In a way, you make a statement that since you have nothing to hide, you also have nothing worth hiding, or keeping secret, or treasuring for yourself, including your time and true name.
There is danger in the path of the High Priestess. A seeker of knowledge can become too absorbed in the mental world and drift away from the real world. She can lead introspection to develop into paranoia, and solitude to deepen into reclusiveness. While useful, prolonged periods of reclusiveness aren't healthy. Physical needs fall by the wayside and physical illness can result. A person can grow old before noticing they've missed out on the pleasures of youth. She can also be suspicious of other people - because she spends so much time foreseeing the future, all futures, everyone seems self-centered and self-serving to her. The High Priestess is what she is - a holder of knowledge, a studied and disciplined woman, but she is insubstantial and made of more dream-stuff than blood and bone and flesh.
The Empress is the opposite of the High Priestess. Here is woman in the flesh, of the flesh. She is proud and down-to-earth, haughty and compassionate, serious and good-humored. Her learning is more practical and experienced than the intellectually structured High Priestess. The Empress doesn't spend much time worrying about the next life, or even the future beyond the next harvest. She leads by example instead of words and oracles. The High Priestess is a king-maker, the Empress sovereign in her own right. Even though they are opposite one another, they are not in opposition. The High Priestess has sovereignty over the world of the spirit, the Empress sovereign over the Earth.
I've always felt most compatible with the Empress, and have always associated myself with her image, but I've drawn away from her over the years as I've gotten older. It will be interesting to go back to her and see what she has to say to me now.
The High Priestess has a tendency to work at a subconscious level, I'd even say at what's more like a sub-subconscious level. She does work through dreams and the collective unconscious archetypal symbols, but during pathworking, the changes she tends to make are in areas of which collective and personal subconsciousnesses aren't even aware.
She pushes things to the surface, the things we don't admit to ourselves, the things we bury fathoms into ourselves. Things that have been driven into the barren anaerobic muck of pain and anger. It's not all about suffering, though - brilliance can be found hidden here, too - creativity, true love, acceptance... but it's so deep. There aren't even any giant isopods down there, the whale graveyards are miles above, and not the smallest speck of phosphorescence is visible. When we pull these buried things to the surface, netted in the cradle of the High Priestess' crescent moon, they are barely recognizable for what they may have once been. It takes a lot of clear, cleansing water to wash everything away and render those hidden items usable.
During my interactions with the High Priestess, she at least made me stop fighting so hard at just pushing my way through the muck and seek help. She's made me look at myself, not in the harsh light of day - I've been down too deep to be ready for that - but in the mild light of the Moon, and told me it's time to move forward, but the going will be easier because I'm not weighed down by tons of solid silt and the remains of eons of sea creatures.
The High Priestess is Isis Veiled, Keeper of Secrets, and as such she dictates that we do not have to bare our souls to the world. There are things we can keep to ourselves, things we only have to share if we feel the need. There is very little regard for privacy today, even in the face of identity theft - reality television, online confessionals, security cameras on every corner and in every building. If you live open to the world, you lose a great deal of your self. In a way, you make a statement that since you have nothing to hide, you also have nothing worth hiding, or keeping secret, or treasuring for yourself, including your time and true name.
There is danger in the path of the High Priestess. A seeker of knowledge can become too absorbed in the mental world and drift away from the real world. She can lead introspection to develop into paranoia, and solitude to deepen into reclusiveness. While useful, prolonged periods of reclusiveness aren't healthy. Physical needs fall by the wayside and physical illness can result. A person can grow old before noticing they've missed out on the pleasures of youth. She can also be suspicious of other people - because she spends so much time foreseeing the future, all futures, everyone seems self-centered and self-serving to her. The High Priestess is what she is - a holder of knowledge, a studied and disciplined woman, but she is insubstantial and made of more dream-stuff than blood and bone and flesh.
The Empress is the opposite of the High Priestess. Here is woman in the flesh, of the flesh. She is proud and down-to-earth, haughty and compassionate, serious and good-humored. Her learning is more practical and experienced than the intellectually structured High Priestess. The Empress doesn't spend much time worrying about the next life, or even the future beyond the next harvest. She leads by example instead of words and oracles. The High Priestess is a king-maker, the Empress sovereign in her own right. Even though they are opposite one another, they are not in opposition. The High Priestess has sovereignty over the world of the spirit, the Empress sovereign over the Earth.
I've always felt most compatible with the Empress, and have always associated myself with her image, but I've drawn away from her over the years as I've gotten older. It will be interesting to go back to her and see what she has to say to me now.
