Today my question was, “Should I cut all of my hair off?”
I woke up this morning, and while I got ready for my work out, I got the urge to cut all of my hair off. I hadn’t had it cut in over three years, close to four. So when I felt the urge come on, I made the appointment. As soon as I made the appointment, I started to second guess myself. Should I get a trim instead? Should I just cancel the appointment? There were a lot of thoughts and feelings swirling, so I thought the best thing to do would be to get in touch with my intuition. I asked the tarot deck the above question, and I ended up pulling The High Priestess reversed.
It’s not a card I’ve ever pulled before, so I spent some time looking at the card. The first things that I noticed where the black and white pillars on either side of the priestess. It immediately made me think that issues and feelings are not always black and white, which was interesting in this particular context. It made me wonder if I wasn’t asking the right question. A lot of times the answer to a question isn’t a firm “yes” or “no,” often times there’s a but, or additional information to help you understand the answer.
I also noticed the shroud behind the priestess. It looks like it has some types of fruit on it, like a peach or pineapple. In addition, the High Priestess is wearing all blue, which usually signifies spirituality, intuition, inspiration and inner peace. She also has a headdress that looks similar to the horned god symbol, while a moon which is representative of the goddess is wrapped up in her cloak, resting at her feet. She’s also holding a scroll that appears to read “TORA”
The whole card was really interesting, and when reading about the meaning, a lot of the symbology began to come together. The shroud behind the High Priestess is decorated with pomegranates, so symbolize abundance, fertility, and the divine feminine. They were the fruit of the underworld, which Persephone ate, forcing her to return every year. The shroud also represents the separation of our conscious and subconscious.
The pillars that stand on either side mark the entrance to this sacred mystical temple (associated with the Temple of Solomon). One pillar is black with the letter B (Boaz, meaning ‘in his strength’) and the other is white with the letter J (Jachin, meaning ‘he will establish’). The black and white pillars symbolize duality (masculine/feminine, dark/light, etc.), stating that knowledge and acceptance of duality are required to enter this sacred space.
The High Priestess herself, wears the blue robe with a cross on her chest and a horned crown, which are both symbolic of her divine knowledge and her status as a divine ruler. In her lap, the TORA scroll which is partly covered, signifying that this sacred knowledge is both explicit and implicit, and will only be revealed when the student is ready to look beyond the material real. The crescent moon at her feet also symbolizes her connection with the divine feminine, her intuition, subconscious mind, and the natural cycles of the moon.
In the reversed position, the High Priestess can mean secrets, disconnection from intuition, withdrawal, and silence.
Thoughts
I think this card reversed means that the High Priestess is calling on me to be still and to direct my attention inward. I need to listen to my voice and wisdom, which has been hard for me to do historically, and I’ve only really begun trying to do it. A lot of times, I am swayed by other people’s opinions when what I really need to do is focus on what is right for me. For instance, after I scheduled the appointment, I asked my husband what I should do. Instead, I should have observed what my inner guidance was trying to share with me when I made the appointment.
Like I mentioned previously, I really struggled growing up with trusting my intuition. I often doubted myself, or felt silly, or even guilty for listening to my intuition. As a result, I’ve made a habit of denying my ability to tun in and receive this important information. I also have always kept the feelings around my intuition quiet because I was afraid people would judge me or think I was weird. In reality, my intuition is my super power. I should be letting it guide and help me. I need to have better faith in the Universe, as well and my evolutionary biology, and allow myself to in tune with the energy around me.
Receiving the High Priestess reversed in this context really made me think about why I was being so wish-washy. That morning, I had a strong urge to get it all cut off. And then immediately after scheduling I started to doubt myself. I turned to other people to help me make the decision, when what I really needed to do was look inward. I felt the need for a major change. I’ve always looked at hair the same way I look at tree rings. Hair is like a history of all of the things you’ve been through and done, and like you can count a trees rings to tell it’s age, I feel like you could look at a persons hair, and know their story. I wanted, almost a cleansing of that history. A way to move forward in my new journey fresh, free of the baggage from the past. So that’s what I did! I cut it all off. I asked the tarot the question, and then looked inside myself to find the answer. I’m growing, and changing and using my intuition to illuminate this new path forward to a more authentic, in tune inner self.
Blessed be!