The High Priestess or "College Didn't Prepare Me for This"

When I see The High Priestess card I am immediately brought back to my earliest days of teaching. I remember very early in the school year of my first year teaching I had a conversation with someone and I said something along the lines of "college certainly didn't prepare me for this."

The Magician Card represents all the preparation you do when becoming a teacher. You study the theory, you write papers, and you even practice your skills during your student teaching practicum. Yet, nothing, absolutely nothing, can truly prepare you for what it will really be like when it us just you and your students in that classroom. All of a sudden theory goes out the window and it's time to get real!

The High Priestess is the card you need to turn to on that next step in your journey. This card represents intuition, mystery, and the subconscious mind. As you deal with stacks of paper piling up, students not responding to your commands, and feeling abandoned or even threatened by administrators, it is time to turn to the only thing you can depend on. And it's not in any books. It's in you. It is you.

When you start to feel the chaos that comes with being a teacher, it is time to go inward and to connect with your intuition and higher self. You became a teacher because you felt it was your life's purpose. Trust those feelings.

The High Priestess card is inviting you to join her. Look how peaceful and relaxed she looks as she holds her scroll of hidden knowledge. She wants to share that knowledge with you. She is here to guide you and assist you.

How the High Priestess Can Help:
 1. Dreams
As silly as it may sound, keep a dream journal. Our dreams are the keys to tapping into our unconscious and getting in touch with our highest potential. I highly recommend reading the works of Carl Jung for more information on this. But doing dream work can really help you develop your intuition.
2. Meditation
Even if this sounds too new-agey for you, it really works. Meditation is the perfect "time-out" for when life gets too stressful. If you can't imagine being able to sit in silence that long, I recommend trying yoga, especially kundalini yoga. I have been practicing it for over a year and it has really transformed my life. I can use the breathing exercises during my prep period or even between classes if necessary.

The bottom line is that you need some kind of quiet connection to yourself, whether it is through dream work, meditation, or even taking a walk by yourself. By getting quiet, you can finally hear yourself and get the answers you need to make your situation better.

Teaching is not an easy job. It is very complex as you strive to balance lesson planning, implementing the lessons, and grading assignments. Then you have to deal with 30 different personalities a day if you teach elementary school and potentially 150+ personalities if you teach middle school or high school. It is a LOT to navigate and you will never have all of the answers. But the point is, you have many of the answers inside of you.

What works for other teachers may not work for you. The High Priestess is inviting you to go within to find your own style and what will work for you. So take some time out to just sit, relax, and listen to your gut feelings. They won't steer you wrong.