Divine Love, the High Priest of the deck - Major Arcana V

Divine Love the High Priest

Traditionally known as The Hierophant or the

High Priest in the Tarot deck.

'Divine Love is the High Priest in the Temple;

the Path is in yourself'

In the Mysteries of Mary 

the innocent self, the Child self, undertakes the

journey of the soul on the path of divine love.

In this altar we see the Infant King of Love

in the role of the High Priest, standing between

two pillars, a nimbus of blue light radiating from

his head; dressed in ceremonial dress

and showing the gesture of blessing.

This is where the inner child or the innocent self leaves the security

of the known mother and father behind and enters

the wider world.  Here the seeker is exposed

to the beliefs and traditions of his and her culture.
It is at this stage of one's journey that one
is confronted with other's belief systems and maybe
also a reality that does not match your own
understanding of it.  This means that you will
have a choice.  You can either shut down and
keep with those who agree with you or you
can open up to an adventure beyond
your imagination.

So you can see that this card shows that you
are entering an initiation.

The High Priest is  traditionally a religious figure.  

One who interprets arcane knowledge and mysteries.

This card depicts an initiation into the deeper Mysteries

of the incarnated self.  Life and its High Priest, Divine Love,

is initiating you into another stage of self-understanding

and self-knowledge. The outer world is but a reflection

of the inner world.  In the soul's journey you will meet

many masters of different skills and different areas

of life. The pressure to be accepted for one's views

and values, can be very seductive and it may seem easier

at times to give up the Inner Voice of the Master Within.

The world may ask of you to

conform to traditional beliefs or to betray your own heart.

But not to fear - all experience serves as compost
for the sacred rose garden within.  All sacrifices
made will lead to the Rose. (more about this idea
later in the deck)
We often have to leave something in order to
know and understand whether it is important
to us or not.

The Master of the self lives in the Temple of Love -
the inner sanctum where Love reigns.

Yours is a royal heart that is sanctuary to a King

and Queen.

Your heart's voice is the High Priest of the Divine King

and Queen of Love.

Divine Love, or Love, with a capital L, is not the
same as our limited experience and expression
of love.  We know love in binding relationships;
we know it in romantic love, filial love and sentiment.
All of these can be wondrous and disastrous
and even at the same time.  But these are not
Divine Love.  The Love of the Divine, the Love that
God has for Her creations, cannot be described or
limited.  Our human mind and nature cannot
fathom such unconditionality.

It is not always easy to see the hand of
Divine Love in one's life as a blessing.
At times the High Priest ushers in great
suffering or many challenges.
Then we are tempted to call these 'curses' or
punishments or the withdrawal of Love.

Wisdom is a skill.  It is embodied living
of these philosophical ideas.  In the beginning
stages of our journey we have to focus on acquiring
many skills;  we have to concentrate on learning
faith and we have to teach the doubting mind
that it can trust the Master or Mistress' Voice
within.

The High Priest of Divine Love is dependent on
the High Priestess, the second card in the
Major Arcana in the Tarot tradition.
She symbolises the One who lives in the
inner sanctum.  She is often depicted with the two
pillars from Solomon's Temple, the one black
and the other white : masculine and feminine.
It also displays our mind's perception and
understanding of duality and how we tend to
see things in black and white.
She is our Intuition and her voice whispers
through the actions of Divine Love.
In the beginning we train our minds to
consider and accept that Divine Love is veiled
by our own perceptions and belief systems.
That all actions in our lives, joyful or painful,
are ushered in by the High Priest of Life, Divine Love.

Listen to the Voice within.

You may be called upon to let go of rigid and inflexible

attitudes.  You may be asked to make a 360 degree

turn in your path. 

You are the Temple of Divine Love and ultimately,

at journey's end you will become the Temple of Wisdom.

A shift in attitude is the practical action

embodying Wisdom.

Instead of fear, practice Acceptance;

replace the word sacrifice with detachment

and a new gateway opens.

Instead of what you call love,

practice Peace and see which world

you enter.