The real meaning of the tarot – 'The High Priestess'

Many people use tarot cards for divination, but this is to miss their true significance and meaning.

It is far better to seek to understand their symbolism and the ancient wisdom that lies behind it because this wisdom tells us how to make sense of the world and live in it.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world.

I have already explained the rich symbolism behind the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ card and ‘The Lovers’ and move now to the ‘High Priestess’.

In this card we see a robed female figure sitting with a rolled scroll in front of a curtain slung between two pillars.

In order to identify the true identity of the woman, the scroll she is holding, the significance of her clothing and the curtain we need to start with the two pillars which bear the English letters J and B.

As with the wheel of fortune card, in order to understand the symbolism we need to go to the symbolism in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

In 1 Kings 7:13-22 (read the whole account here) we read about the construction of the Israelite King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem in about 830 BC.

‘King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, a skilled craftsman in bronze...He cast two bronze pillars, each eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference. He also made two capitals of cast bronze to set on the tops of the pillars... He erected the pillars at the portico of the temple. The pillar to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.’

So the letters J and B identify the pillars as Jakin and Boaz and the structure as Solomon’s Temple.

The scroll the woman is holding bears the four letters TORA but the word is actually TORAH, the H being hidden by a fold of the woman’s garment.

TORAH, or law, refers to the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Old Testament – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

And it is the second of these books, Exodus which gives us the explanation of the curtain slung between the two pillars.

Exodus 26:31-34 describes this curtain as follows:

‘Make a curtain…Hang the curtain from the clasps and place the ark of the covenant law behind the curtain. The curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. Put the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law in the Most Holy Place.’

Exodus 30:6-10 describes the curtain’s significance:

‘Put the altar in front of the curtain that shields the ark of the covenant law—before the atonement cover that is over the tablets of the covenant law—where I will meet with you… Once a year Aaron shall make atonement on its horns. This annual atonement must be made with the blood of the atoning sin offering for the generations to come. It is most holy to the Lord.’

The High Priest Aaron was only able to enter the Holy Place within the temple once a year to make a sacrifice for the sins of his people. He did this by shedding the blood of an animal. The curtain tells us that there is a barrier preventing human beings meeting with God because of their sin.

So what then of the woman? The fact that she is sitting outside the curtain in the temple and holding the Torah suggests that she is the nation of Israel, and this is confirmed by the presence of a sickle moon at her feet.

Again the Bible holds the key to this interpretation Revelation 12 in the New Testament of the Bible:

‘A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet… She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne….The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness…’

The reference to the two eagles’ wings identifies the woman with the moon at her feet as the nation of Israel. The clue is in Exodus 19:3,4 where God tells the Israelite leader Moses:

‘This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: “You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”’

Israel was delivered out of slavery in Egypt into a desert or wilderness on the way to Canaan (Palestine) in about 1446 BC.

Revelation 12 goes on to tell us that ‘the dragon’ who is identified in verse 9 of that chapter is ‘that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray’.

You may recall that this serpent, who appears in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3 in the Old Testament, is also depicted in two cards I have already reviewed – ‘The Wheel of Fortune’ and ‘The Lovers’.

So who is the male child of the woman? The cross on her breast identifies this as Jesus Christ, descended from Israel, who died on a cross.

And it is the cross that is the real key to bringing all the items in the card together.

Hebrews 9:3-8 in the New Testament tells us that:

‘Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant… But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed…’

Jesus Christ’s significance is described in verses 11 & 12:

‘But when Christ came as high priest… he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.’

Jesus Christ’s entry beyond the curtain surpassed that of the High Priest in three ways: he shed his own blood not that of an animal; this action dealt with the sins of all people once and for all not just the people of Israel at a particular time in history; the redemption (or rescue) that was won was eternal (for ever) and not temporary.

When Jesus Christ died on a Roman cross in about AD 29 the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom by a supernatural force (See Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38 & Luke 23:45) showing that through Jesus’ death on the cross all human beings now had access to a restored relationship with God.

It is up to us to make a response to God’s completed offer of reconciliation.

The real meaning of the Tarot – 'The Lovers'

Many people use tarot cards for divination, but this is to miss their true significance and meaning.

It is far better to seek to understand their symbolism and the ancient wisdom that lies behind it because it tells us how to make sense of the world and live in it.

The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world.

I have already explained the rich symbolism behind the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ card and now move to ‘The Lovers’.

In this card we see two human figures, two trees and a third suspended figure with the sun shining behind its face.

We have already introduced in the first card the concept of the creator God – denoted by the Hebrew tetragrammatton YHWH – who stands outside the world distinct from it and is represented by a host of different symbols each of which tell us something about his character and purposes.

In the wheel of fortune card he is represented by the lion, bull, eagle and man. He is further depicted there as a lion bearing a two-edged sword – known as the Lion of Judah.

In this card we see him, in keeping with elements of this earlier symbolism, with the face of a man but bearing the wings of an eagle.

On this occasion he is seated not outside the world but is entering into it in order to enjoy a relationship with human beings.

The scene is one of perfect harmony. The human figures, male and female, are naked but not ashamed and enjoy close relationship with both each other and God.

There are two trees in the background, one bearing fruit with a serpent wrapped around its trunk, and the other bearing leaves.

As with the wheel of fortune card, in order to understand the symbolism we need to go to the symbolism in the Old and New Testaments that make up the Bible.

In Genesis 2 we learn that God placed human beings in a garden in which the two most important trees were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

They were allowed to eat the fruit of any tree except for that from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For their knowledge of good and evil they were to rely directly on the word of God himself.

Genesis 3 (read the whole account here) tells us that the serpent (identified in Revelation 12:9 with the Devil) deceived the woman and the man into doubting the word of God and rejecting him by eating the fruit.

This led to their ejection from the garden and broke their relationship with God. This breaking of this key relationship also led to a breaking of relationships between the man and woman and between humans and creation.

But the symbolism in the card also carries signs of hope and a rescue not just for the alienated humans but also for creation itself.

The eagles’ wings point to the fact that God will initiate a rescue plan by calling out Israel into a special relationship with himself.

Exodus 19:4,5 and Deuteronomy 32:9-12 describe how God will rescue the nation of Israel (Jacob) by carrying them and protecting them with eagle’s wings. He would thereby keep his people safe out of the reach of the Devil (Revelation 12:14) and through a human descendant of Israel bring rescue to others.

The sun behind the human face is a reference to the fact that God himself will visit the planet again in the form of this human descendant with ‘a face like the sun’ (Matthew 17:2 and Revelation 1:16).

The outstretched arms point to the way in which this man will die and the clouds on which he is seated are a sign that he will later come in judgement (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30).

Finally the leaves of the tree of life, depicted on the right of the picture, symbolise the healing of the nations that will arise as a result of this cosmic rescue (Revelation 22:2).

The real meaning of the tarot – ‘the Wheel of Fortune’

The Rider-Waite tarot deck is the most popular Tarot deck in use today in the English-speaking world.

It has been vastly influential in the development of later divinatory tarot decks to the extent that many are called 'Rider-Waite clones' because they closely follow its symbolism and imagery.

The cards were originally published in December 1909 by the publisher William Rider & Son of London.

While the images are deceptively simple, almost childlike, the details and backgrounds hold a wealth of symbolism.

Many people use tarot cards for divination, but this is to miss their true significance and meaning.

It is far better to seek to understand their symbolism and the ancient wisdom that lies behind it.

Now you may be familiar with tarot cards or you may not. But take a careful look at the ‘Wheel of Fortune’ above.

The most prominent feature of this card is the central wheel from which tarot cards get their name. If you follow the letters clockwise from the top and include the top letter ‘t’ twice you get TAROT.

But you can also read it from the bottom. The four letters then spell ROTA meaning wheel.

But even more important are the symbols between these letters (pictured left). These also are four letters but not in Latin script.

These letters are the key to the tarot’s true meaning.

They are actually four ancient Hebrew letters known as the ‘tetragrammaton’ – the Latin transliteration is YHWH – the ‘theonym’ or secret name of God – translated alternatively Yahweh or Jehovah (read them clockwise from bottom right).

That this refers to the God of the Old Testament of the Bible is further confirmed by the four winged creatures in each corner of the card.

These are a man, an eagle, a lion and a bull – the four features of the four living creatures which support the throne of God in the first chapter of Ezekiel.

The fifth creature atop the wheel is a lion – symbolising Judah, the fourth tribe of ancient Israel. We are told of Judah that ‘like a lion he crouches and lies down’(Genesis 49:9).

The next verse in Genesis (49:10) tells us that from Judah will come a descendant who will eventually rule over all the nations.

The Lion of Judah is Jesus Christ. Jesus was from the tribe of Judah and he is mentioned as the ‘Lion of Judah’ in Revelation 5:5.

The two-edged sword he holds is the word of God (Hebrews 4:12), the Bible, which all four of the creatures are reading.

The clouds surrounding the central image are a reference to the fact that Christ would come ‘with the clouds’ into the presence of God. Daniel 7:13 tells us that ‘he was given ‘authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped him’.

The next verse (7:14) tells us that ‘his dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed’.

I’m sure you will also have noticed two other creatures in the picture. The red creature with two horns sliding under the wheel is the devil, the deceiver who tries to lead people astray and stop them from believing the truth.

He is the usurper who will attempt to wrest authority from the Lion of Judah. He makes his appearance first in human history as a serpent in the Garden of Eden – the yellow snake in the picture – who attempts to deceive human beings and get them to worship him rather than the true God. He will also one day appear as a man.

This is the real meaning of the tarot. It is revealing important truths about the world in which we live to all who are open to them.

This deeper meaning and purpose will be more fully revealed as we examine the other cards in subsequent posts.