The High Priestess is aligned with Chariot for several reasons. Firstly they have a balance of black and white via the pillars of the High Priestess and black and white sphinxes.
In scientific terms the pillars represent potential energy while the chariot is its complement - kinetic energy. The High Priestess is holding the TORAH in her hands, which is considered by many the most important part of the Old Testament. Over her heart she wears an equal length white cross. In balance to that the Charioteer has rectangle of equal length -a square - in the center of his chest. He holds a wand that acts the 'steering wheel' on the unharnessed sphinxes.
Another common element i
s their sky blue dress and both wear crescent moons. The woman wears a crown that has rims that that look like the phases of the moon and by her feet there is a golden crescent. The man has two golden crescents hidden in his shoulder pads.The colourful cloth behind the woman reflects a pattern of Mother Nature, while the drapery around the man reflects a pattern of the Night Sky - or rather Father Sky.
The black and white pillars next to woman have the letters B and J written upon them. This is in reference to the two sacred bronze columns at Solomon's Temple - Boaz & Jachin. Boaz is painted black and translates from Hebrew as 'Divine Strength.' Jachin is also a Hebrew word that approximately means, 'Holy Foundation.' In between these pillars sits the High Preistess holding a sacred document - the Torah. By no accident the chariot looks like Chupah - the four pillared Jewish 'wedding gazebo.'
On a side note, the Pillars of Boaz and Jachin are important in Freemasonry. The pillars found on the Tarot High Priestess card can often be found on Masonic Aprons. If you click on the Masonic Apron to the left you can see more clearly the letters 'J' and 'B' on the columns - but on this apron they are on opposite sides when compared to the High Priestess.
It's no accident that this deck of Tarot Cards uses Masonic Imagery, since the artist was belonged to the Golden Dawn. An organization with similar rituals and coded secrets. However Golden Dawn was co-ed, Freemasonry is not.
The pillars of Solomon of the High Priestess are a natural counterbalance to the black and white sphinxes of Ancient Egypt. In a way the mystery of Solomon's Temple is on par with the mysticism associated with the Magical Sphinx.
LINK TO PART 4
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