witchywoman (29 Nov, 2001 22:59):
I honestly can't think of a negative aspect to The High Priestess and would be interested to get your feedback on this Thirteen.
The High Priestess is one of my all time faves, too. What she looks like in a deck usually decides me on whether to buy it or not (not always, but usually).
It's hard for me, too, to say anything negative about her as this card is certainly a totem for me and for most tarot card readers. She's the High Priestess afterall, Yin to the Magician's Yang, therapist, teacher, wise woman, full of secret knowledge, with the moon (intuition) as her ruling planet. When no one else has the answer, she does. And you just know she's got a cool library hidden behind that curtain
One you could live in for days.
But yes, there is a dark side to her as there is to the moon. One problem is that she can symbolize the really scary side of a woman. In the mythic tarot she is Persephone, and that meanst that part of the time, she's the queen of the underworld, of death and ghosts. The HPS can indicate women who are cold and dark as a moonless night, the ones with icy tempers who show no kindness or mercy.
Now, luckily, most women aren't like that all the time (beware those who are!). So the card might only be a tap on the shoulder to a woman, a reminder that she's been kinda mean and chilly lately. It might also be a wake-up call. A woman who is like that often might be in a situation where she's angry all the time. Does this woman feel chained to a man she really doesn't love or respect? Does she resent her children (not all women should be moms!)? Is she in a job she hates? Is there something in her past she's not confronting? Or does she just have a hormonal problem that can easily be treated with medication?
Another potential negative is that the High Priestess could indicate a woman too much inside her head (lost in her books), a loner or even a recluse. "Nuns" who neglect their looks or keep to a look unflattering or outdated, hiding inside dark houses. They insist that they neither need, nor want companionship. Being alone is their elite destiny.
Being the reclusive, in-your-head HPS some of the time is fine, but all of the time means that having secret knowledge is more important to you than making use of it. And that's a waste both of the knowledge, and of you.
If a querent has become that kind of full time HPS, I usually advise her to boldly and radically change her looks and wardrobe, get out into the sun, and for heaven's sake SMILE. Say hello, meet people, share herself. Otherwise, she will wither away in the dark and leave nothing but dust behind.