popess

The Popess was thus exposed as a harlot disguised as a priest.

This Tarot card was originally called La Papessa, or "The Popess".

The papal tiara, however, disappeared from later depictions of the High Priestess/Popess, and showed her wearing more standard medieval female headgear.

His acceptance of fables now exploded, e.g. the Popess Joan, must be attributed to the uncritical temper of his time.

Now, this may not be such a leap when you consider that for some reason - nobody knows why - the ancient decks contained cards like the Popess, or female pope.

Medieval tarot cards included a card showing a woman wearing a papal tiara and known as the Popess or Papess or the High Priestess.

The Swiss 1JJ Tarot is similar, but replaces the Pope with Jupiter, the Popess with Juno, and the Angel with the Judgement.

It is an Italian suited pack which substitutes the figures of Juno and Jupiter in place of the Popess and Pope of the Tarot of Marseilles.

The Popess and the Pope are absent from the minchiate trumps (at least no Pope nor Popess are depicted); instead, it contains a Grand Duke.

The card is also known as "The High Priest," as a counterpart to "The High Priestess" (which itself is also sometimes known as "The Popess," as counterpart to "The Pope").

In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Marseilles Tarot, this figure is crowned with the Papal tiara and labelled La Papesse, the Popess, a possible reference to the legend of Pope Joan.

It contains a "Pope" card (and, indeed, a "Popess") but there seems to be no connection with the Pope Joan card game, even though the popess may have derived from the mythical Pope Joan.

Further, even if a woman were to become Bishop of Rome it is unclear if she would take the title popess; a parallel might be drawn with the Anglican Communion whose female clergy use the masculine titles of priest and bishop as opposed to priestess or bishopess.