Secret of the High Priestess Spread
Difficulty: Average
This spread is 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 spread is helpful when you are looking into a current trend. The High Priestess may or may not present a mysterious secret to be analyzed after the rest of the spread.
1. and 2. Main impulses that represent 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 you are putting behind you, what 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, what is conscious.
6. The Dark shows 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 will take you.
9. The last card, if it happens to be of the Major Arcana, reveals the Secret of the High Priestess. This is a special message that you should pay extra special attention to.
Your Secret of the High Priestess Reading
The Waxing Moon ![]() The Sun |
The Full Moon ![]() The Empress |
The Waning Moon ![]() The Star |
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Significator #1 ![]() The Moon |
Significator #2 ![]() The Devil |
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The Dark ![]() Fortune |
The Secret of the High Priestess ![]() The Universe |
The Light ![]() Art |
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The Next Step ![]() The Chariot |
Significator #1

The Moon
Pisces
Illusion, deception, bewilderment, hysteria, even madness, dreaminess, falsehood, error, crisis, 'the darkest hour before the dawn', the brink of important change.
Significator #2

The Devil
Capricorn
Blind impulse, irresistibly strong and unscrupulous, ambition, temptation, obsession, secret plan about to be executed; hard work, obstinacy, rigidity, aching discontent, endurance.
The Waning Moon is the influence that you are putting behind you, as it moves into the past.

The Star
Aquarius
Hope, unexpected help, clearness of vision, realisation of possibilities, spiritual insight, with bad aspects, error of judgment, dreaminess, disappointment.
The Full Moon is the current influence at this time.

The Empress
Venus
Love, beauty, happiness, pleasure, success, completion, good fortune, graciousness, elegance, luxury, idleness, dissipation debauchery, friendship, gentleness, delight.
The Waxing Moon indicates what is on the horizon; the approaching influence.

The Sun
The Sun
Glory, gain, riches, triumph, pleasure, frankness, truth, shame-lessness, arrogance, vanity, manifestation, recovery from sickness, but sometimes sudden death.
The Light is what is clearly recognized.

Art
Sagittarius
Combination of forces, realisation, action based on accurate calculation; the way of escape, success after elaborate manoeuvres.
The Dark shows what is there but not fully perceived, though it has been noticed on a deeper level of consciousness.

Fortune
Jupiter
Change of fortune. (This generally means good fortune because the fact of consultation implies anxiety or discontent.)
The Next Step is the near future, where this journey will take you.

The Chariot
Cancer
Triumph, victory, hope, memory, digestion, violence in maintaining traditional ideas, the 'die-hard', ruthlessness, lust of destruction, obedience, faithfulness, authority under authority.
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.

The Universe
Earth
The matter of the question itself, synthesis, the end of the matter, may mean delay, opposition, obstinacy, inertia, patience, perseverance, persistent stubbornness in difficulty. The crystallisation of the whole matter involved.