The High Priestess Tarot Card Meaning: Upright, Reversed and Love
Nov 7, 2026 · The Editors
The High Priestess tarot card meaning: the pillars, the veil and the scroll, upright and reversed meanings, the High Priestess in love and career, and yes or no.
The High Priestess is card II of the Major Arcana. Where the Magician acts, she knows. She is the card of intuition, mystery and the things that are understood without being said.
What the card shows
- A woman in blue robes seated between two pillars, one black and one white, marked B and J — Boaz and Jachin, the pillars of Solomon's Temple. She sits between opposites: light and dark, known and unknown.
- Behind her hangs a veil embroidered with pomegranates, hiding what lies beyond.
- In her lap, a partly hidden scroll marked TORA — sacred knowledge, only half shown.
- A crescent moon at her feet, and a crown shaped like the moon in its phases.
Upright meaning
- Intuition — trust what you sense.
- Hidden knowledge — more is going on than you can see.
- Stillness and patience — a time to listen, not act.
- The inner voice and the subconscious.
Reversed meaning
- Ignoring your intuition.
- Secrets — yours or someone else's.
- Withdrawal — cutting yourself off.
- Confusion — too many voices, none of them your own.
In love
Upright: attraction with an air of mystery, or feelings not yet spoken. For someone single, a sign to trust instinct about a person. Reversed: hidden agendas, or emotions being kept from a partner.
In career
Upright: gather information before deciding; something you need to know has not come out yet. Reversed: office secrets, or ignoring a gut feeling about a job.
Yes or no
The High Priestess is usually read as "not yet" or "the answer is hidden" — wait for more information.
Her place in the sequence
She follows the Magician, and the pair are often read together: the Magician is will and action, the High Priestess is wisdom and receptivity. She is followed by the Empress.
Astrology
In the Golden Dawn system that shaped the 1909 deck, this card belongs to the Moon: the planet of tides, cycles, dreams and the hidden half of things. Readers who combine tarot with astrology look at where that sign or planet falls in their own chart.
Questions to ask when you draw it
- What do I already know, but have not admitted?
- Where am I rushing a decision that needs more time?
- Whose silence am I misreading?
Write the answers down. Tarot works best as a prompt for honest thinking — the card asks the question; you answer it.
For all 78 cards, see tarot card meanings · Tarot spreads for beginners.
