The High Priestess Major Arcana II · tarot card meaning
- Attribution
- The Moon
- Hebrew letter
- Gimel
- Yes or no
- Not yet
The High Priestess upright
The High Priestess suggests knowing something before it can be explained. This may be a hunch, a room read without words, or a feeling that comes before proof. Waite gives her a word no other card gets: silence. He also notes that she makes no sign at all.
Yes or no: Not yet. The High Priestess withholds until instinct has caught up with the question.
The High Priestess reversed
Reversed, the High Priestess points to passion, conceit, or knowledge that stays near the surface. Strong conviction may sound deep before it has earned that depth. The veil remains, but the reversal does not simply mean useful silence lasting too long.
Yes or no: No. Reversed, surface knowledge or conceit stands in for deeper understanding.
The card at a glance
- Attribution
- System
- First printed
- Themes
- intuition, thought, truth
What is shown
A woman sits between one black pillar and one white pillar. They carry the letters B and J. A veil of palms and pomegranates closes the space behind her. She wears a horned crown, a breast cross, and a blue mantle. A crescent rests at her feet. Her scroll reads , but cloth hides part of it.
- Number
- II
- Yes or no
- It depends
The High Priestess upright
Junon stands above peacocks, pointing one hand upward and the other down. The gesture joins high claims to earthly display. The card reads as status, authority, and pride that wants recognition.
Yes or no: It depends. The answer is stronger when substance matters more than status or display.
The High Priestess reversed
Reversed, high status becomes image management, or pride hides dependence on approval. The question is whether authority still serves anything beyond its display.
Yes or no: No, if pride or appearances are deciding the matter. Recognition alone cannot support the answer.
Junon is trump II in Lequart's Tarot de Besancon, a Marseille-pattern variant. The RWS link marks sequence only. This image is not La Papesse.
The card at a glance
- Printed title
- JUNON
- Structural slot
- Trump II · La Papesse in Marseille packs
- Pattern
- Edition
- Themes
- intuition, thought, truth
- Deck
- Tarot de Marseille: Juno (Junon)
What is shown
A woman sits frontally above peacock heads and feathers filling the lower edge. She raises one hand and gathers her robe with the other. A vast striped mantle curves around her head and body. The card prints JUNON beneath her and II above.
- Attribution
- Postumio (2)
- Yes or no
- Not yet
The High Priestess upright
Postumio turns his back while presenting an inscribed shield. The image supports a position shaped by legacy, allegiance, and earlier decisions.
Yes or no: Not yet. Postumio shows an older claim still shaping the choice.
The High Priestess reversed
Reversed, loyalty remains attached to a legacy that no longer helps. The past is defended without examining its present claim.
Yes or no: No. Reversed, loyalty to the past prevents a free answer.
Postumio is read within Sola Busca's own trump order, not as a stand-in for an RWS major.
The card at a glance
- Attribution
- Postumio (2)
- Workshop
- First documented
- c. 1491
- Themes
- intuition, thought, truth
- Deck
- Sola Busca: Postumio (2)
What is shown
Postumio stands with his back turned, wearing green and violet. An inscribed oval shield rises beside his shoulder. A sheathed sword and a vessel-like object sit lower in the scene.
Questions
What does The High Priestess mean?
Something is known before it is explained. The High Priestess suggests knowing something before it can be explained.
What does The High Priestess mean reversed?
Reversed, the High Priestess points to passion, conceit, or knowledge that stays near the surface.
Is The High Priestess a yes or no card?
Not yet upright, no reversed. The High Priestess withholds until instinct has caught up with the question.
What is shown on The High Priestess?
A woman sits between one black pillar and one white pillar.
