What Does The High Priestess Card Mean In Tarot?

Tarot cards have been used across ancient cultures: as playing cards, tools of divination, and artistic imagery, according to Learn Religions. Considering the roots of tarot, it isn't surprising to learn that these cards use heavy symbolism that are entrenched in religious archetypes and the traditional duality of gender. The deck of 78 cards have priests, priestesses, kings and queens; all give meaning to your own intuition, as well as questions you may have about the world, by categorizing qualities according to traditional male and female identities, This Might Hurt Tarot notes.

In a clear demonstration, you can see the Emperor card represent logic and authority, per Biddy Tarot, while the Empress card represents nurturing femininity. Tarot readers across YouTube and TikTok now interpret these symbols as ambiguous "male" and "female" energies, instead of the strict gender roles that make no sense in the 21st century. The High Priestess card is thus; it's a feminine counterpart to the Magician card. But it also has other meanings in the context of the tarot card reading.

The Magician card, the masculine counterpart to the High Priestess, indicates your control and manifestation of resources and the tangible world, according to Biddy Tarot. (For instance, your new business is ready to take off or you can finally afford that home you've been stalking on Zillow). And when the High Priestess card shows up in your tarot reading, she wants you to shift your focus inwards. The card represents your subconscious and intuitive understanding of the world, the outlet notes, offering spiritual enlightenment and a connection with an intangible realm. You may want to sit still, meditate, and trust yourself to find the areas in your life that are possibly out of balance. 

The card also invites you to connect with the Divine Feminine — your empathy, compassion and inner wisdom — regardless of your gender, Biddy Tarot notes. If the card comes up in reverse, you may be disconnected from this energy and are too focused on the material world.

In a love reading, the High Priestess could mean that you need to be patient — while also being truthful to yourself about uncertainty or volatility in relationships, Labyrinthos posits. The card in a career reading may signal higher learning and waves of creativity coming in — as the High Priestess does represent divine knowledge and wisdom.