The High Priestess

She has the lunar crescent at her feet, a horned diadem on her head with a globe at its center, and a large solar cross on her breast. The scroll in her hands is inscribed with the word TORA, signifying the Greater Law, the Secret Law, and the deeper meaning of the Word. It is partly covered by her mantle, to show that some truths are implied while others are revealed.

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, embroidered with palms and pomegranates. Her vestments are flowing and gauzy, and her mantle suggests light—a shimmering radiance.

She has been called Occult Science on the threshold of the Sanctuary of Isis, but she is truly the Secret Church, the House which is of both God and man. She also represents 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 essence, the Queen of the borrowed light—yet this borrowed light is the light of all. She is the Moon nourished by the milk of the Supernal Mother. 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 cohabiting 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 beneath. In the lower world, it is Malkuth—understood as a blessed Kingdom, made blessed by the Indwelling Glory.

Mystically speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and when he reads the Law, she imparts the Divine meaning. In some respects, this card is the highest and holiest of the Greater Arcana.