Secret of the High Priestess Spread

Difficulty: Average

This spread makes a nice alternative to the Celtic Cross, which covers basically the same ground. It is useful when a question doesn't quite call for the Ankh spread. This tarot spread is helpful for looking into a current trend. The High Priestess may or may not present a mysterious secret to be analysed after the rest of the spread.

1. & 2. Main impulses representing the topic at hand. They may compliment or oppose one another.

3. This is the current influence at this time.

5. The Waning Moon is the influence that is moving into the past.

4. The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon, or the approaching influence. This is the immediate future.

7. The Light is what is clearly recognized, consciously.

6. The Dark indicates what is there but not fully perceived, though noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.

8. The Next Step is the near future, where this journey leads.

9. The final tarot card, only if it happens to be of the Major Arcana, reveals the Secret of the High Priestess. This is a special message that should be given added weight.

Your Secret of the High Priestess Reading

The Waxing Moon Queen of Swords	The Full Moon VII – The Chariot		The Waning Moon Ten of Coins
	Significator #1 Eight of Wands	Significator #2 XVI – The Tower
The Dark Five of Cups	The Secret of the High Priestess Five of Wands		The Light Youth of Coins
	The Next Step Three of Wands

Significator #1 

Watch out – things are moving too quickly or spinning out of control. Spending too much energy on the wrong problem. Spinning your wheels. Making decisions too hastily. Moving forward with reckless abandon. Feeling overwhelmed by the fast pace of events.

Significator #2 

The collapse of a project or situation, especially when it forces you to revaluate your core values. Someone who challenges your beliefs or forces you to revaluate your life. Being forced out of your comfort zone. Losing your temper, i.e., blowing your top.

The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past. 

A good time to go into business for yourself or to take your career to the next level. Good dealings with big businesses or institutions. Wealthy people are involved. An inheritance. Trying to see beyond material things.

The Full Moon is the current influence at this time. 

Feeling pulled in several directions at once. Feeling a loss of control in your life. An inability to properly master outside influences. Charging ahead rashly. Running roughshod over other people. Losing yourself in the role you have to play in order to succeed. Failure or a very costly victory.

The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence. 

Being moralistic, self-righteous, sanctimonious, prudish, or emotionally barren. Someone behind the scenes is pulling the strings. Someone is not what she seems. She may be wearing a mask, or she may be using guile and cunning to manipulate someone to do something for her or to do things her way.

The Light is what is clearly recognized. 

The need to learn useful skills or to learn more about a financial or material matter. Inexperienced or inept financial dealings. Losing the initiative on a business deal. Vain hopes for a quick reward. Naïve business dealings; falling for a scam.

The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness. 

The end of a painful time is drawing near. Seeing the glass as half full instead of as half empty. Getting over grief and sorrow. Seeing a loss as the beginning of a new stage in life. Consoling someone who has experienced a loss.

The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you. 

Foresight, long-range planning, and patience will help ensure success. The first steps of an enterprise are completed, and everything looks good. Opportunity for travel or for the shipment of goods. Someone who has an air of easy confidence.

The Secret of the High Priestess - if, and only if, this card a Major Arcana, it reveals the Secret of the High Priestess. This is a special spiritual message that you should pay extra special attention to. If it is not a trump, the Priestess has revealed no secret. 

Finding a way to make a chaotic situation be productive instead. Rising above the chaos and turmoil around you. 'You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs'. Complications or problems in your life can be overcome with some effort. The end of struggles. You are being held back by your conflicted feelings about something.