GROUP Posts: Grant Isaac
The Priestess sits between the two pillars, the white (Jachin) and the black (Boaz), representing mercy and severity, respectively. She sits in the center of these two pillars, finding her (spiritual) center within the five sefirot: Keter, Tiferet, Yesod and Malchut. The middle pillar on the Kabbalah Tree of Life corresponds to mildness, and acts as the filament that balances out the left and right columns, (the positive and negative polarities).
The same goes for the individual – who must learn how to maintain balance and control over the two worlds they simultaneously exist in. They will find a middle ground to restrict impulsive behavior leading them to fully immerse themselves into one of the opposite personality-polarities, and which eventually contributes to consequential repercussions.
Directly behind the Priestess hangs a curtain adorned with ten pomegranates forming the Kabbalah Tree of Life. In ancient times pomegranates were believed to contain exactly 613 seeds – the number of commandments in the Torah. Healers prescribe pomegranate juice to Alzheimer’s patients, which helps improve memory. As the Priestess sits in deep contemplation and self-reflection, she remembers past transgressions with empathy. She also contemplates how others wronged her in the past. Although she learns to forgive, she will never forget. Instead, the Priestess understands the reasoning of why they did or said those hurtful things. As she comes to terms with these events, she won’t allow herself to be treated like that again. She learns to forgive others, and most importantly, she learns to forgive herself. This act purifies her soul, which is symbolized by the white cross over her heart. Once the heart is open, it releases the negativity and opens up the middle column channel, flowing directly up to the crown chakra.
Rabbinic Hebrew calendar days begin and end with the moon from sunset to sunset in the evenings, and the moon symbols on the card portray the fluctuating moon cycles. These are the 365 moons rising throughout the year and correspond to the commandments of the Torah, specifically the 365 prohibited ones. According to In Ancient Times, the moon was called Sin after the Mesopotamian moon god – and Sin (as in Mt. Sinai), the mountain of the moon.
The Priestess repents to purify her soul and is preparing herself to enter the temple on the Day of Atonement when God comes down from heaven and judges the people of their sins. Furthermore, on the Day of Atonement – Yom Kippur, a person is forgiven of all their transgressions from the past year, and every year the restitution of sin resets.
