I know very very little about Tarot, but whenever I have a reading I feel uncomfortable when the High Priestess appears. Can someone explain to me what this card's interpretation is. And perhaps why it should make me feel uncomfortable.

A second question (or maybe this is the third) I would like to ask is whether it is all right to use second-hand decks, or do a reading with a deck that belongs to someone else.

Thanks in advance to those who will enlighten me.
Best
Dreams & Reality

Hi, Can I suggest that you have a look at our Learn Tarot forum? We go through each card in turn, and there is a whole section on the High Priestess. Its not unusual to feel uncomfortable when this card shows, it might signify that you have unworked out issues of your own. One thing I have found when working through the tarot card by card (which can be down quite quickly!) is that some seem to strike a chord and really affect us. Finding out why is important so that we don't affect our readings with our feelings.


Second hand decks are fine, depending on where they came from and who last used them? There may need to be cleansed and purified, and will definately need to be put back into order and rested so that they lose old energies and pick up the new.

Gem - Thanks for the info. I will certainly be checking  Look and Learn Tarot.

I asked about second-hand decks because I often see decks at open-air markets (or at car boot sales). I've never bought any of them because I never felt comfortable with the idea that they had belonged to someone else. I believe in aura (if that is the word?) and I felt that the previous owner's will cling to a deck.

Best
Dreams & Reality

If the aura in a person can be cleansed, then why not in a used deck.  If all the cards are present, and you've cleansed them sufficiently, and spent a great deal of time with them, then they become yours.  Eventually your energy will outdo any previous energy that remains in them, and by your own cleansing and purifying work with them, you will replace any negative energy with positive.  

Absolutely!  By all means, it is perfectly fine to buy a used deck, but be sure to cleanse it properly.  My fiancee bought a deck of oracle cards at a flea market, cleansed them when we got home, and they work FINE for her.  Being a Wiccan, I make it a practice of cleansing ANYTHING that I bring into our house for spiritual use....even if it was bought new, at some point some human HAD to have handled the items, and one touch is all it takes.  

Further, I have separate decks that I use for readings, one that I use for face to face that I cleanse after each use, and a deck that I ALONE handle (I don't even let my fiancee touch them! ).  She respects that, and I respect her wishes by not touching her oracle deck.

It all boils down to this: if you're drawn to a deck, GET IT...don't let the used part deter you