Man, let me tell you, there are some cards in the deck that just hit you differently, especially when they pop up reversed and are clearly pointing to an actual person in your life. For me, for the longest time, that was The High Priestess reversed. Every time I pulled it, and I knew it was about someone I knew or was dealing with, I’d just kinda freeze up. The books, they talk about intuition blocked, secrets, hidden motives and all that jazz, right? But what does that really look like when it’s a living, breathing person?
I remember this one time, it was years back, I was doing a spread for myself about a situation at my old job. There was this colleague, always around, always friendly, but something just felt off. She wasn’t doing anything overtly wrong, but my gut was screaming. And boom, there it was, The High Priestess, upside down, right in the spot for “influencing factors” or “people involved.” My first thought was, “Okay, she’s secretive, maybe withholding info.” But that felt too basic, too… textbook. It didn’t match the specific weird vibe I was getting.
So, I started pulling more cards, just trying to drill down. I put it out there, “Show me what this person is actually about when The High Priestess shows up like this.” I pulled out my journal and I just wrote. I wrote down everything I observed about her. She’d always have this calm, almost serene look, like she knew some deep secret. But then her eyes, man, they’d dart around a lot when she was talking about anything important. She’d always offer advice, too, unsolicited sometimes, and it always sounded wise on the surface, but if you actually tried to follow it, it led nowhere. Just a lot of fancy words that didn’t connect to anything real.
My Personal Deep Dive into the Reversed Priestess
I decided then and there I had to figure this out on a deeper level. It wasn’t just about reading the definition; it was about connecting it to actual human behavior. I started making mental notes. Anytime I saw The High Priestess reversed in a spread, especially for a “person,” I wouldn’t just look at the book. I’d pause. I’d think about who it might represent, and then I’d observe them.
I started noticing patterns. It wasn’t just about someone keeping secrets. It was often someone who pretended to have deep wisdom or intuition but actually operated from a place of superficiality. They might talk a big game about “listening to their inner voice” or “spiritual truths,” but their actions were often just about appearances or ego. They’d project this calm, knowing aura, but underneath, there was a lot of inner turmoil they weren’t dealing with, or worse, they were using that aura to manipulate situations.
I had another instance, this time with a friend who was always giving really profound-sounding life advice. Everyone thought she was this super wise, intuitive person. But whenever she faced her own problems, she’d completely shut down. She’d just disappear. She couldn’t apply any of that “wisdom” to herself. When I pulled The High Priestess reversed for her, it wasn’t about her having dark secrets. It was about her having this immense inner resource, this deep well of intuition, but it was totally blocked or she just wasn’t accessing it, or worse, misusing it. She was projecting wisdom she didn’t actually integrate.
It was like she was playing the part of the High Priestess, but the connection was severed. She had all the trappings, the quiet demeanor, the profound statements, but the true current of inner knowing wasn’t flowing. It was all external show, a sort of spiritual bypassing, if you know what I mean. She was denying her own messy reality by retreating into this image of composed wisdom.
So, I watched these people. I listened to how they talked. I compared their words to their deeds. And slowly, a clearer picture started to emerge. It wasn’t always about malice or intentional deception, though sometimes it was. More often, it was about a profound disconnect within themselves. They were trying to project an image of knowing or being deeply connected, but internally, they were a mess, or just empty. They might spread gossip under the guise of “sharing information,” or keep secrets that were actually detrimental, not protective. They weren’t holding sacred knowledge; they were just holding onto things, often out of fear or a need for control.
What I eventually landed on, through all this observing and reflecting, was that The High Priestess as a person reversed often points to someone who is either completely out of touch with their own inner guidance, or they are actively suppressing it to maintain a facade. They might be giving out bad advice because their own well of intuition is murky. Or they might be keeping secrets not for wisdom’s sake, but out of fear or to avoid accountability. They can be incredibly withdrawn, but not in a spiritual, contemplative way; more in a way that avoids genuine connection or personal responsibility. They might even try to appear enlightened but are deeply superficial, focused on appearances rather than genuine spiritual growth. It’s like the inner library is either locked, or the books are all mixed up, or someone’s just pretending to read them.
That’s what I learned, not from a book, but from just watching and feeling it out in my own life.
