Let’s be real: most of us aren’t walking around with a clean slate. We’re carrying stories—some passed down, some thrown at us, and some we picked up ourselves when we didn’t know better. These stories shape our energy. They shape how we show up, how we hide, and how we second-guess ourselves.
But here’s the truth the High Priestess wants us to remember: we were born with magic. With power. With deep knowing. And the more we try to outrun our wounds, the more we disconnect from the very magic that’s always been ours.
Today, we’re diving deep into the symbolism and wisdom of the High Priestess tarot card—and how she can guide us through the fog of our wounds and back into our own inner temple of self-trust.
Let’s Talk About the Wounds We Carry
The witch wound. The school wound. The mother wound. The sister wound. The society wound.
We name them differently, but they all come back to this: moments when our power was questioned, challenged, or outright rejected. And in response, we started looking outside of ourselves for validation.
It’s not our fault. These wounds happen in childhood, in adulthood, in places that were supposed to feel safe. Maybe it was a teacher who said you’d never be good at math. A friend who ghosted you for being “too much.” A society that punishes you for aging or speaking your truth.
We internalize those messages. And then? We learn to seek permission before we believe in ourselves.
But that constant need for external validation? That’s the very thing that robs us of our power.
The High Priestess Knows Better
Enter: the High Priestess tarot card. Cloaked in mystery, ancient wisdom, and divine feminine energy, she sits silently between black and white pillars. She’s a reminder that duality exists. That shadow and light are two parts of the same truth. That we can be wounded and whole at the same time.
In the classic Rider Waite Smith deck, the High Priestess wears a flowing robe that pools like water at her feet. Water represents emotion, intuition, and the subconscious—she’s fully immersed in it, and yet she sits still. Upright. Unbothered.
She’s a walking metaphor for embodied presence: I can feel deeply and still be rooted in who I am.
If that’s not power, I don’t know what is.
Understanding the Symbolism (And What It Says About You)
There’s a lot going on in the High Priestess tarot card—and every detail matters:
- The black and white pillars (Boaz and Jachin) represent duality. Light and dark. Known and unknown. Shadow and light. She sits between them, embodying the sacred “both/and.”
- The crescent moon at her feet reflects inner knowing, emotional depth, and the cycles we move through—waxing, waning, resting, and rising.
- The crown on her head, often interpreted as the Triple Moon (Maiden, Mother, Crone), nods to sacred feminine wisdom, life phases, and intuitive power.
- The pomegranate veil behind her is a symbol of sacred mystery, sexuality, fertility, and the unseen realms. She guards what isn’t meant to be rushed or revealed too soon.
- Her robe flows like water, linking her to the emotional, intuitive, and subconscious layers of our lives.
In other words, this isn’t a card about doing. It’s about being—and being aware.
The High Priestess isn’t afraid of your shadows. She doesn’t need you to fix your wounds or be perfect. She asks: Can you sit with what’s real? Can you be present to both your pain and your power?
When Wounding Disconnects You From Intuition
Wounds—especially the subtle, persistent ones—disconnect us from self-trust. And when we don’t trust ourselves, we don’t hear our intuition clearly.
You know those moments where your gut says one thing, but you doubt it? That’s a wound whispering in the background, “You can’t trust yourself.” It might sound like a voice from your past, or it might feel like tightness in your throat when you’re about to speak up.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t about “healing” in some magical overnight kind of way. Wounds don’t disappear just because we want them to. But they can be seen. Witnessed. Held.
And that’s what starts to shift everything.
Because when we acknowledge the wound—when we stop trying to hide it or outthink it—we stop giving it the power to run the show.
What the High Priestess Teaches Us About Moving Forward
Here’s what makes the High Priestess such a powerful archetype for anyone on a spiritual or self-development path:
She is steady. She is aware. She is intuitive.
And she holds both the shadow and the light.
She reminds us:
✔ You don’t have to be “healed” to be powerful.
✔ You don’t have to hide your pain to access your intuition.
✔ You don’t need anyone else’s permission to trust what you know.
You simply need to be present.
When you’re present with your experiences—the ones that left scars, the ones that shaped your beliefs, the ones that taught you to silence your truth—you open the doorway back to your intuition.
You become the one who validates you.
You stop outsourcing your knowing.
You sit tall like the High Priestess, surrounded by the sacred and mysterious. Not because you’re above the chaos, but because you see it and choose to stay centered anyway.
Reclaiming Power Through Self-Awareness
We talk a lot in our community about reclaiming power. But reclaiming power isn’t about force. It’s not about proving anything.
It’s about presence.
It’s about self-awareness.
It’s about remembering that your intuition is not broken—it’s buried under the debris of old wounds, false narratives, and outdated survival strategies.
And the High Priestess says: Let’s clear the rubble. Let’s make space for what’s real.
You can trust yourself again. Even if you’ve doubted before. Even if you’re scared. Even if your wounds still ache when touched.
You can be the one who says, “Yes, this hurt me. And yes, I am still powerful.”
The Next Step: Be the Priestess of Your Own Story
This is where the magic happens.
Take a breath. Notice what’s stirred in you as you read. Maybe there’s a particular wound that stood out—school, mother, witch, or something uniquely yours.
Let it be there.
And then—like the High Priestess—sit upright in your own presence.
Notice how it feels to hold both truth and tenderness.
Ask yourself:
- Where am I still waiting for external validation?
- What wound is asking to be witnessed—not fixed, but simply seen?
- Where am I being called to trust myself more deeply?
These questions aren’t meant to be answered in one sitting. They’re meant to be lived.
They’re meant to shape your rituals, your journaling, your tarot pulls, your everyday magic.
And if you need a reminder, pull the High Priestess tarot card. Sit with her. Let her symbolism reflect your truth back to you.
You are both the mystery and the answer. The shadow and the light. The question and the oracle.
You are the High Priestess in your own life.
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