My thoughts & description:
This is a mystical, moonlit card. The primary color here is lavender - maybe that's why I love the card so much since purple and lavender are among my favorite colors. The High Priestess is shown dressed in a sheer white robe with her shawl and hair blowing in the wind. She is holding a crystal ball in her outstretched hand. The ball has images of the moon and clouds in its depths. At her feet is a small pool, surrounded by rocks, with water falling softly from a crevice. There are ferns growing by the pool and a swan by her feet. A silver crescent moon on her forehead and a circle of standing stones in the background. The moon is circled by hazy bands of pink and blue and thin clouds hang in the sky. The snowdrops growing at the Priestesses feet are symbols of spring - this card is meant to symbolize the season of Imbolc (February 2 in the modern Wiccan calendar.) Willow branches hang from the stone border into the central image.

For me this card means intuition - listening to your inner self. Also occult knowledge and wisdom gained through time and study. This card is strongly feminine - representative of the "woman" in everyone.

From the book, pages 51 & 52:
"The High Priestess is the witch, the Wise Woman who relies on her intuitive understanding to gain wisdom. She knows the cycles of nature, the patterns of the stars, the tides of the moon, the habits of the animals, and the virtues of every plant.

In this card, a willow tree hangs over Brighid's well. The willow is sacred to the Moon Goddess because it is a tree that loves water, and the moon governs the tides and brings moisture in the form of dew. The sea, the emotions, and the feminine are governed by the moon, which, in its monthly rhythm, is female, as opposed to the daily movements of the sun, which is considered male."

Page 53:
"The journey of the fool - After becoming aware that he is a conscious being with the power to think and put his thoughts into action, the fool learns that there is another side to himself, unconnected with the intellect. It is the voice of intuition that recognizes the spirit within. To encounter it, he must surrender to the dark womb of the subconscious."

This notion of a surrender is an interesting one - since most are frightened of the unknown it takes a great leap of faith to go into the subconscious and find out what is there.

Bron
Graymist35@aol.com