Mary El Tarot - The High Priestess

Debra

I think that's a sun, planets and moon on her belly.

I see four breasts too.

Marie wrote somewhere that she was breastfeeding while she painted, and that's why the deck has so many full breasts. (She didn't want people to think she was advocating Barbie Doll boobs) :laugh:
 

Laura Borealis

I think that's a sun, planets and moon on her belly.

I see four breasts too.

Marie wrote somewhere that she was breastfeeding while she painted, and that's why the deck has so many full breasts. (She didn't want people to think she was advocating Barbie Doll boobs) :laugh:

:laugh: They're not quite perky enough for Barbie ;)

Sun, moon and planets? Maybe, there seem to be nine of them (plus the ying-yang at the bottom, if that's what it is). The way they're drawn, with the radiating lines, seems odd for planets though... I could swear I've seen a diagram something like that, somewhere. Why is "crop circle" coming to mind?

Starting on the left, the colors seem to be:
Orange
Red
Black
White
Gray (?)
Blue
Green
Yellow (in the center)
Purple (the big one below the yellow)
Black/white yin-yang (at the very bottom)
 

Bat Chicken

Wait a tick.... there's a theory/tradition about La Papessa in the early decks, that she represents Pope Joan. And the legends of Pope Joan talk about her pregnancy. The heavily pregnant High Priestess could be an allusion to the earliest representations of this card...

Ooooo, yes! Good thought!

Debra said:
I think that's a sun, planets and moon on her belly.

I see four breasts too.

Marie wrote somewhere that she was breastfeeding while she painted, and that's why the deck has so many full breasts. (She didn't want people to think she was advocating Barbie Doll boobs)

I am going to have to look more closely. I did not see four breasts. ETA - There are too - makes me think of the goddess sculptures. Must figure out which ones... Artemis is one - another fertility symbol
Planets... That is intriguing too.
 

Laura Borealis

I am going to have to look more closely. I did not see four breasts. ETA - There are too - makes me think of the goddess sculptures. Must figure out which ones... Artemis is one - another fertility symbol.

Yeah... Squirt, squirt :laugh:
 

RunningWild

I think that's a sun, planets and moon on her belly.

I see four breasts too.

Marie wrote somewhere that she was breastfeeding while she painted, and that's why the deck has so many full breasts. (She didn't want people to think she was advocating Barbie Doll boobs) :laugh:

:laugh: I can imagine feeling like one giant mammary gland.

I got a good laugh at the photo image,too.

It sure makes the Hierophant make sense now in light of that information. It's nice to see a sense of humor in it all.
 

Requiella

Some initial disjointed thoughts

To me, this is the most baffling card yet. So, I'll focus on the more straightforward (or maybe that's even an assumption...lol) imagery here:

This whole card has a dark, strange, and mysterious (to me, at least) quality, which captures the High Priestess half of the feminine archetype nicely.

Lunar eclipse at the top? In the context of the Fool's journey, perhaps this connects Trump 1 to Trump 2--moving from a masculine principle embodied by the Magician to a feminine one. However, we're then left to explain the moon-like thing behind her legs.

When I look at this card as a whole, something strikes me about the figure of the High Priestess: She seems to be almost rigidly locked in place, unable to move (a depiction of passivity?). She appears anchored down into the water. Interestingly, we see here the tree motif again from the Magician. Like a tree absorbs water through osmosis, the HP receives wisdom through her strong connection to the unconscious.

Her feet are connected to or morph into--which is it?--branch-like structures that disappear into the water. Very strange. Must think more about the white flower and spirals/tendrils...

I also noticed the four breasts, which are connected to the ring, connected to the crescent moon (maybe?)... To me, this all communicates something about the connection between fertility and the moon.

Must. think. more. on. this. one. !!! Wow.
 

Milfoil

She reminds me of the Diana Ephesus statues, many breasts, Goddess of the wild and mother of all.