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The High Priestess (II) is the second trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination. In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Marseilles Tarot, this figure is crowned with the Papal tiara and labelled La Papesse, the Popess, a possible reference to the legend of Pope Joan.

Description[link]

An untitled Popess on the "Rosenwald Sheet" of uncut Tarot woodcut designs, late 15th-early 16th century (National Gallery, Washington)

Rider-Waite symbolism[link]

In the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot deck, upon which many modern decks are based, The High Priestess is identified with the Shekhinah, the female indwelling presence of the divine. She wears plain blue robes and sits with her hands in her lap. She has a lunar crescent at her feet, "a horned diadem on her head, with a globe in the middle place"^[1] similar to the crown of the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor, but with the horns having a shape more like half-crescents, and a large cross on her breast. The scroll in her hands, partly covered by her mantle, bears the word TORA. She is seated between the white and black pillars—'J' and 'B' for Jachin and Boaz—of the mystic Temple of Solomon. The veil of the Temple is behind her: it is embroidered with palm leaves and pomegranates.^[2] The motif that hangs behind the High Priestess’s throne, veiling what ever mysteries she guards, is suggested in the pattern of The Empress’ gown. The two are sisters, one bringing life into the world, the other inviting the living to the esoteric mysteries. Further behind all of that is what seems to be a body of water, most probably the sea. The water flows through most of the cards of the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot.

Tarot of Marseilles symbolism[link]

In the Tarot of Marseilles it is noticeable that she wears a blue cape and red robe, in contrast to The Pope, wearing a red cape and blue robe.

History[link]

[edit] La Papessa

This Tarot card was originally called La Papessa, or "The Popess". The card first appeared in the 15th century. Some of the cards directly linked the woman on the cards to the papacy by showing the woman wearing a trigregnum or Papal Tiara. There are also variants which, along with the triregnum, also show a key reminiscent of the keys to the kingdom that are a traditional symbol of the papacy.^{[citation needed]} In Protestant post-reformation countries, Tarot cards in particular used images of the legendary Pope Joan, linking in to the mythology of how Joan, disguised as a man, was elected to the papacy and was only supposedly discovered to be a woman when she gave birth.^{[citation needed]}

Other variants[link]

However, not all cards clearly linked the card with the papacy. Other variants on the card associated the woman with the Virgin Mary, Isis, the metaphorical Bride of Christ or Holy Mother Church.^{[citation needed]} In Swiss Troccas decks, she is called Junon ("Juno"), the Roman Queen of the Gods. The "Flemish Deck" by Vandenborre (c. 1750-1760) refers to this card as Le Espagnol Capitano Eracasse ("The Spanish Captain Fracasse"), after a version of Il Capitano, a character from Commedia dell'Arte.

Sister Manfreda[link]

Visconti-Sforza Tarot card

La Papessa in the Visconti-Sforza Tarot has been identified as a depiction of Sister Manfreda, an Umiliata nun and a relative of the Visconti family who was elected Pope by the heretical Guglielmite sect of Lombard. In The Tarot Cards Painted by Bonifacio Bembo, Gertrude Moakley writes:

Their leader, Guglielma of Bohemia, had died in Milan in 1281. The most enthusiastic of her followers believed that she was the incarnation of the Holy Spirit, sent to inaugurate the new age of the Spirit prophesied by Joachim of Flora. They believed that Guglielma would return to earth on the Feast of Pentecost in the year 1300, and that the male dominated Papacy would then pass away, yielding to a line of female Popes. In preparation for this event they elected Sister Manfreda the first of the Popesses, and several wealthy families of Lombardy provided at great cost the sacred vessels they expected her to use when she said Mass in Rome at the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore. Naturally, the Inquisition exterminated this new sect, and the "Popess" was burned at the stake in the autumn of 1300. Later the Inquisition proceeded against Matteo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, for his very slight connections with the sect.

This identification has been supported by other Tarot historians, such as Michael Dummett in his book The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards.

Interpretations[link]

• Knowingness – Love – Relationships
• Wisdom – Sound judgment – Serenity
• Common sense – Intuition
• Mystical vision – introspection – otherworldliness

Commonly this card is associated with the card reader or the querant, because it is also focused on 'secrets' it also interpreted when a secret is kept or revealed, when you are holding on to the truth or revealing it, the card associated with mystery, when powerful female influences and support currently in force for the querant. It can also represent the perfect woman in a man's life, and to a woman it can represent being independently solo perhaps without a man.^[3]

Alternative decks[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• In the Vikings Tarot the High Priestess is Frigg, the wife of Odin. She is sitting on a throne in a swamp, with her golden slippers emitting a blinding light from the hem of her dress.

• In the Golden Tarot the High Priestess is portrayed as The Papess.

• In the Mythic Tarot, created by Juliet Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene, the High Priestess is portrayed by Persephone, descending a staircase into the Underworld, with the Earth behind her, dressed in white, and holding falling, white flowers. She holds up a pomegranate, which appears in the myth of her abduction by Hades, and is also used in the Rider-Waite deck. The pillars beside her are the standard black (left) and white (right), and she also wears a crown, being the Queen of the Underworld.

• The Osho Tarot calls this card Inner Voice and depicts it as a quiet person with a circle face in her center, holding a crystal in both hands and surrounded by two dolphins, a crescent-moon crown, and water.

• The Asteroth Tarot depicts the High Priestess as bathed in the energy of the crescent moon.^[4]

In pop culture[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• In the Tarot version designed by CLAMP for the manga X/1999, The High Priestess is Princess Hinoto.
• In the film Live and Let Die, the Tarot card representing Solitaire is the High Priestess.
• Priestess arcana are associated with character Fuuka Yamagishi in the video game Persona 3 and Yukiko Amagi in Persona 4. The arcanum also feature various mythological figures such as Ganga and Scáthach. In a coincidental predicament, both of these characters have a shy personality, and also have a want for cooking, but fail to accomplish at first.
• A version of the card depicting a miniskirted priestess (a cartoon version of the singer Madonna) appears in Madonna's Who's That Girl music video.
• In the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Midler's stand is the High Priestess.
• In the video game The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery, Grace Nakimura receives a Tarot reading from a minor character, and The High Priestess figures prominently into the reading.
• In the alternate timeline of Flashpoint (comics), Circe was imprisoned by Hippolyta's sister, Penthesileia in Antarctica for uncovering the truth of the Western European Amazon/Atlantean war. Traci Thirteen, after getting the High Priestess (Tarot card), transports herself there and breaks Circe's chains.
• In the SNES video game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the High Priestess (called just "Priestess") is portrayed as wearing white robes and a bishop's cap, sitting on a throne and praying. On drawing the Tarot card after liberation of one of the towns, it increases the characters' alignment by 1, and can heal their HP by 50 when used in battle.^[5]

See also[link]

• La Papessa

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Waite, Arthur (1911). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. London: W. Rider. http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot/pkt/index.htm. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Popess (Tarot)

Wikiversity has learning materials about A Psychological Interpretation of the Tarot#The High Priestess

• "Popess" cards from many decks and articles to "Popess" iconography
• The History of the High Priestess (Papess) Card from The Hermitage
• "The Priestess," Movie Armenian film by director, Vigen Chaldranian

v t e Tarot Tarot, tarock and tarocchi games Cego  · French tarot  · Königrufen  · Minchiate  · Tarocchini (Partita)  · Troccas  · Troggu Divinatory, esoteric and occult tarot Antoine Court de Gébelin · Etteilla · Eliphas Levi · Arthur Edward Waite · Aleister Crowley · Paul Foster Case Major Arcana (Trump cards) I (The Magician / The Juggler)  · II (The High Priestess / The Popess)  · III (The Empress)  · IV (The Emperor)  · V (The Hierophant / The Pope)  · VI (The Lovers)  · VII (The Chariot)  · VIII (XI) (Justice)  · IX (The Hermit)  · X (Wheel of Fortune)  · XI (VIII) (Strength / Fortitude)  · XII (The Hanged Man / The Traitor)  · XIII (Death)  · XIV (Temperance)  · XV (The Devil)  · XVI (The Tower / Fire)  · XVII (The Star)  · XVIII (The Moon)  · XIX (The Sun)  · XX (Judgement / The Angel)  · XXI (The World)  · Unnumbered, XXII or Zero (The Fool) Minor Arcana (Suit cards) Coins (Pentacles / Diamonds) One (Ace)  · Two  · Three  · Four  · Five  · Six  · Seven  · Eight  · Nine  · Ten  · Page (Jack)  · Knight  · Queen  · King Wands (Staves / Clubs / Rods) One (Ace)  · Two  · Three  · Four  · Five  · Six  · Seven  · Eight  · Nine  · Ten  · Page (Jack)  · Knight  · Queen  · King Cups (Hearts) One (Ace)  · Two  · Three  · Four  · Five  · Six  · Seven  · Eight  · Nine  · Ten  · Page (Jack)  · Knight  · Queen  · King Swords (Spades) One (Ace)  · Two  · Three  · Four  · Five  · Six  · Seven  · Eight  · Nine  · Ten  · Page (Jack)  · Knight  · Queen  · King Notable decks French suits Tarot Nouveau  · Tiertarock Italian suits de Marseille  · Piemontese  · Rider-Waite  · Swiss 1JJ Tarot · Thoth  · Visconti-Sforza Related articles Cartomancy  · Hermetic Qabalah  · Mantegna Tarocchi  · Playing card  · Trick-taking game  · Trionfo  · Trionfi (cards)  · Trump (card games) Category  · WikiProject Card Games  · WikiProject Occult

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite. Please feel free to update the text.

DJ Antoine
MC Roby Rob (left) and DJ Antoine (right).
Background information
Birth name	Antoine Konrad
Born	(1975-06-23) June 23, 1975 (age 37)
Origin	Switzerland
Genres	Electro House, House, Vocal House
Occupations	DJ, record producer
Years active	1998–present
Associated acts	Tom Dice, Mad Mark
Website	http://www.djantoine.com/

Antoine Konrad (born June 23, 1975), better known as DJ Antoine, is a Swiss-Lebanese house and electro DJ and producer, from Beirut, Lebanon. He has had a number of successful single and album releases in Western Europe, in particular Switzerland and France. DJ Antoine's first notable release was the 2000 album Houseworks 01, and he has since released many albums in the last years. One of his releases, Jealousy (released in 2007) was one of his best selling albums.Also, In 2010, he released the summer hits "Welcome To St. Tropez (Feat. Kalenna)" and "Sunlight (Feat. Tom Dice).^{[citation needed]}

With more than 1,5 million sold albums, 34 gold records, 5 platinum awards, 1 double-platin award and owning the record label „Houseworks“, DJ Antoine is the internationally most successful DJ of Switzerland.

His career officially took off in 1995, when he opened his club called House Café in the city of Basel. This club is the benchmark for the progress of the whole scene in Basel and the cult-parties are still in fond memories. After a short tip into the Swiss Hip Hop scene, DJ Antoine had quickly switched genre, getting hooked on the Pumping-House-Wave. In 1998, he released his first album “DJ Antoine – The Pumpin’ House Mix”. 1999 “Houseworks 1” won the first gold award. After that, things started to move very fast. Until this day, DJ Antoine has produced 51 CDs, strongly establishing his music and himself in the music and clubbing scene. Since 2003 he has been hosting his own weekly radio show, which is broadcasted by radio stations all over the world.

In 2006, DJ Antoine achieved his international breakthrough with the album “DJ Antoine – Live in Moscow” and the single “This Time”. Ever since, he has been a highly demanded act in popular and trendy clubs all over the world. Gigs in New York, Chicago, Miami, Montreal, Moscow, Dubai, Bangkok, Oslo, Vienna and Cairo have turned into a regular but exciting part of his everyday life. Acknowledging his international success, All Around The World Records, the electronic music label owned by Universal Music UK, Blanco y Negro Spain, Happy Music France, Emi Music South Africa, Ultra Records USA and Kontor Records Germany signed the single “This Time” in 2009.

The many awards he won in the recent years prove that DJ Antoine is one of the best in this industry. 2001 he won the Ericsson Dance Music Award for the best and most successful artist of the year 2000 in the category „House / UK Garage / Progressive House“. In 2008, DJ Antoine created a stir with his sociocritical album “DJ Antoine –Stop!”, on which he openly spoke out against juvenile violence, calling for more civil courage. In spring 2009, the record was priced with the Swiss Music Award for “Best National Dance Album”. The following year, he defended that title with his CD “DJ Antoine – 2009” and, on top of that, received the Swiss Prix Walo. In 2010 he achieved his biggest success in Switzerland so far: For his album “DJ Antoine – 2010” he was awarded with a platinum record. This platinum record was also nominated for this year Swiss Music Award in the category “Best Album Dance National”.

In the studio DJ Antoine works with his long-term business partner Fabio Antoniali also known as Mad Mark. Well-known musicians such as Mary J. Blige, P. Diddy, Pitbull, Cindy Lauper, Robin S., Roberto Blanco and Ivana Trump have had their tracks exclusively remixed by the two artists. In 2010, DJ Antoine produced songs for Timati, Snoop Dogg, DJ Smash and Bob Sinclar. That same year, the charismatic House-legend Mr. Mike joined the team as a vocalist, also accompanying the DJ to selected performances.

Another highlight of his career is now the first collaboration with Timati and Kalenna Harper (Dirty Money) for the hit single "Welcome to St. Tropez", which was released in Germany and Austria by none other than the dance label Kontor Records.

DJ Antoine keeps setting new trends with his music, attracting worldwide attention to his brand. Labels like Maurice Lacroix, Perrier-Jouët „Belle Epoque“ champagne and the Swiss custom tailor SuitArt all trust in his image. For VIP-Events, DJ Antoine has had the chance to work with nameable partners such as Sony Ericsson, Campari, Moonlight, Edo Popken, Crysler, Dodge, Maybach, Cadillac, Moet Hennessy, J. Lindeberg, Paco Rabanne and the German TV station Pro7.

Alongside his work as a DJ, Antoine Konrad manages his own production and booking companies Global Productions GmbH and Global Bookings. For his VIP-Events, he regularly creates extensive and individual concepts, in tune with the clients and guests needs and wishes. His exclusive event concepts represent lifestyle and luxury and he inspires his customers with his ideas. His team currently consists of ten employees, all based in Switzerland. Antoine has sold over 1,000,000 CDs,^{[citation needed]} and runs his own labels, Houseworks and Egoïste. He has gained popularity all over Europe and also overseas in Canada and the United States.

Discography[link]

External links[link]

• Official site

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

This article is written like a personal reflection or essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (November 2008)

Franz Bardon (December 1, 1909 – July 10, 1958), was a Czech stage magician and student and teacher of Hermetics. He was born in Opava, Austrian Silesia. During World War II Bardon was at one point held in a concentration camp for refusing to participate in Nazi Mysticism. Bardon was rescued by Russian soldiers who raided the camp. Bardon continued his work in the fields of Hermetics until 1958 when he was arrested and imprisoned in Brno Czechoslovakia. Bardon died on July 10, 1958 while in the custody of police.^[1]

Works[link]

He is best known for his three volumes on Hermetic magic. These volumes are Initiation Into Hermetics, The Practice of Magical Evocation and The Key to the True Quabbalah.

Additionally there was a fourth work attributed to him by the title of Frabato the Magician, supposed by many of his students to be a disguised autobiography. Though the book lists its author as Bardon, it was actually written by his secretary, Otti Votavova. While some elements of the story are based on Bardon's real life experience, most of the book was written as an occult novel with much embellishment on the part of Votavova.^[2]

Bardon's works are most notable for their simplicity, their relatively small theoretical sections, and heavy emphasis on practice with many exercises. Students of his, such as William Mistele and Rawn Clark consider him to have written the best training programs of any magician of the 20th century. They were written with the intention of allowing students who wished to practice magic the means to do so if they could not study under a teacher.

[edit] Initiation Into Hermetics

Initiation into Hermetics provides step-by-step instruction in the form of practical exercises. These exercises are aimed at developing body, soul and spirit. The result of the practical exercises is the development of occult abilities which can be of benefit to the student, in as far as changing his existence for the better.

Bardon's training system is comprehensive. Initiation into Hermetics is divided into 10 practical steps. The program further subdivides each step into three areas – mental, astral, and physical – with the intent of developing all areas of the self simultaneously and in a balanced way. This is to ensure that the student maintain a balance of the three bodies, which accelerates progress in the long run and minimizes injury to oneself in the process of growth. Also, there occurs a purification of the personality, where the magician should become incapable of wishing harm to his fellow man. This is an important point, as the power of the magician increases, so his ability to do harm – even unintentionally, increases.

Mental exercises begin with simple observation of the mental contents and progress from there, with each subsequent exercise building on the previous. The Astral exercises focus on systematically cataloging the positive and negative aspects of the self and, later, transforming and purifying the negative aspects into positive. The Physical exercises stress physical health and development as well as the integration and use of the physical body and physical environment into magical techniques such as rituals.

[edit] The Practice of Magical Evocation

The Practice of Magical Evocation is Franz Bardon's second volume of The Holy Mysteries. In magical terms, the book is a practical guide to the proper evocation of and communication with divine entities existing in the atmospheric zones surrounding planets, stars, and moon as well as in the earth itself. It is a modern study of direct contact with the universal teachers – the other major works in the field are products of the Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation periods. Beyond that it offers a glimpse into a complete magical universe. Bardon outlines a totally new and original hierarchy of magic, from the spirits of the four elements to those of the various planets, and even to each degree of the Zodiac. Included with the names and descriptions of the various entities are a collection of entirely unknown magical sigils, as well as an account of ancient Kabbalistic astrology.

Bardon's second work, dealing with the evocation of spirits, outlined first the symbolic meaning of the traditional ritual tools and temple designs, then goes on to describe a method of evoking spirits. In essence, the magician creates an environment hospitable to the entity in the temple or other medium of contact. They then enter a trance, projecting their consciousness into the sphere of the entity in question, and call it back. Bardon emphasized two points about doing this sort of thing: first, that one must complete the necessary prerequisites of the training program or no success was possible; secondly, that the magician must call the spirit back under their "divine authority", not as a peer, otherwise they are liable to be manipulated by the entity.

[edit] The Key to the True Kabbalah

In The Key to the True Kabbalah, Bardon demonstrates that mysticism of letters and numbers – the "true Kabbalah" – is a universal teaching of great antiquity and depth. Throughout the ages, adepts of every time and place have achieved the highest levels of magical attainment through the understanding of sound, color, number and vibration as embodied in the Kabbalah. This book, the third in Bardon's texts of Hermetic magic, is a practical guide to attainment.

The first two works, addressing the first two tarots, are pre-requisite to understanding and making use of the third work. Bardon himself says that it is

...quite up to the reader to study my books merely theoretically. In doing so, he will acquire a knowledge which he would not be able to get from any philosophical book. But knowledge is not yet wisdom. Knowledge depends on the development of the intellectual features of the spirit; wisdom, on the other side, necessitates the equable development of all four aspects of the spirit. Therefore knowledge is mere philosophy, which by itself alone can make a man neither a magician nor a Quabbalist. A learned man will be able to say a lot about magic, Quaballah, etc., but he will never be able to understand the powers and faculties rightly. With these few words I have explained to the reader the difference between the philosopher and the sage. —Franz Bardon, The Key to The True Kaballah, 1975, pages 12-13

The idea is that the True Kabbalah is not a mantic art, as some perceptions of it (primarily relating to gematria) suggest, but a method of empowering the letters of the alphabet to create magical effects through their combination. Bardon links this to the Tantra of the East, but the basis of this comparison is not quite clear. Like his second book on evocation, the student must finish at least the first eight steps of IIH to get any valid results or have equivalent training in a different system and avoid damage to the psyche which "...can cause a splitting of the personality, schizophrenia, with all its serious consequences." (Bardon, 1975, Page 55). Bardon expands on this real possibility with the following advice "

...someone who wants to apply the methods on the use of genuine kabbalah at once, out of mere curiosity or inconsiderateness, exposes himself to various dangers. For in practice he would get into contact with various powers which he would not be able to control and thus he would be in danger of ruining his health. Therefore, anyone not sufficiently prepared for this step is herewith warned in time. —The Key to The True Kaballah, Franz Bardon, copyright 1975, page 62

This damage to the psyche "...clearly shows how inexcusable it is if writings of Oriental origin are interpreted incorrectly and translated literally in an intellectual language" as Bardon has "...put the greatest secret into the kabbalist's hands, as in the practical application of the fourfold key, the key of realization by the word. Thousands of years this secret has been guarded." (Bardon, 1975, page 55 and page 112)

[edit] The Golden Book of Wisdom

This is only a fragment of a manuscript Bardon was working on but never completed. This book was supposed to have concerned the fourth leaf or trump card of the Tarot (the Emperor). There remains no complete transcript of the work.

[edit] Frabato the Magician

Though cast in the form of a novel, Frabato the Magician is in fact the spiritual autobiography of Franz Bardon.^[3] Frabato was the author's stage name during his career as a performing magician, and it is Frabato who occupies center stage in the novel as well. Set in Dresden, Germany, in the early 1930s, the story chronicles Frabato's magical battles with the members of a powerful and dangerous black lodge, his escape from Germany during the final desperate days of the Weimar Republic, and the beginning of the spiritual mission which was to culminate in Bardon writing his classic books on Hermetic magic. More than a novel, Frabato the Magician is itself a work of magic which gives insight into Bardon's other books as well as revealing the dark occult forces which lay behind the rise of the Third Reich.

Metaphysics[link]

Bardon's metaphysical system commences with Initiation Into Hermetics and is expanded on in the subsequent volumes. The highest reality is the akasha, which is associated with both God and the platonic "world of ideas", and which gives rise to (and binds/balances) the four elements of earth, fire, air, and water. These four elements make up the sum of all forces and processes in each of the three worlds. Bardon also posited "electric" and "magnetic" forces, which are used more as terms for the universal active and passive forces, respectively. These are expressed in the positive and negative aspects of the four elements. Air and earth are both considered pseudo-elements as they arise only out of the interaction of fire and water.

The three worlds or "planes" are as follows: the mental plane is the highest reality, save for the undivided akasha, and is the true and eternal ego. Where the akasha is in a sense the world of ideas, it is the mental plane that sets these ideas in motion. The astral plane is the next one down and contains the archetypes of the physical world and to some extent the vital energy behind it; the physical world is the lowest of the planes and requires little explanation. Each of these worlds forms a matrix for the world below it. Since humans also have three bodies corresponding to their presence in each of the three worlds, severing the link between any two of these bodies will cause the dissolution of the lower forms (or death). Such things as astral projection are still possible as they only involve loosening the hold between the bodies.

Humans are considered to be special because they alone are "tetrapolar", or inherently containing all four elements, plus the fifth, the Akasha or Divine element. This concept is the basis of much of Bardon's training, which requires developing deficiencies and coming to a proper tetrapolar balance—only then could the initiate progress spiritually. Bardon repeatedly emphasizes that the initiate can only develop an understanding of himself and his universe within the scope of their awareness and spiritual maturity. Thus the more balanced, more evolved student has access to a more comprehensive reality and more magical power.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Franz Bardon

• Franz Bardon at the Open Directory Project