The High Priestess
Outlining the third major arcana card in our deck.
Keith Hiscox
11/30/20252 min read
Staring at the dates in the calendar between now and our intended release data today, we realised that, if everything goes to plan, we're not going to get anywhere near the end of the Major Arcana before game release. Maybe I should write these more frequently? (I'll probably overthink this decision for a while and then in the end, in tune with this blog's featured card, I will probably go with my gut.)
Card Meaning
The High Priestess signifies intuition, the subconscious, the hidden, the sacred, and the feminine. The overall theme of the card is taking time to reflect and then placing your trust in gut feelings. She is a bridge between the supernatural and physical worlds.
In a yes/no reading this card generally represents a cautious "Yes" answer or the response "You already know the answer to this question".
Setting Specific Design
Sabrian religious symbols differ in many respects from medieval european ones. As a result, whilst the twin pillars and general balance of the card remain the symbology of the sceptre held by the female figure is a variation of the Delta Pi symbol used by the Collegia Magica world's Pantokrator religion. The variation is the inclusion of a downwards arrow linking in with the card's usual association with the phrase "as above so below...". The card also represents our take on the main female lead from the novels.
Whilst the Magician is the card of "Canonical Magic" conducted by trained professional mages, the High Priestess represents the untrained or intuitive magic user, this representation is furthered by the word "Kierna" written on the book held by the figure. We added this partly because the card traditionally features the esoteric names of the two pillars, but this wasn't appropriate for a card that isn't from our earth. Instead we included the word "Kierna", used in the books to describe the collection of qualities and experiences that make up a material thing or being and this concept is looked down on by trained mages but used extensively within the "folk" magic of the world.
Mechanical Impact
The High Priestess represents the character creation concepts of the self-taught mage and also the roles of nun, seeress or nurse.
During main gameplay the card, like most major arcana, is found within magic users decks and only turns up in mundane characters decks if they have specifically bought it as an exchanged card during character creation.
For a magic using character this card, like all of the Major Arcana, also allows the tapping of arcane energies allowing a spell to be cast. For a mundane character this card, as with all Major Arcana, is wild - but unlike the Magician this wildness does not carry over to affect other cards.
When played the card double the value of other cards played alongside it, but only if they are being used to represent the concepts of clairvoyance, divination, perception or gambling.
We hope your intuition tells you to keep up your interest in our game and that you might also feel like sharing our musings here with any friends you have you you think might like the idea of our tarot based storytelling game. Next time: The other big representation of femininity #3 The Empress.
