by Marcus Katz
The Design
The High Priestess follows Waite’s wishes to depict the “idea of the Shekinah” (PKT, 13) in correspondence with the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis. She sits between the two pillars of Boaz and Jachim, which both Waite and Pamela would have seen in Golden Dawn ritual—and in Waite’s case, in Freemasonic temples.
She sits in front of a veil on which are pomegranates arranged in a Tree of Life pattern. On her lap is a scroll of the Torah, the “law” here equated by Waite as the “Divine Law and the Gnosis” or knowledge of self-awareness. She wears an equal-armed cross on her breast, although on very close examination the lower arm of the cross is slightly longer; it could be argued that the right arm is also, so we do not read too much into this design. It is certainly on magnification a nascent rose-cross or Celtic Cross, as there is a circle from which the four arms extend.
Her headdress and robes are drawn to replicate flowing water, and the moon is at her feet. Behind her is the sea.
Key Symbols
Solemn young female sat upon throne, crescent moon at her feet
Long cascading gown and cloak
Cross adorning chest
Headdress crown with horns, and moon symbol of Isis/Hathor
Scroll resting on left hand; the word TORA is visible
Two pillars, right marked with initial B, left marked with initial J.
The screen/veil behind her is decorated with pomegranates and palms: the pomegranate is a universal symbol, but here rather than related to Persephone and the descent into the underworld it is also associated with the Virgin Mary. In Christian symbolism, the pomegranate was often woven into the fabric of garments and stands for the richness of Jesus’s sacrifice and resurrection. It is often depicted held in the hands of Mary or the young Christ.
The pomegranate is also figured in Kabbalah and Judaism; there is a famous kabbalistic work entitled The Garden of Pomegranates and the handles of the Torah scrolls, coincidentally, are sometimes covered with decorative globes shaped like pomegranates when not in use.
In a reading: The High Priestess is intuitive knowledge, a deep connection to what is true but which cannot be fully formulated into words. It is the niggling doubt, the sense of something amiss, or the immediate and unquestioned experience of something just being right.
Key words and concepts: Intuition, mystery, secrecy.
Waite: This is one of three cards that Waite said he had “spoon-fed” to Pamela. His version in the Waite-Trinick tarot is of an even higher order, so it is likely that he revisited the card design to suit it to a higher purpose. He saw the card as the Shekinah, and the veil of the divine.
Colman Smith: For Pamela, we cannot help but think this is a card of the Virgin Mary. As such, it contains all the devotion and mystery of that symbol. In the Catholic doctrine, there are often two letters either side of the figure of “M” or Mary herself, B + V, for “Blessed Virgin,” and Pamela has subverted this iconography into the Freemasonic letters here, likely at Waite’s request. It is a nice design touch that the cross on her breast creates a plus sign between the two letters, B and J. The lily, rose, and iris are all further symbols of Mary and appear throughout the deck.
Mary is the Stella Maris here, the “Star of the Sea” who carries the meanings of devotion, consecration, service, and even redemption. For Pamela as well as Waite through his conceptualisation of the Shekinah, Mary is the intercessor, the mediator between humanity and the divine. Also relevant is the symbol of the veil, all that separates us from truth.
There is also an overlap between the High Priestess and the Empress; both are aspects of Mary and the Shekinah. Mary is viewed by Catholics as the identity of the woman in Revelations 12:1, where “a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Pamela has split the symbols between these two cards; the Empress wears the crown (although in the PAM-A deck one of the stars is not coloured correctly and blends into the background) and the High Priestess has the moon at her feet.
Other overlapping symbols are the pomegranates, the trees, and the waterfall; whilst the pomegranates are symbols in both images, the Empress wears them whereas the High Priestess appears in front of them on the veil. The trees and flowing water on the Empress are depicted as a real background scene, where on the High Priestess they are symbolic. The Empress is the manifestation in nature of the divine, and the High Priestess is the manifestation of the divine within each of us.
In the Waite-Trinick images, the High Priestess prefigures the Wiccan ritual of Drawing Down the Moon introduced by Gerald Gardner, some decades prior to Gardner. It is possible although unproven that Gardner might have seen these images through members of the Rosicrucian groups who may have also been members of Waite’s F. R. C.90
43. The High Priestess, Waite-Trinick Tarot, J. B. Trinick. (c. 1917–1923, courtesy of authors, private collection, reproduced in Abiding in the Sanctuary, 2013.)
Secret significance: All that is within us is a reflection of that which is above us.
Reading tip: When this card appears in a reading, it is a sign that the querent already has the knowledge, the resources, the past experience, or whatever is relevant to the position of the card. Their issue is in knowing that they are already in this position. We look to other more earthy and mundane cards, particularly pentacles and court cards, to discern how we can make this ethereal knowledge relevant to the real.
44. Stained-Glass Window at Winchelsea Church, photograph
by authors (Ace of Cups, Temperance, Strength and Justice,
Last Judgement, Rainbow [left to right, top to bottom]).
The Final Mystery of the Waite-Smith Tarot
We know that Pamela visited Winchelsea and may have even stayed at Ellen Terry’s Tower Cottage, which in 1907 she drew in a sketch, from the path by the river below the lane. She would then have likely visited the small church that stands in that town. In this church stands one of the remaining mysteries of the Waite-Smith tarot, and it is fitting it belongs to the High Priestess.
Whilst it is apparent that the famous tomb in the church served as a model for the 6 of Swords, the stained glass window is replete with familiar images—not just Christian iconography, but a collage of symbols specific to the tarot. A chalice, an angel pouring fire and water, the scales of Justice, the lion called Fortitude, all in one place. Furthermore is the “Peace on Earth” we will see hidden in the 6 of Swords as PAX.
The most obvious and astonishing image is that of Mary; she is depicted as bearing the scrolls and decorated clearly with pomegranates. No clearer an identical image to Pamela’s High Priestess could be imagined in stained glass.
45. Stained-Glass Window at Winchelsea Church, photograph by authors (High Priestess).
When we first saw this image, we were convinced it was the source for Pamela’s High Priestess; the tomb was certainly there at the time she was visiting in 1909. However, on further research, it appears that even by 1922 the church had no stained glass; this incredible work was added just after the Great War by Dr. Douglas Strachan (1875–1950). It was not dedicated until 1933.
Unless there was a prior version, Pamela could not have seen this image at the church. It is certainly possible, as twenty years prior to Pamela’s time, the church had undergone a major restoration for the first time in many years. Yet it is so totally in tune with the image she produced for the High Priestess, without considering that Dr. Strachan placed it there deliberately, it is a remarkable coincidence—indeed, true synchronicity.
The Empress: 3
The Design
The Empress is a continuation of the Mary symbolism of the previous card. Here she bears the crown of twelve stars, which also has a wealth of associated meaning and interpretation, including the twelve tribes and the twelve signs of the zodiac. What was imagined in the High Priestess is n
ow real and fertile in the Empress. Her heart-shaped shield—which is cleverly and elegantly imagined as the support of her throne—bears a symbol of Venus. Her dress is that of a pregnant woman, as is matched by her recliner, which is not a throne at all. Women of the day in 1909 who were expecting a baby were advised:
… during this preliminary time one is healthfully, attractively, and becomingly gowned, it most certainly helps to keep one happier, more contented and cheerful, and everything possible should be done to keep in a joyful, hopeful, and contented state of mind. People who believe in the possibilities of prenatal influences will readily see the importance, then, of suitable and attractive dressing.91
The Empress is the matrix of all that follows.
Key Symbols
Solemn woman sat facing forward, she holds aloft a sceptre in her right hand: Waite says of this sceptre that it is “surmounted by the globe of this world.” The sceptre is symbolic of her rulership of the everyday world.
Wreath and metal crown, a diadem, topped with twelve stars: The diadem, the metal crown denoting royalty that adorns the head of the Empress, is decorated with twelve stars signifying the zodiac (heavens).
Long flowing gown embellished with pomegranates: The Empress is dressed in a garment representing her earthly royal status. Her gown is decorated with pomegranates that symbolise her fertility. Waite says she is a “stately figure having rich vestments and royal aspects, as of a daughter of heaven and earth.”
Pearl necklace: The pearls the Empress wears symbolise her dominion over the waters, her Venusian aspect.
Trees: The sustainable nature of a tree; how it withstands the onslaught of time and the elements but changes to reflect the seasons. Symbolically they are “rooted in the earth but with their branches pointing to the heavens.”
Stream: Water that gives life. It purifies and regenerates. It demonstrates how nature flows from one state to another and always finds its level.
Heart-shaped shield containing the Venus symbol: In the Golden Dawn, the symbol of Venus was taught as representing unity, as it is the only planetary symbol when drawn that touches the whole of the Tree of Life. Astrologically Venus is the feminine planet, ruling Libra by day and Taurus by night. Libra denotes her role as a law bringer, presiding over sacred law, whereas Taurus denotes her dominion over the earth. The glyph itself represents the spirit and the material.
Soft furnishing/cushion with Venus symbols: See above symbolism
of Venus.
Ears of wheat: The goddess Demeter represented fertile and cultivated soil. She was known as the “Goddess of the fruits and riches of the field … the Corn Goddess.” Cirlot says, “Symbolically ears of corn are an emblem of fertility and an attribute of the sun … and [they] symbolise germination and growth—of the development of any further potentiality.”
In a reading: The Empress brings a natural flow to a reading, signifying the passage of time and the movement of events outside of personal control. We have to await pregnancy; patience, endurance, and time are denoted by this card. The Empress maintains the natural order of things. She advises keeping your balance, letting nature take its course. Let whatever is of concern fall into place naturally. There will be highs and lows; extremes of states, as we have summer, winter, spring, and autumn. There is a season for everything. A tate of acceptance needs to be cultivated, just as Demeter had to accept that her daughter Persephone would be absent for part of the year. We must trust that this too will pass.
Key words and concepts: Nature, pregnancy, growth.
Waite: This is a card about which Waite was particularly vehement in his assessment of previous versions and interpretations. He writes, “Most old attributions of this card are completely wrong on the symbolism” (PKT, 83). Her titles are the Gloria Mundi, the veil of the Sanctum Sanctorum, the inferior Garden of Eden and the refugium peccatorium (PKT, 80). This latter name is the Latin for the “refuge of sinners” and a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She bears the divine Word to the world, as a lower form of the High Priestess and a gateway to the World card.
In this as in many other cards, we see clear Catholic symbolism appropriated to Waite’s own mystical system expressed through only semi-veiled language and the occasional esoteric correspondence—in this case, to the Garden of Venus.92
Colman Smith: Pamela has given us the flaxen-haired woman in her natural surroundings and ensured that her nature is not compromised by the power implied by a formal throne. Instead we have a divan, and a large cushion suitable perhaps for pregnancy.
Secret significance: All nature is divine, and all that lives, lives.
Reading tip: When the Empress is present, it signifies a delay, and the potential feeling of frustration this may entail. However, we can look at the minor cards in such a reading to determine where the querent has some agency or ability to act. The major arcana are like the currents of a river, strong and deep, whilst the minor cards are the surface ripples and eddies. When we get a significant amount of majors in a reading, it means we must learn how to work with these currents to keep our canoe afloat and our paddles intact. When there are mainly minors, it shows that we must paddle our own direction, as there is no particular current to work with or against us.
The Emperor: 4
The Design
There are specific symbols in this design that show Pamela had assistance in the majors. The Crux Ansata, held by the Emperor, is used within the Golden Dawn, where it is held by the Chief Adept in the Consecration ritual of the Adeptus Minor. It is there described as “a form of the Rose and Cross, the Ancient Crux Ansata or Egyptian symbol of Life.” Its meaning is given as “the force of the Ten Sephiroth in Nature.”93 As such it conveys the life-creating power of the Emperor as a counterpoint to that of the Empress. This is something we do not believe Pamela would have naturally had knowledge of and would have been directed in by Waite.
Waite’s notes on the image also betray what we now can see in retrospect as a “double-blind,” that is, stating something whilst at the same time saying it is not important or relevant—when it is. This is something of which he is often accused. Waite writes the Emperor is “occasionally represented as seated on a cubic stone, which, however, confuses some of the issues” (PKT, 84). We now know that when he created the Waite-Trinick deck ten years later, he felt it absolutely necessary to put the Emperor and Empress both on (double) cubic stones, such was the import of that symbolism. So here we have him seemingly so desperate to reveal his knowledge of symbolism, whilst at the same time shrugging it off—but at least he got to write it.
Key Symbols
Mature man decked out in clothes befitting royalty: The crowned man is as Waite says a “crowned monarch—commanding, stately”; he is “executive and realization” whose virility is directed to the Empress. He is the active to her passive state. In a reading, this card means action—any action.
The throne: denotes royal status, as Waite says in his description of the Emperor “uplifted on the thrones of the mighty.” The ornate/ceremonial throne gives a position of elevation above the mundane. We would see this man differently if he was sat on a battered old stool. Waite also goes on to say that the throne signifies “the higher Kingship, occupying the intellectual throne” and that it is “Lordship of thought rather than the animal world.” Again, in a reading this is thought, logic, reason, above all things.
Where the Empress is pure feeling, the Emperor is pure thought: Where the Magician is thought applied (will), the High Priestess is emotion applied (intuition). We see this in Waite’s correspondences of these cards to the Tree of Life, where the Empress and Emperor emerge from Kether, down the female and male pillars through the High Priestess and Magician, in a mapping that is perfectly symmetrical.
Royal regalia: This comprises the crown, and he holds in his right hand a sceptre in the form of an ankh and in his left hand a g
lobe. The ankh symbolises life in ancient Egyptian mythology and the globe symbolises his dominion over the earth. As Waite says, his intelligence and wisdom are not consciously drawn from “a higher world.” He possesses control over earthly life.
The Crown: as Cirlot says in his classic dictionary of symbols, “Symbolizes in the very broadest and deepest sense, the very idea of pre-eminence.” 94 The male figure who wears this crown is therefore above all others.
The ram’s heads: that decorate the armrests and appear elsewhere on the card symbolise the astrological sign of Aries and the energies that the sign represents—thrusting forward into the world. They also represent the King’s virility. In a reading, this would signify the need to take immediate action and to push past any obstacles that are in your way. Get going with any activities because the force is with you.
Ceremonial armour under gown: He combines the best of the king and the knight; he is ready to defend and fight. When this card turns up, so should you.
Background rocky mountain crop: The earthly dominion that he rules, which is close to God, because he is representative of God on earth. Heaven and earth unite. In a reading, this is about owning your space, setting boundaries and asserting your power. Overcoming difficulties.
In a reading: The Emperor brings power, direction, and control to the table. He is the go-getter, the fire-starter, and the push and shove of all creation. The Emperor can often be an impractical card. It is someone who is not interested in the rewards of success, but the attainment of success, at any cost. He is not in any one industry or the money-making business—he is in the empire-building business.
Key words and concepts: Execution and realisation, the higher thoughts.
Waite: The masculine and virile power is here denoted, and the higher nature of thought, cleaving to the divine.
