The secrets of the image of arcana for artists and not only (The Popess)

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Good evening dear friends! 

Today is Monday and we continue to talk about how to correctly draw Tarot Arcana, so that their symbolism will match the meaning and our work is not puzzling. These rules and symbols are not so many, they are easy to remember, and in everything else you can show creative initiative as you like. I remind you that we are not talking here about the meaning of tarot cards and do not learn predictions.

Last time we talked about the Magician.

I also suggest that you get acquainted with the excellent post about the Magician by  @reinhard-schmid , who already has a successful experience of drawing Tarot Arcana.

Today we will talk about how to properly draw the second  Major Arcana  -  The Popess    

Another name of this Arcana is the High Priestess . Both variants of the name are possible, and if you prefer to write the name of the Arcana on the card, you can choose any of them.

   The Popess is always a woman. This Arcana carries female energy. And this energy is passive, perceiving. The Popess is a pure perception. Passivity аinds its expression the Popess's pose - she is sitting (as you remember the Magician was standing). 

 She is motionless. To "catch" insight, you need to stop tossing and fussing. 

Thus, we can hardly consider this image completely correct. The main goal of the Popess is to "catch" insight, to see the truth. It's very difficult to concentrate if you do a lot of extra gestures ...

My personal impression that the Popess on this image is catching anything or anybody, but  not insight ...

It is also necessary to say a few words about the body of the Popess.

  If we follow the ancient Egyptian version of the origin of the tarot cards, then the ancient Egyptian goddess Isis after the death in the physical body has devided her "astral body"  into two parts: the Popess and the Empress.

    In the embodiment of Popess, she is a virgin, although Isis, as we remember from the myths of ancient Egypt, was a wife and mother (these two functions the Empress executes).  

   

 Thus, portraying  the Popess, we draw a woman who never gave birth and did not breast-feed an infant. She has a high chest and a tight body.

Here the artist is clearly messed up. I do not know what about you, but to me this Popess seems a little bit pregnant and looks more like the Empress.

As the Popess, she created a "bridge" in the chronicles of Akasha, she is the patroness of Tarot cards and other mantic arts.

    The Popess sits on a tetrahedral cube (the cube is a symbol of the world of four dimensions - length, width, height and time).

    Behind the Popess there is a temple. This temple symbolizes the Akashic records. The door to the temple is closed, and Popess holds two keys in her hand.

  

  But only with this Popess you will not succeed. To get into the temple, you will have to dismantle the brick wall ...

   On both sides of the Popess are the columns. One column is red. On it there is the symbol of the Sun and the inscription Jakin. It is a rising, coming from the Earth, a hot stream of energy. It symbolizes activity. The second column is blue. On it there is the symbol of the Moon and the inscription Bohez. It is a descending, coming from the Cosmos, a cold stream of energy. It symbolizes passivity. Thus, the Popess is in the intermediate space between the active and passive flow.

  

Basically I like this image. The artist replaced the columns with trees. Why not? But only he should have stylized a forest temple or even a hint of it. And the Popess will be more convenient to catch insight if she sits down.

  Usually above the Popess is a massive stone gable. It shows that the energy flows between which the Popess is seating (two columns) are connected to the Higher Powers.This means that the insights that we receive from the Popess come from Above, from the Heaven. 

 Sometimes Popessa is depicted as half-naked. This partial nudity of the Popess means that as long as we are embodied, we can not fully understand and accept the truth of the Popess as it is, while the Popess is open to us. This is also indicated by the fact that the face of the Popess is covered with a translucent veil - we perceive the truth of the Popess through our perceptual filters.   In principle, the veil is enough. You can dress your Popesse if you want.

   In her other right hand, the Popess usually  holds a manuscript (a book). This symbol has two meanings. First, that this is an ancient knowledge, coming from the Atlanteans. Secondly, the insight of the Popess can not be obtained with the help of an intermediary (tarologist, psychologist, astrologist etc.), this knowledge comes itself, a person receives insight directly from above, from the Akashic records, from Heaven, name it as you wish.

  

Good book. Great. The Popess must hold it with both hands. And where are the keys to the temple?

 The Popess usually has a cross on her chest. This cross symbolizes the material world. 

Sometimes we can read about the smile of the Popess.  This smile can be compared to the smile of Mona Lisa. In this smile, the question: "Are you sure that you want to know the truth? After all, your life will never be the same after this".     The truth that opens will not leave a person indifferent.This knowledge can be either negative (that the husband or wife is cheating on you) or positive (the boss wants to offer you a higher position). Sometimes people ask why the insight of Popess is needed, if it can bring suffering. The fact is that the situation insight speaks about already existed in your life, regardless of what you did not know about it, but you did not act in accordance with this situation. When you know about this situation, you can change your behavior in accordance with it, change your perception and your life. It is necessary to understand that the Popess will not give the person information, to which he is objectively not ready. If you have the insight of the Popess it means you have enough power and energy to cope with it.

 

On the head of Popessa is wearing either a papal tiara or a crown of the ancient Egyptian moon goddess Hathor. It depends on what style you choose. 

 In this last picture, the headpiece is good. But the truth is that  the artist lost all the rest of the symbolism.
 
Thus, at least minimal observance of the symbolism will make any of your images of the Popess very conscious and meaningful.

I wish you creative inspiration and hope to meet with you next Monday. We will talk about the Empress.