If there's one distinction it can be difficult to make, it's the one between intuition and emotion. In so many of our decisions, both play a significant part, but the difference is important. The High Priestess represents that knowledge within us that doesn't come from books. It's part life experience, part innate characteristics. It never leaves us but we have the power to either nurture it or ignore it, to fear it or help it flourish. Unlike the snap judgements that can be based on emotional whimsy or illogical association, our intuitive mind has a calm, a balance and a logic that can be trusted and followed. The card asks us to assess how often we follow ours, and how bravely. What stops us from going with our gut instincts? Do we give enough consideration to the dual powers of foresight and hindsight?The subconscious mind is somewhat of a labyrinth and on our way through it we tend to change our methods, purposefully alter our perceptions and undertake new skills in order to adapt to the changing circumstances. We want to find the way to the centre. This leads us to throw out any strategies that haven't worked and adopt new ways to get closer to the goal. We assess our progress and we strive to better it. If we trusted our deepest instincts about a job, a house, a love affair or the intentions of a friend, and our instinct was proved wrong, we tend to want to shy away from listening to ourselves next time around. We lose that trust we should have for ourselves and our inner voice. But mistakes form part of our intuition. Without them, the inner knowledge which The High Priestess represents and celebrates would grow stagnant and lose its incredible power to influence people and situations.
Think of your intuition as the mast in a storm. Balance cannot be achieved by completely living by it or by completely rejecting it - it must have its place in your life, so you need to accept it without fear. Ask yourself why you're having a nagging doubt, even though there are no identifiable surface issues. Ask yourself why your defences go up around a certain person even though others love their company. Ask yourself why you don't want to go for a promotion in your current job even though all the signs are right and people are encouraging you. It can be scary when intuition starts speaking from an extremely deep place and becomes impossible to shut off. But if you value your past experiences and the lessons you've learned then it should be obvious that your intuitive mind has fortified itself through them and should be listened to accordingly.
