The High Priestess II - 2

The Sounds Of Silence.

Hello darkness, my old friend. I've come to talk with you again.
Because a vision softly creeping. Left its seeds while I was sleeping.
And the vision that was planted in my brain, still remains,
Within the sound of silence.
-- Simon & Garfunkel, Sound of Silence.

While the entire song does not speak to the High Priestess, I do relate much of it to her.  Please allow me to explain. 

The High Priestess sits with the book of knowledge in her lap, between the pillars at the entrance to the temple of the moon; of knowledge. The gateway between the worlds.  Many wish to enter and to learn.  They come with words, questions, desire, force, and yearning.  However, they shall not be granted entrance nor knowledge.  Above the gateway are the words, “Know Thyself”.  The key to admittance, to knowing oneself, is silence.  To look within, to meditate, and to listen to your own intuition.  She will then guide your dreams, keep confidant your secrets and show you the wisdom you keep in the darkest, most silent part of yourself.  Only in silence, when you stop speaking and open your mind, can you learn. 

When approaching the High Priestess, you must have faith to gain knowledge.  For she does not give her knowledge freely.  You must trust what you know, trust your intuition, your gut.  Don’t second-guess yourself.  You must seek her out, in her sacred space, and be willing to accept and believe in things that are intangible. Don’t limit yourself to logic and reason or conscious thought, for those are the tools of The Magician, but lift the veil and see the unseen.  Trust your dreams and intuition.

In return, she will draw down the moon, govern the realm of the unconscious, and offer gifts of the spirit and of inner guidance.  She will reveal perception, insight, divine inspiration and hidden knowledge, if only you will quiet yourself to receive them. 

Be open to the stillness and the depths within.  There, you gain strength and wisdom.  Be open to your dreams and intuitions.  Within the sound of silence lies intuition and dreams, where knowledge is found.

The High Priestess is young and innocent but has a very old soul.  She is virginal, but is shown with the Moon, a symbol of pregnancy and motherhood.  She is a silver goddess, linked to the moon, ruling the night and safeguarding our dreams. 

In warning, she tells of an imbalance between ethics and practices, of self-doubt, not heeding intuition, and of keeping secrets, especially from oneself.  She tells of impaired judgment, a misuse of skills, and of false hopes.  She reminds us not to be withdrawn, but to connect with the world around us.