Tarot of the Silicon Dawn - The High Priest

Elendil

He is the 'heart of fiveness' according to the accompanying book - so not surprisingly the UV overlay is of a pentagram. His body seems to be defined by circuitry and cartouches and like this counterpart The High Priestess he is more of a construct than a reality. His multiple arms speak of ability - How is this translated or used? There are hundreds of keys hanging here - what locks do they open I wonder? And even if we can possess them all will we have the one that we need?

What does this High Priest teach?
 

Egypt Urnash

He has so many keys. Should he pick yours out? He might make you choose. He might KNOW your key.

Maybe the key you want. Maybe the key you need.

Maybe the wrong key entirely. Some teachers are just incompetent. Other teachers are just mean.

You're probably imagining him, anyway. Seek him in your dreams.

(writing in fives is hard!)
 

Eyebright

I like this High Priest!

It's a bit of a fusion of old and new, we have a stained glass window reminiscent of the traditional Heirophant, and I like the 5 pointed stars that decorate it, which is made up of 5 segments! Lots of fives! I think the book calls them Penrose tiles, so I shall fire up Mr Google my own High Priest and see what he has to say on them :p

The keys are also a traditional symbol, and for me represent keys to knowledge and wisdom. I like how he is made up of circuits and technology. How many of us turn to google and wikipedia these days when we need the answer to a question or to find something out? Some of them look kinda alchemical or a bit esoteric to my eyes, so there's a nod to that direction too

His arms are open, he is inviting us to come and talk to him. The book says this High Priest is Chiron, and isn't his symbol a key? I seem to think I came across this fact in the Mary-El lol. He has amassed quite a collection of keys, he likes to hoard his knowledge! Is that why he has extra arms, with which to grasp it all lol?

I like the card is so dark, black absorbs light (I think?) and I imagine this High Priest absorbing knowledge in the same way. Sometimes you have to go into the dark to find the answers you seek, searching deep in your own dark depths to uncover the truth.
 

swedishfish612

I like this card very much, and it's one that I struggle to connect with in many decks. I love the text all over his body. He needs no holy text; he's tattooed with his own spiritual experiences. All of the dangling keys remind me that are many paths to the Divine, and we can each choose the key that fits us best. There is no "one ultimate truth".

The book mentions 5's and of course they're all over this card. I couldn't help but think of the elements- earth, air, fire, water and spirit makes 5. The pentagram has spiritual significance for a handful of faiths. A quick Google search led me to read about The Law of Fives, a key principle of Discordianism. I read about Discordianism on Wikipedia, which explains that:

"Discordianism is centered on the idea that both order and disorder are illusions imposed on the universe by the human nervous system, and that neither of these illusions of apparent order and disorder is any more accurate or objectively true than the other. Discordians use subversive humor to spread their philosophy and to prevent their beliefs from becoming dogmatic."

This makes me smile, because it sounds like the Silicon Dawn as a whole- subversive humor, an attempt to make the Tarot more fluid, etc. At Wikipedia, the Law of Fives is described as:

"All things happen in fives, or are divisible by or are multiples of five, or are somehow directly or indirectly appropriate to 5. The Law of Fives is never wrong."

I'm not sure how the 5 thing will play into how I read this card, but I find it fascinating nonetheless!

In the companion book, Egypt warns us to question our teachers...not to just mindlessly buy what they're selling. I hadn't thought of that approach, but when I read that and looked again at this card, I couldn't help seeing the HP as looking a bit like a car salesman, with his 4 arms all stretched out and all of those keys on display, "Come on, let me hook you up with a key today...just try it out, I'll make you a deal!" It's always wise to ask the tough questions instead of just blindly following the leader.
 

Egypt Urnash

The Outer Law of Fives: All things are related to the number 5.
The Inner Law of Fives: All things are related to the number 5... if you look hard enough.

Hail Eris; all hail Discordia.

(And HOORAY! I am so delighted that deck leads people to Discordianism; I am pretty sure I mentioned a few Discordian texts in the 'further reading' section that got cut.)