Monday, October 25, 2010

Refllecting on Archetypes: High Priestess


I have had all my life a series of strange, indefinable, instinctive feelings and visitations that bypass logic and make no sense.  Call it intuition... I think of these moments as something instinctive at work.
                                                -   Ralph Shapey
High Priestess Collage

     The High Priestess is the part of you that is the mystic, poet, healer and dreamer.  She was Oracle of Delphi, the muse for Shakespeare, the protector of the Temple of Solemn and the mystical seer in many royal courts.  She was Isis, Diana, Artemis, or Morgan Le Fay.  She represents your inner knowing, silence and emotions.  She lives in your unconscious realm. The High Priestess understands metaphors, symbols and images and speaks to you through memories, feelings, introspection and dreams. She takes you to your emotional depths to find the wisdom buried there.
She works by helping you develop your inner knowing or intuition.

            … a dreadful mistake occurred when our culture took the view that spirit is to be attained by the suppression of nature and instinct.  Spirit can attain its divine heights only with the power of nature to provide the strength for its fulfillment.  One can proceed with one’s spiritual journey only with the understanding that opposites are constantly close to each other.  It is never a matter of one vanquishing the other but a matter of each performing its proper function.                                              - R. A. Johnson
           
“I shut my eyes in order to see.”
                                                - Paul Gauguin
High Priestess journal entry

Creating a High Priestess Collage
When making a collage for your High Priestess pick images that reflect your silence, your quiet, your inner urges and your deep inner knowing. What things in your universe reflect this archetype?  How much do you let her play in your life?  Is she visible, honored, listened to or ignored?  What images can you put in your collage that talk about your history, your past or your memories?  Is there a story or myth that comes to mind when you think of your expression of this archetype?  Fairy tales are good reminders of themes that we have played out in past lives. Is there a fairy tale that sounds like it reflects the soul work you are doing? Is the High Priestess evident in your life on a surface level or is she buried deep in your psyche?  You could try to do this collage after experiencing a dream or deep meditative state.  You could use colours that remind you of darkness, images that reflect shadows, and words that talk about what is under your surface existence.  Make it become a window that you can see through into your intuitive nature.

3 comments:

  1. Love the phase "I shut my eyes to see". It's like something that cannot be expressed through verbal means. I usually try very hard to comprehend myself with logic but most of the time experiences win. Later I learned that our conscious can't tell right/wrong - they're just there to record memories.
    xox

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi there!
    Lovely blog you have.. lotts of beautiful inspiration.. Thanks for sharing!.. You have a talent ;)

    Love from Stockholm..

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love this! So inspiring. Have I thanked you lately for sharing your gift so freely? If not, THANKS!

    ReplyDelete