The High Priestess: How to tap your big, unconscious ideas

Within the first year of working at my city’s daily newspaper, I developed a reputation. 

And, no, not that kind of reputation.

I was a part-time editorial assistant — the lowest rung of the newsroom hierarchy — who compiled and edited countless calendar listings for the weekly entertainment section.

Sooooo many calendar listings. 

And I had reached a milestone: No corrections on these calendar listings for a long stretch of time. Maybe six months or more? I don’t remember what the time span was, but it was long enough to impress our editor-in-chief, who created a special award for this and other similar accomplishments: The Thunderwarrior, an oversized robot toy meant to honor the behind-the-scenes “warriors” of the newsroom. 

Twenty years later, I’ve learned to roll with the idea of “embracing failure” … but avoiding corrections is very important in journalism. If you misspelled somebody’s name, it was not only disrespectful to that person, but you then had to file a correction to run on Page 2 of the next day’s paper. And your boss, and your boss’s boss, was paying attention. 

The fear of failing so publicly in the pages of a newspaper only amplified my perfectionist tendencies.

Over the years, I noticed something peculiar. On a handful of mornings some of my work appeared in the paper, I would wake up suspecting I had made a specific error. These errors were always tiny and random — and they would bubble up in my unconsciousness while I was sleeping. As soon as I got into the office, I would investigate … and, yes, almost always they were real errors. Not just anxiety dreams.

So what the heck does this have to do with The High Priestess tarot card?

The High Priestess is considered one of the more difficult cards to interpret, but most practitioners agree she’s about personal mystery. About concealed knowledge, intuition, and the unconscious. 

The imagery of the High Priestess card is full of mysterious symbols: The different shapes of the moon, a cross, the pomegranates that look more like creepy eyeballs. Her blue robe — which reminds me of the Virgin Mary — transforms into a pool of water at her feet.

The imagery reminds me of the murky time in the morning, when you’re just waking up, and you can barely remember your dreams. Just flashes of feelings or visions … or, sometimes, random journalism errors.

In “Mind Management Not Time Management,” author David Kadavy explains why he chooses to write during this groggy phase. 

He says our most advanced part of the brain — the prefrontal cortex — is a spoilsport to creative thinking. It’s the “CEO of the brain” which helps us plan, suppress urges, follow the rules, and stay focused. And it doesn’t work so well after we first wake up. This is why I shuffle — zombie-like — to my Keurig in the morning. 

Kadavy writes: “This slight spaciness first thing in the morning is not a problem to be fixed — in fact, it’s a creative gift. Instead of trying to make it go away, you can harness it for your best ideas.”  (p. 59)

He skips the coffee and breakfast and starts writing as soon as he wakes up.

Photographers call the time right after sunset “the magic hour” because of the beautiful light. 

Ever since I read Kadavy’s book, I’ve paid more attention to my own “magic hour” as soon as I wake up in the morning. I try to remember any dreams, and I mull over a question or issue I’ve been struggling with. I let my mind wander and wait to see what ideas might bubble up from my unconscious. I keep a journal and a pen on my nightstand, at the ready.

David Ogilvy, the legendary “father of advertising” of the “Mad Men” era, wrote a lot about big, creative ideas. Where do they come from?

Ogilvy said the best ideas come as jokes, and I 100% agree (see: The Fool). 

In “Ogilvy on Advertising,” he also wrote “big ideas come from the unconscious.”

So how do you reveal this concealed knowledge … these hidden ideas?

Benebell Wen, author of “Holistic Tarot: An Integrative Approach to Using Tarot for Personal Growth,” considers tarot as a tool to help us mine our own unconscious … the cards serve as “a flashlight that you can use to illuminate the dark terrain we walk through in life.”

She writes: “When we study the imagery and symbols on the cards in a tarot spread, we activate our imagination. That imagination then activates our intuition, which is often the only instrument we have that channels a clear path for us to the truth of the matter. That truth is often found in the unconscious.”

Ogilvy suggests even more ways to rattle ideas from your murky unconscious:

“… your unconscious has to be well informed, or your idea will be irrelevant. Stuff your conscious mind with information, then unhook your rational thought process. You can help this process by going for a long walk, or taking a hot bath, or drinking half a pint of claret. Suddenly, if the telephone line from your unconscious is open, a big idea wells up within you.”

Questions to consider if you draw The High Priestess:

• When do your bright ideas bubble up? In dreams? On walks? In the shower?
• How might you take advantage of the morning “magic hour”?