The Priestess (Tarot Triptych)
Name: The Priestess
Number: II
Astrology: Moon
Qabalah: Gimel ג
Chris Gabriel April 27, 2024
The Priestess is the first woman of the tarot, we meet her enthroned, crowned, and bearing her book or bow. She is calm. From her we will learn a great deal about our journey through the Major Arcana. She is old and wise, yet ready to bear fruit, weep, or sing. She is the Feminine.
In Marseille, we find La Papesse, the female Pope. Legend tells us of only one woman pope, Joan, who held the position for two years before she was swiftly put to death, as women of wisdom so often were throughout history. She is adorned in the papal tiara, fine robes, and a book, likely a Bible. She is the eldest of the three cards, not only chronologically, but in appearance.
In Rider, we find her with a crown of butterflies, a robe covered in clouds, and sitting atop a throne of babes and butterflies. She is the most expressive of the three, with a more intense frown and glaring eyes. She is brunette. Her left hand is raised, as if gesturing for one to come toward her.
In Thoth, we meet the divine lunar goddess Diana. She is naked but for her triple moon crown. In her lap are arrows and a bow, for she is a huntress. Unlike the past two cards, her arms arch upwards but she carries nothing, instead she brings down energy, which is woven toward the flowers, fruits, and crystals beneath her. We also find the Camel, which is the ideogram of her Qabalistic letter, Gimel. Gimel forms the longest path along the Tree of Life, from Kether to Tiphereth, from the Heavens to the Human. She guides us through this long path down, like a camel in the desert.
In Rider and Thoth we are met with a great deal of triplicity. Though the Moon has four primary phases, only three are present here: Waxing, Full, and Waning. This is the very symbol of the feminine, and we find it embodied in the ancient goddesses who form the character of this card.
The first of these is Hekate, the triple lunar goddess, made up of “Maiden, Mother, and Crone”. She is a goddess of magick and witchcraft. Consider the spell from Hamlet:
Thou mixture rank, of midnight weeds collected,
With Hecate's ban thrice blasted, thrice infected,
Thy natural magic and dire property,
On wholesome life, usurp immediately.
Etymologically, we can connect her directly to the Egyptian goddess of magic and medicine, Heka, whose name literally means magic.
And finally, the one directly depicted in Thoth: Diana, the Roman goddess of the Moon who is known by the epithet “Diana Trivia” or Diana of Three.
In Rider, we find another triple, this one taking the form of the anagram in “TORA”, which takes us from “Teaching” to ROTA, or wheel, to our subject, TARO. Tarot teaches us the nature of cyclical change.
From these associates we can begin to grasp the Priestess as a card of wisdom – the wisdom of magic, nature, and the feminine.
When dealt this card, we are being shown the influence of nature and of the feminine in our situation, and we can be sure she will teach us a valuable lesson.
