II - THE HIGH PRIESTESS
THE LIVING TAROT
Artistic Director
Cheryl Flaharty
Dancer
Chandra Miars
Script
Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl
Production Assistant
Brian Gustaveson
Creative Assistant
Dack Quigley
Costume and Set Design
Cheryl Flaharty
Lighting
Janine Myers
Video Editing
Neal Izumi
Creative Team
Rey Lopez, Karen Kiefer, Mo, Dee Laris, Carlyn Wolfe, Mike Pryor, Amanda Sims, April Mae Bartelme, Rose Wolfe, Ginger Royal, Trish Brubaker, Chris Barreto, Aaron Lowe, The Dancers.
Supported by the Hawai`i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, through appropriations from the Legislature of the State of Hawai`i or grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Cades Foundation, and Jean Rolles.
Photos: Darren Miller, Bryan Gustaveson, Mike Pryor, and Sergio Goes.
ABOUT THE TAROT
One of the most ancient studies of enlightenment and discovery of the authentic "Self”, Tarot images– linked to ancient beliefs, mythologies, and religious systems– form the seeds of fundamental psychological and spiritual experiences. Often associated with magic and the occult, the deck is the precursor to our well known playing cards.
ABOUT THE SHOW
Originally created and performed in 2007, ‘The Living Tarot’ was the fourth interactive production of IONA’s diverse Salon Series which offered audiences a once in a lifetime provocative interpretation of eleven of the Major Arcana Tarot cards. The show took place in a century-old house located on Oahu's Pali Highway (dubbed, 'The House of the Living Tarot'), in which the living installations became personal encounters as audience-members roamed from room to room to experience the cards they were dealt as they walked in the door. The audience experienced each of the 5-minute tarot card performances in their own unique order. The dancers performed their pieces ten times each evening - a total of 60 times through the run of the show.
ABOUT THE HIGH PRIESTESS
Card number two of the Major Arcana, The High Priestess, represents the opposite pole of The Magician. Her magic, however, lies in her womb and the creative process of life. For it is through woman that the spirit is made flesh – She is the vessel of transformation.
In the card, She is pictured seated on a throne, holding a book, no doubt a holy book, symbolic of the Divine Word. Her power is water: cool, dark, fluid, moon power. She rules by slow persistence, love, and feminine patience. She has a deep, intuitive understanding of the Universe and uses this knowledge to teach rather than to try to control others.
The High Priestess symbolizes the feminine aspect of the godhead. She is alive today in the Women’s Liberation movement, which seeks to free Her from the dungeons of the unconscious to take Her rightful place beside the God.
IONA’s High Priestess is enthroned in the kitchen on the first floor of “The House of the Living Tarot”. Her freshly baked pasties are representations of the children she has brought forth from her womb (or in this case the oven). She feeds her subjects the pastries as spiritual teachings on the nature of the universe. She is appropriately accompanied by the song, Moon River.
BRING THE HIGH PRIESTESS INTO YOUR LIFE
The appearance of The High Priestess indicates that it is time to listen to and trust your inner voice. Look for areas in your life that may be out of balance or that require greater foresight and wisdom. Knowledge of how to fix it will not come through logic or intellect but through your intuition so put aside a time when you can meditate and listen to your own inner voice. Seek out water as often as you can; meditate near it and learn from it.
