JDusk
Image: An expanse of choppy purple-indigo water in front of a flat-topped mountain flanked by two smaller sharper mountains. Greenish light is cast onto their peaks. There are thunderclouds covering the entire sky. There is a full moon in the top left corner, peeking over a cloud but also completely visible through the cloud, which must be more transparent than it first appears. Many stars are also visible through the clouds. A bolt of lightning with 3 prongs strikes the water in two places in front of the mountain. The water is highly reflective and the moon and many stars, even brighter than in the sky, are visible on its surface.
Keywords: Misdirection, obscurity, manipulation.
Element: Air
Visual analysis: The indigo and purple colors evoke spirituality (but not all white light and positive energy, here), while the strong reflections call to mind illusions. Even the choppy waves are a bit like undulating clouds. Combined with the lack of visual contrast, it's evoking a somewhat hazy state of mind, where sky and sea become blurred. It's mysterious in a fairly ominous way, and the expanse of choppy water makes me think of turbulent emotions. The lightning strike brings an element of danger.
I’m struck by the brilliance of the stars on the water, very mirror-like. I had difficulty putting my thoughts into words here, then found this: “In a psychological sense, mirrors symbolize the threshold between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. By looking into a mirror, one may look towards the depths of their unconsciousness.” (source) That seems appropriate for this card.
Both upright and reversed meanings are negative here, according to the guidebook—misdirection, cloaked intentions, and haziness are at work vs. being at the mercy of these forces, but I think these seem more appropriate for the reversed side – when what you are facing is the illusion of the sky in the water, a very eerie image. This way around, I think your intuition could be off-track and you could be having a very hard time perceiving the reality of a situation. Upright I see it more as confronting mystery and subconscious forces, and being in murky waters, but still knowing reality from illusion, or at least seeing and seeking the truth of the spiritual world.
As Mensa: This is a mountain said to house vengeful spirits who would lure shops off-course and run them aground on the rocky coast. Misdirection is definitely present here in the mirrored sea, and the cloud cover speaks to obscurity and cloaked intentions.
As the High Priestess: Mysterious forces are definitely at work here. Interestingly, I think this mountain's myth holds the key to its meaning as Priestess. There are spirits on that mountain—and they might be vengeful but I’m willing to bet they have some hidden knowledge, maybe secrets they took to their graves. Then there is the pull of the spirits, calling you to them—you must be cautious when following your intuition, when listening to mysterious forces. You could find wisdom, or you could find danger. Or some things could remain shrouded. This is the darker side of this card, but I think it is still here. There is also the full moon which touches on the feminine symbolism of the Priestess.
Keywords: Misdirection, obscurity, manipulation.
Element: Air
Visual analysis: The indigo and purple colors evoke spirituality (but not all white light and positive energy, here), while the strong reflections call to mind illusions. Even the choppy waves are a bit like undulating clouds. Combined with the lack of visual contrast, it's evoking a somewhat hazy state of mind, where sky and sea become blurred. It's mysterious in a fairly ominous way, and the expanse of choppy water makes me think of turbulent emotions. The lightning strike brings an element of danger.
I’m struck by the brilliance of the stars on the water, very mirror-like. I had difficulty putting my thoughts into words here, then found this: “In a psychological sense, mirrors symbolize the threshold between the conscious mind and the unconscious mind. By looking into a mirror, one may look towards the depths of their unconsciousness.” (source) That seems appropriate for this card.
Both upright and reversed meanings are negative here, according to the guidebook—misdirection, cloaked intentions, and haziness are at work vs. being at the mercy of these forces, but I think these seem more appropriate for the reversed side – when what you are facing is the illusion of the sky in the water, a very eerie image. This way around, I think your intuition could be off-track and you could be having a very hard time perceiving the reality of a situation. Upright I see it more as confronting mystery and subconscious forces, and being in murky waters, but still knowing reality from illusion, or at least seeing and seeking the truth of the spiritual world.
As Mensa: This is a mountain said to house vengeful spirits who would lure shops off-course and run them aground on the rocky coast. Misdirection is definitely present here in the mirrored sea, and the cloud cover speaks to obscurity and cloaked intentions.
As the High Priestess: Mysterious forces are definitely at work here. Interestingly, I think this mountain's myth holds the key to its meaning as Priestess. There are spirits on that mountain—and they might be vengeful but I’m willing to bet they have some hidden knowledge, maybe secrets they took to their graves. Then there is the pull of the spirits, calling you to them—you must be cautious when following your intuition, when listening to mysterious forces. You could find wisdom, or you could find danger. Or some things could remain shrouded. This is the darker side of this card, but I think it is still here. There is also the full moon which touches on the feminine symbolism of the Priestess.