Taking a look at The Hierophant

When it comes to highlighting tarot cards, The Hierophant may seem like a strange choice, but, that is the very reason I chose to start with this card. I feel many people aren’t a huge fan of The Hierophant because of how it’s represented in some decks. That’s a real shame because there is so much wisdom to be gained through a deep dive, hey even a shallow dive, into the messages contained within.

Barbara Moore writes of The Hierophant in Tarot In Wonderland:

The Hierophant doesn’t represent how to think as to the importance of what to think.’ She adds, ‘What we accept as the “truth” about the world determines our behaviour. When our behaviour is at odds with our beliefs, we suffer severe emotional, spiritual, psychological and sometimes even physical distress.

Barbara Moore Tarot In Wonderland

That seems like a pretty good reason to consider what The Hierophant may be trying to point out to you when it appears in a spread. The write up about The Hierophant in Tarot in Wonderland makes its rendition one of my favourites. To see more about this deck and what is written about The Hierophant click here.

Or there’s the approach taken in The Sirian Starseed Tarot. Here V The Hierophant is renamed Guidance. In this deck key 5 relates to spiritual guidance whether it be associated with an external religious/spiritual community or the sacred connection that can be found within. This suggests ‘honouring the spiritual traditions that have served humanity through time, in [your] quest to understand the spiritual meaning of life.’ Ultimately it still asks us to consider whether we are living our own truth but the emphasis is on spiritual truth. What I like about this card is there is no spiritual dogma attached. For me the card feels peaceful and yet powerful as it urges me to connect with my past to unlock the riddles within.

The renaming of The Hierophant to Divine Child in the Chrysalis Tarot adds another layer. Toney Brooks writes, ‘As your inner voice, Divine Child frequently whispers reminders that you must paint your own canvas; that you are personally responsible for attaining your own destiny.” He goes on to add, “The Divine Child asks you to become a full-time seeker of truth and light your fire within; to blaze your own spiritual trail and reject disempowering delusion by questioning everything with an open mind.’ These variations add nuance to an overall understanding of The Hierophant that highlight the potential insights that can be gleaned if we take the time to consider what the card is asking of us.

Both The Forest of Enchantment Tarot and Tarot of the Sidhe chose to move away from The Hierophant title as well. In Tarot of the Sidhe the creator, Emily Carding, says she did so because there are too many religious connotations and possible associated baggage linked to the more traditional names given to this card, (ie The Pope, The High Priest), which were not relevant to the theme of her deck. In her artist’s notes for this card she writes that she deliberately left the decision regarding who “the elder” actually is open to interpretation.

I love this because I believe that whilst the answers we seek are within, many can be found by becoming more aware of the natural world that we are a part of. It has so much to teach us. That’s why I am so drawn to nature-inspired and animal-themed decks. I learn so much about the animals and the plants. What the accompanying book doesn’t teach me, Google and other books begin to.

The Oldest One from the Forest of Enchantment Tarot urges us to embrace the power of story. Lunaea Weatherstone suggests,

The Oldest One reminds us that having a historical perspective is reassuring in times of trouble, and having a mythological or religious perspective helps us find meaning in our lives. Tales, legends, and lore have been handed down from generation to generation because they are a vital part of our shared humanity.

Lunaea Weatherstone The Forest of Enchantment

As someone who focuses my practice on uncovering and discovering the stories that shape us, those that support us, and those that limit us, this card speaks to me on a deep level. No story gains traction without a reason. Sometimes how we interpret those stories is tainted and we can miss the beauty contained within them. Even within the ‘negative’ there is generally something to be celebrated – even if what we are celebrating is our resilience.

When I began this idea I didn’t realise it would become such a long post. It started as an idea I had to share my “Favourite Fives” on Instagram. But, as I went through my cards, in looking at each Hierophant card in over one hundred tarot decks, I was drawn into their different interpretations and I could lose days, weeks, months in doing so. In all honesty that may well be the case especially with The Hierophant.

For those that use astrology as part of their tarot practice, saying I’m a Taurus would further explain my draw to this card. For those that work with numerology also, saying I’m a Life Path 5 strengthens my connection to this card further. As someone who doesn’t adhere to any formal religious practice seeing the standard RWS depiction and those wishing to depict the more negative connotations of the card, it probably comes as no surprise why the cards I’ve presented here appeal to me.

I’ll finish with a deck that retains the The Hierophant nomination, the Surrealist Tarot. I look at the card and see so much. I see the traditional elements, but the stories that come to mind depend on what aspect of the card draws my attention. These vary wildly. I’m not sure what it says about me but I absolutely freaking love this card. It makes me laugh. It also forces me to put my glasses on so I can see the finer details better. But, best of all, it makes me think. The LWB that accompanies this deck provides very little yet that doesn’t stop some of the meanings packing a real wallop. I’ll leave you with this:

V – The Pope – The Great Liberator, (strange since the card is captioned V The Hierophant – but nothing is as it seems with this deck). Search for meaning. Relief in understanding that you have the right not to be compelled to be true to reality. “I forced myself to contradict myself so as to avoid conforming to my own taste.” (Marcel Duchamp)

Luigi Di Giammarino Surrealist Tarot

That’s the write up and it’s a perfect way to wrap up a brief look into The Hierophant.

The Basics

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