The meaning of the signs on The High Priestess

[Hermotimus]

The Pillars of the High Priestess Card

Okay, I might as well throw my two cents worth into this discussion.
In PKT Waite states: "She is seated between the white and black pillars - J. and B. of the mystic temple and the veil of the temple is behind her: it is embroidered with palms and pomegranates."
He states in his book "The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross" that the mystic temple is the Temple of Solomon. He repeats this in "A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry"
We know that the Pillars are named Boaz and Jakin. Boaz, the black pillar, is a Hebrew word for the feminine as contrasted to the masculine, in this case the Jakin pillar. This same symbolism is at the heart of the Hebrew Kabala (spell it how you will) with the two outer pillars representing masculine and feminine and associated with the colors black for feminine and white for masculine. This contrast between masculine and feminine and its balance in the middle pillar (in this case represented by the High Priestess) tells us a number of things about the High Priestess.
1. That she is a balanced harmony between masculine and feminine
2. That she is the guardian of the gateway of the Temple of Solomon, i.e., the mystic temple where the knowledge of the mystical arts is said to be kept.
3. That she maintains the balance by her position and cannot leave her position without distorting the balance between positve and negative, masculine and feminine, etc.
From these three conclusions, just about the two pillars and her position between them we know that the High Priestess signifies that a balance must be maintained. That as long as balance is maintained then one's life will continue in its proper course. Should the card be reversed, then it would show that balance was not being maintained and that trouble would result which is reflected in the divinatory meanings he places on this card.
The symbolism on this and all of the RWS cards is so complex that I could continue this entry, one symbol at a time for just this card for at least another 10,000 words.

 

[re-pete-a]

You have repeated what we said ,though in a more ordered fashion,one small point which we're sure you'll be able to elaborate on.is that the overall theme to the card (our card)in colour is blue,pertaining to the mind , unseen,to us means to balance the mind,refering to the veil as the blockage.Any enlighten available ?????Could the scene seen through the veil indicate that the real temple is life as shown?????The journey out, then in.Experience??

 

[Shaymus]

I see the Tree of Life. The pillar on the left is the pillar of severity, strength (form, contraction, constriction), the pillar on the right is the pillar of mercy (force, grace, love). The middle pillar, the pillar of mildness and equilibrium is portrayed by the Priestess. She also is the path between sephira 6 and sephira 1, the longest path on the Tree.

Just thought I'd add that.

Shaymus

 

[Teheuti]

I see a vagina, opening to the womb beyond, with the hymen intact. Need I mention what the lunar crown is? Isn't this the hidden temple where the Divine Feminine is worshiped?

“We adore Thee in the presence of the veil. O take us in Thine own good time. Thy gracious and saving time, beyond all veils, behind Thy palms and pomegranates, into the Holy of Holies." From the Adeptus Minor Ritual.

 

[Hermotimus]

The Mind and the High Priestess

You have repeated what we said ,though in a more ordered fashion,one small point which we're sure you'll be able to elaborate on.is that the overall theme to the card (our card)in colour is blue,pertaining to the mind , unseen,to us means to balance the mind,refering to the veil as the blockage.Any enlighten available ?????Could the scene seen through the veil indicate that the real temple is life as shown?????The journey out, then in.Experience??

Okay, I will take a shot at it for ya. but it will take a couple of long explanations and I will have to break this into two pieces in order for it to make sense in the matter that Waite felt that it did.

As for the High Priestess card representing the Mind;

In PKT Waite writes: "She has been called Occult Science on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis, but she is really the Secret Church, the House which is of God (Nature) and man. She represents also the Second Marriage of the Prince who is no longer of this world; she is the spiritual Bride and Mother, the daughter of the stars and the Higher Garden of Eden. She is, in fine, the Queen of the borrowed light, but this is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother."

The term "Occult Science" refers to the subconscious mind, as Waite alludes in his book "Lamps of Western Mysticism."

The term the "Garden of Eden" is a reference to the mind as well, one that he used in his Holy Grail Books. I must then assume that "the Higher Garden of Eden" refers to the subconscious mind as he called the subconscious mind the higher and finer part of the mind in at least three of his works.

The last statement in the above quote: "She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother." is a clear indication that she represents the Moon and to Waite the Moon was also a symbol of the subconscious mind.

The other terms in this quote also appear to refer to the subconscious mind as well.

Thus, the High Priestess represents the subconscious mind and this explains why there is so much lunar symbolism in this card. As a representative of the subconscious mind, Waite saw the need to balance the raw primal urges of the subconscious mind, as depicted in the Moon card, with the higher and vastly more spiritual aspects of the subconscious mind in the form of the true mystical and divine spiritual nature of the unconscious or subconscious mind. Thus, the balance he is depicting in this card is not between the individual and the physical world surrounding the individual, but the balance within the individual between the individual's primal nature and the individual's higher spiritual and mystical aspects.

For the second piece:

In PKT Waite writes: "In a manner, she is also the Supernal Mother herself - that is to say, she is the bright reflection. It is in this sense of reflection that her truest and highest name in symbolism is Shekinah - the co-habiting glory. According to Kabalism, there is a Shekinah both above and below. In the superior world it is called Binah, the Supernal Understanding which reflects to the emanations that are beneath. In the lower world it is Malkuth - that world being, for this purpose, understood as a blessed Kingdom - that with which it is made blessed being the Indwelling Glory. Mystically speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and when he reads the Law she gives the Divine meaning."

Binah is the Hebrew word for the Third Sephirah of the Kabala and means Understanding. It is also known as the Great Mother. Binah is the sephirothic center where the masculine energy of Chokmah is turned into its initial material form. Thus, Binah is the mother forming the energy of the father into the child that will, in time, become the creation of the world.

Shekinah is a Hebrew word meaning: "Divine Presence, as personified as a goddess in Hebrew mythology: the Briatic manifestation of Kether. Shekinah is also "a title of Malkuth"

The Kabala is further divided into four worlds or planes. These four worlds are: Atziluth representing the archetypal world, Pure Divinity and Yod of the Hebrew Name of God. It corresponds to the Suit of Wands in Tarot. The second world is Briah (Briatic) representing the Creative World, the Archangelic and He in the Hebrew Name of God. It corresponds to the Suit of Cups in Tarot. The third world is Yetzirah representing the Formative World, the Angelic and Vau in the Hebrew name of God. It corresponds to the Suit of Swords in Tarot. The fourth world is Assiah representing the Material World, man and the final He in the Hebrew Name of God. It corresponds to the Suit of Coins or Pentacles in Tarot.

Malkuth is the tenth and final Sephiroth. It represents the physical world in which all things have their physical existence.

Okay, now we have to tie all these pieces of information together in order to understand what Waite was saying about his High Priestess card in the above quoted section of his description of the card from PKT.

Thus, the High Priestess has a dual aspect for Waite. The first aspect is that of the Goddess and the Supernal Mother who is the creator and former of the material world. But, she is, at the same time, above that world and separate from it. (This is, of course, the perfect definition of any pagan Priestess throughout human history.)

But, there is a much deeper aspect here that has to be dealt with. She is the creater and former of the world. She is the Goddess who is taking the raw energy of the God and turning it into form that has become the material world. Thus, she is, in fact, the creator of the material world and as its creator she is the only one who can determine if her work is done properly.

She is therefore the judge of the material world she has created and of all the individuals and things in that world. In order to reach the temple, whose door she guards, one must first pass her judgment as to your worth as to whether she will allow you to enter the temple. That is why she has the "scroll of law" in her hands, because she needs that scroll to make sure that the individual is worthy to pass her and enter the "mystic temple."

Waite is saying in the High Priestess card that in order to pass this point on your journey and to make your first entry into the mystic temple you must first achieve a harmony and a balance between your primal nature and your higher mystical and spiritual nature. That the Goddess of all creation is the judge on whether or not you have found the needed balance and harmony in this area of your nature, and she alone will decide if you may pass her and move aside the veil leading into the mystic temple.

I tried to keep this as short as possible by skipping over a bunch of additional references to the phrases he uses in describing the High Priestess card in PKT, but, I fear that I have already made it a rather long and tedious reading anyway.

 

[re-pete-a]

experiential

the last line of the 10th paragraph,sums up to, the awoken soul that takes on a fools path,sets in motion a course (commitment) and ISIS will provide the necessary tasks for experiential clarity.????thats our understanding to date.

 

[mac22]

Great thread. Over time I reversed course I have growing respect for Waite.

Mac22

 

[Hermotimus]

??????

the last line of the 10th paragraph,sums up to, the awoken soul that takes on a fools path,sets in motion a course (commitment) and ISIS will provide the necessary tasks for experiential clarity.????thats our understanding to date.

The tenth paragraph of my entry has nothing to do with the Fool, and there is no tenth paragraph in PKT for the High Priestess. So, I do not know to what tenth paragraph that you refer. Would you be so kind as to illuminate me?

Hermotimus

 

[Teheuti]

Okay, I will take a shot at it for ya. but it will take a couple of long explanations

I really like all the things you've said and I appreciate your close reading of Waite. It's not always easy to stick with what he says long enough to make sense of it.

In addition to the things you've said, I'll add that the High Priestess is the highest aspect of the middle pillar on the Tree of Life—in a sense she *is* the Secret Doctrine. In her placement on the middle pillar her face is in the place of the hidden sephira, Da'ath—Knowledge. Chochmah and Binah are balanced within her. It is through the High Priestess that we can experience the most direct ascent to and descent from the Crown of creation, transcending the normal bounds of gender through the integration of all opposites:

“The absconditus sponsus [hidden bridegroom] enters into the body of the woman and is joined with the abscondita sponsa [hidden bride]. . . . The sexes are then interchanged also in a sense, as the sex of Metatron is said to be transformed momently before the veil of palms and pomegranates on the threshold of the Inmost Shrine in the Supernals [top three sephiroth]." [Waite, The Holy Kabbalah.]

I must admit that I don't see her so much as a judge as as a welcoming spouse.

Mary

 

[Hermotimus]

The Mind and the High Priestess

In addition to the things you've said, I'll add that the High Priestess is the highest aspect of the middle pillar on the Tree of Life—in a sense she *is* the Secret Doctrine. In her placement on the middle pillar her face is in the place of the hidden sephira, Da'ath—Knowledge. Chochmah and Binah are balanced within her. It is through the High Priestess that we can experience the most direct ascent to and descent from the Crown of creation, transcending the normal bounds of gender through the integration of all opposites:

Mary

I agree completely, so far we have only touched on two aspects of the symbolism of this card. The pillars and the position and nature of the High Priestess herself. There is still a great deal of symbolism in this card that has not yet been even mentioned in this thread.