Original sketch for THE HIGH PRIESTESS (II) in The Marker Tarot
Closer to how THE HIGH PRIESTESS (II) will look in the final Marker Tarot
So, moving right along, or in keeping with today's card it would be better to say "going with the flow," here's The High Priestess (II) in The Marker Tarot.* As I worked on this card I kept remembering that in some older decks She's called The Papess. And that if one thinks of an actual person as the source of this, there is a legend that there was once a female Pope, known as Pope Joan. Whether this is true or not, it adds even more possibilities to an already intriguing card with a far reach. Ultimately, though, what I come away with from any encounter with The High Priestess is the reminder that all the waters depicted anywhere else in The Tarot images are said to flow from the hem of Her robe. And that one might do well to deeply consider those subtle urgings and intuitions.
The High Priestess also tends to bring up memories of a dear friend of mine who died very young. She identified with this card as the initials of her first and middle names were B and J (the letters usually appearing on the pillars to either side of II, standing for Boaz and Jachin). Sometimes this recall prompts a later dream message from Brenda, and at other times just a sad but fond feeling.
Next up will be The Empress (III), a card I've oddly enough often had a rather neutral relationship with. When She shows in a reading I'm usually a little befuddled. She and The Magician have been alike in this way for me. Yet The Magician's Marker Tarot design popped quickly (see previous post). While The Empress's has gone through many reworkings.
*The other two decks I've got going are Roswila's Taiga Tarot (blog dedicated solely to the deck's designs), and Roswila's Tarot Gallery & Journal (you can search for "Found Tarot" at the top left of this blog; the photo/cards for The Found Tarot are salted betwixt and between all sorts of other posts).
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For the full details (history of and ideas behind this deck's designs) please see this blogs' first post, The Fool.
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'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever forms it comes to you,
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Tarot Gallery & Journal; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.
