The High Priestess
The Second Tarot Key
The 13th Path of the Sepher Yetzirah
 
The magical title of this card is the “Priestess of the Silver Star.” The Path of the High Priestess is the first to reach Kether from the lower realms of the Tree. The Thirteenth Path is named the Uniting Intelligence, and is so called because it is itself the Essence of Glory. It is the Consummation of the Truth of individual spiritual things. This path is a direct pipeline that unites the Higher Self (Tiphareth) to the Divine Self (Kether). It is the direct route of the soul. The Thirteenth Path, more than any other, is the path that connects the lesser universe of man to the greater universe of the godhead­the god-spark within to the source beyond. And because it is a clear, straight path between the major spheres of the head and the heart, it is the “Essence of Glory,” which bestows a particular level of clarity and truth.
 
The Hebrew letter attributed to the High Priestess is Gimel which means “camel,” an animal known for its stamina and ability to store water for long trips across the desert. The Path of Gimel is the longest path on the Tree, and thus the symbol of the camel is appropriate. This path is sometimes said to be the only practical path that the student can use to reach Kether, since the paths of Beth and Aleph are primarily paths of energy descent.
 
The Path of Gimel represents the purest root-essence of consciousness, often symbolized by water. The “Uniting Intelligence” knows and sees all. It is pure mental energy operating at the unconscious level. Its essence saturates all things in the universe, yet it remains unchanged by anything it touches. The Thirteenth Path is the primary regulator of the divine life-force as it flows down the Tree in vibratory “waves” of energy, which become ever more dense. In traveling this path, the student attempts to unite the human part of the self to the divine part.
 
This pathworking is narrated by Charles “Chic” Cicero. It was originally printed in the book The New Golden Dawn Ritual Tarot (1991) by Chic and Tabatha Cicero