I was looking at this High Priestess collage the other day. I did it awhile ago, as part of my Egyptian-themed tarot collages, and it’s been hanging in my office since then. But I’ve never had the right poem to pair it with. Of course the Oracle is always attuned to what I’m thinking.
I’ve also been thinking–how could I not be?–about the current attempts of our government to once again deprive women of equal standing with men. Which are of course intimately tied to the destruction of Mother Earth. The High Priestess represents all the parts of women that many men fear–“what lies beyond the veil”. As Rachel Pollack states in her tarot commentary: “Our society, based completely on outer achievement, fosters a terror of the unconscious….The High Priestess represents all these qualities: darkness, mystery, psychic forces, the power of the moon to stir the unconscious, passivity, and the wisdom gained from it.”
As always, the Oracle knows.
as if
I could rest between the moon
and this long wandering path
listened
with rootforest rainlight
songs seeding the wind
why
do we grow only quiet
as our seasons leave us?
come she said–
follow my secrets
breathe into always
K. 
Of course the Oracle knows. We need to listen and “breathe into always.”
I didn’t have the moon, but she is always there. I think ours poems are still connected.
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She is. And in your words, even if not named. We are all talking about the circle of life.
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Yes, definitely.
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Like Merril’s poem, ours are connected by the mother. Moons and eggs, pebbles that might look like eggs and moons but will never produce fruit. There’s a lesson there for some deluded people.
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That’s exactly the connection. I’m afraid it’s a lesson they will never learn.
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It’s become the fashion to have theories that defy reality, but have the status of a religion.
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The older I get the less I understand religion’s appeal.
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It’s for people who want to belong to something. The older we get, the less we care.
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I was never good at belonging.
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I wouldn’t know what to belong to. I’m very exclusive.
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The Oracle, through you, has spoken for the High Priestess perfectly. In the Spacious Tarot this card is represented by an image of the Earth inside a seashell on a shore, like a fragile blue pearl. Your collage evokes that expansiveness. I’ve been meaning to read Rachel Pollack; was that from “Seventy-eight Degrees of Wisdom” or the more recent guide?
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That’s a lovely image. Yes, that’s the book. I got it out of the library, but I may have to look for a copy–she really illuminates both the history and the ramifications of each card. Lots to think about.
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Love that poem – the empowerment is within each woman… now to manifest that in our lives!!
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Exactly. Thanks Muri.
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“with rootforest rainlight
songs seeding the wind” such an evocative imagery!
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Thanks Punam.
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My pleasure.
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I think you are right about many men ( the patriarchy) fearing woman’s inner strength…
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They would not be trying to control them if they did not fear them. But what they really fear is losing their power–to all who would question its legitimacy.
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You are absolutely right – power and control are everything to them.
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I was initially intrigued by your collage because I use to be a student of the Tarot very long ago. The mystery of the High Priestess eluded me at the time, but now I know. I noticed the number four, framed in blue, above her. Many meanings symbolized…the pyramids’ grounded energy built on the base of four…I can see her presence in your office as a powerful presence. The Oracle guided you well with the compelling last verse.
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Thanks Olga. I have always loved playing cards, and cards of all sorts. It’s only recently I began paying attention to the symbolic meanings. I think everything we explore deepens with time. We start to see beyond the surface.
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So true, Kerfe.
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Eerie accuracy with Pollack’s quote: “Our society, based completely on outer achievement, fosters a terror of the unconscious…” It’s a sickness. Time to swing that pendulum back to GRRRRRL power, that of the divine feminine. Beautiful collage and potent poetry to speak for her ❤
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Thanks Jade. Yes, the men have had their chance. We need a complete about-face.
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In the myths class I took (from the lady who leads our dream group) she goes into detail about how women were worshipped and revered and were the leaders/deities of cultures for thousands of years. She also goes into detail about how that all shifted to having men take over. You’re right, they’ve had their chance.
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I wonder what exactly caused the change in leadership. And if we can ever have a true balance between masculine and feminine.
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I will look back in my notes. I don’t think we can ever have true balance but just having respect for each other’s differences could mean a world of difference. That and an acknowledgement that humans don’t have dominion over the planet!
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