Major Arcana · II
The High Priestess — tarot meaning
intuition, secrets, the inner voice
Upright
Secrets sit behind the veil. Trust intuition over appearances; the answer is known within before it is shown without.
Reversed
An ignored inner voice, or secrets withheld — something true is being overlooked.
In the Papus Tarot, 1909
La Papesse — The High Priestess · Hebrew letter ב Beth
Papus: the reflection of unity, woman as receptacle of the tradition. Martinists read her as the silent inner church: the teaching one receives before one is fit to speak it.
In the Oswald Wirth Tarot, 1889
La Papesse — The High Priestess · Hebrew letter ב Beth
Wirth reads her as the guardian of the temple's inner threshold: the book on her knee is half open, since the tradition is neither hidden absolutely nor given away cheaply.
Shown from the 1909 William Rider & Sons deck (public domain). A card is read in relation to the question and the cards around it; these meanings are a starting point, not a verdict.