Exegesis THE HIGH PRIESTESS (II) Sentences 10–12
10 Water has the power to ignite the consciousness of the sleeper
11 To restore sight to him who dwells in his night
12 Visions unfold to the one who desires to be awakened
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10 “Water has the power to ignite the consciousness of the sleeper”
An alchemical paradox: the cold, fluid element becomes inner fire. Water dissolves, immerses, and through this immersion, a spiritual exothermic reaction occurs. Watercolor, by its transparency and fluidity, can awaken the spark of memory in the sleeper—one still consumed by matter, not yet awakened.
11 “To restore sight to him who dwells in his night”
This is illumination. The night represents forgetfulness, ignorance. As Valentinius reminds us in The Gospel of Truth (Nag Hammadi Library): “He who was blind was not so by mistake, but because the spirit dwelled in its night. Therefore, when the fire was kindled, they saw with an eye that had never seen.”
Blindness is not a mistake, but the natural state of the spirit dwelling in its night. The artwork becomes a sacrament, a pharmakon: it ignites the fire of consciousness and opens a passage to an inner vision never before experienced.
12 “Visions unfold to the one who desires to be awakened”
The High Priestess imposes nothing; she offers. Revelation is received through the active will of the initiate, through a sincere desire to awaken. The law of spiritual attraction is at work, linking the seeker to the grace they are ready to receive.
