© Madeline Rose and artist Ahmad Sonhaji Silitonga
The High Priestess Emerald Tolemac tarot card. The images from our deck are all copyright, created by Madeline Rose and Ahmad Sonhaji Silitonga.
The High Priestess Emerald Tolemac
Here we see Merlin’s wife Gwendolyn, also known by several other names. Some of those names are Nimue, Vivianne and Ninianne. In our version of The High Priestess Card Emerald Tolemac, she is Gwendolyn. The overriding theme of the High Priestess Emerald Tolemac card is the connection between opposites: exoteric and esoteric and matter and spirit. If this card appears in your spread, it’s time to gain clarity and shift your emphasis from what is seen, to what is unseen. It’s time to use your intuition and access the deep recesses of your subconscious mind, for therein lies an abundance of knowledge waiting to be transmuted to wisdom.
The High Priestess Emerald Tolemac card is replete with symbolism to remind us that there is really no division between the spiritual and material world. Reality is all one whole, even though there are two seemingly opposite sides. The use of black and white in the illustration clearly represents this idea and is depicted in various ways.
The living beings: Beside her sits a cat, her familiar. Cats are symbols of sexuality and fecundity. The High Priestess is strong in her feminine sexual power. This is something that may be emerging or burgeoning for the questioner. Cats also represent the sacred, as in Bubastis the Egyptian goddess. A black cat typically symbolises wholeness and unity or a joining of the spiritual and material worlds.
The cat is paired with a spiritual white owl in flight, the symbol for prophecy and higher wisdom, or a suggestion to let your intuition soar. The owl’s wings are wide-spread, symbolising an unfolding of the questioner’s life path and an openness to what it offers. The owl is also a symbol of death, and it comes to the priestess over her right shoulder. This shows her power of attraction and mastery over both knowledge and shadow.
The cat, the priestess, and the owl all look straight ahead, confronting the questioner with their truth and the ability to face life head-on. This orientation reaffirms candidness as a recommendation for the questioner.
The trees: One tree behind her is white, the other is black. They also tower over her. This symbolises duality. The High Priestess is here to unite duality. She is here to bring balance between the light and the dark. What are you doing to bring balance to your inner life? The trees encourage the questioner to weigh their options. This makes sense because the card’s number is two. Out of one comes two.
The lake and the night: The High Priestess is walking on the lake, showing her power to do miraculous things in this world. It is night-time which symbolises the need to do magic under the cover of secrecy. True power is never displayed – it is always hidden.
The High Priestess is clothed in a long blue gown to symbolise esoteric knowledge. Blue is the colour of the throat chakra and is associated with Communication. She is able to converse at a deep level with others. Blue is also associated with truth-telling and the element of air. It is fitting that she holds a sword, also linked to air, the mind, and clarity.
The High Priestess holds a scroll in her right hand to demonstrate her grasp of divine law. Written on the scroll is the inscription, “tora,” a book of alchemy and learning, a book of magic and symbolism. Her hand covers over one of the letters of the full word, which if shown would be “torat”. This symbolises that the knowledge that is inside of a book such as this is always hidden, and never quite fully explained to the masses. Torat is Tarot spelled backwards. All esoteric knowledge is usually hidden from spiritual seekers until they have proved that they are ready to learn. Her holding the scroll speaks of her power to interpret the word – again, Communication. She has sacred status and is able to decipher and apply the Word of God.
The High Priestess is in perfect alignment. The full moon above and behind her connotes immense intuition as depicted by the breadth and depth of the moon as it shines its light into her temple. The High Priestess’s intuition flows through her into the material world to become knowledge dispensed as wisdom, as indicated by the sword. The full moon is reflected in the water – again the representation of duality, the life that is lived and its reflection. The reader should note the broken outline of the celestial body within the waves and its resolution as it is seen whole and round in the sky. This is the power of the card, to bring what is below above and let it shine, embodied. The nighttime water represents the emotions and the subconscious. The moon rules women, the tides, and cycles. What do our dreams, our underbellies, have to teach us?
She holds her sword balanced against the top of the lake and pointing down. This suggests that she’s measuring a division – the weighing of thoughts – more than her sword being used as a weapon or tool for forging ahead. This card has a kinship to Justice. The plunging direction of the sword could be a hint that the reader could do with some more grounding influence. This is a very earthy card in its practical application of knowledge, despite the overwhelming element of air.
Our Priestess wears the symbol of the Celtic cross around her neck. There is a ring of silver with the symbol of two crescent moons upon her brow. In the center is a blue gem at her crown chakra, again clarity of thought and insight. It is night time. This speaks to the feminine, the yin, the sense of potential. There are lotus blossoms floating on the water behind her, which symbolise the questioner’s unfolding as they develop, and also denote enlightenment.
The High Priestess Emerald Tolemac is sovereign in her realm, creating a communicative bridge between the dualities of black and white, night and day, consciousness and unconsciousness. Her long slender neck speaks to the unification of the body and the mind and the instrument of speech.
The two large clusters of clear quartz crystals on either side of the Priestess dispel negativity. Since this type of crystal purifies on spiritual, mental and physical levels, it is protective in nature, as are the curtains on either side of the Priestess. These items keep the sanctity and clarity of her temple and the innermost center of her being – of her power – safe. Safe away from the eyes and judgement of curious onlookers or those who are prone to critique the nature of her being, or her actions.
The High Priestess abides indoors in comfort with her tools of wisdom, interpretation and clarity. She is not a wandering or feral being. The curtains of her abode are adorned by images of pomegranates, the symbols of plenty as their many seeds indicate, and symbols of the underworld. These seeds can stand for creativity, abundant resources, and new beginnings in some form or the ability to access hidden realms of knowledge by going inward. Most will be familiar with the myth of Persephone and her dwelling place below ground. We must be willing to sometimes commune with our shadow sides to find the truth.
The High Priestess Emerald Tolemac is the guardian of the unconscious and reminds us that esoteric or hidden knowledge is accessible to the conscious mind by flying up to meet the seat of our intuition, perhaps by using crystals for clarity. She encourages us to increase our vibration – become lighter and clearer – in order to access our subconscious or to understand what is currently hidden. She asks that we pay attention to what flows from the deep recesses of mind while in dream or meditative states for clarity on issues you face and perhaps to protect the knowledge we gain from those who do not have our best interests in mind.
The High Priestess’ number is two, as reflected throughout the card by crystals, columns, and colors. But two, written as a Roman Numeral is I I – and therefore becomes a doorway, a portal, an entrance to the realm of the unconscious.
The space in which the High Priestess dwells is a reminder that the light, or esoteric wisdom, also dwells in us and that our bodies are literally temples to spirit. If the High Priestess shows up in your cards, she may be reminding you to take care of your body – give it what it needs with ‘lighter’ food and longer periods of dreamtime. It might also be time for more introspection and meditation using crystals and possibly a black cat upon your lap!
The theme of dark and light pervading this card is a reminder that dark exists within light and vice versa….yet in our spiritual development, as the Priestess tells us, it is also necessary to understand that light and dark can beautifully coexist and DO co-exist side-by-side, as does your conscious and unconscious mind. Ultimately, we are to discover that the Light of Spirit STRENGTHENS matter in all its forms.
Thanks for reading,
Psychic Madeline Rose
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The Bravehearts of Belgrave High is now published. I have completed the first in a series of novels that I wrote for teens. It is the courageous story of a young girl growing up in a home filled with domestic violence. She also has to endure a school and neighbourhood full of bullies. We read how she maneuvres her way through such a difficult situation. Plus, how she grows because of it, among other themes in the novel.
The desired outcome for young readers is that they will be inspired to treasure their unique differences. If they don’t fit in with the system or with those around them, then they should realise that it’s quite okay not to fit in.
My first novel was written to help raise funds for the private foundation that I established, which might later become a charity. Click here if you’d like to be taken to the site where you can purchase this novel. If you cannot see the site, use a browser other than Chrome.
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