RWS Hierophant. Are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater?
If you ever want to start a lively and passionate discussion among tarot readers, ask them what they think of the Hierophant. You’ll actually be able to hear eyes roll in unison.
Nevermind the Tower with it’s sharp, energetic attack or the Death card with his grim smile. The image of this priest (or pope) sitting on his elevated thrown, really gets people going. I understand this reaction on an intuitive level. I think a lot of people instantly react to the Hierophant with their guts and not with words, so describing why it is not beloved among the general population may prove to be a bit of a challenge… but I’ll give it a shot.
In the minds of many, the Hierophant is today’s image of the 1950’s, right down to its Catholic rigidity. Kevin Bacon can not dance in the Hierophant’s church and he’d consider this blog morally offensive because it has to do with divination. You wouldn’t ask the Hierophant why, either, because rocking the boat would be some kind of sin, too. Add the whole priest abuse scandal to the Hierophant’s lot and you’ve got one card that people just don’t want to deal with.
In this day and age, I think the Hierophant also strikes a chord because we’ve been through a lot in the past years with this kind of rigidity. Now, I’m not looking for a political debate so, please don’t misread this. Let’s just say that I think everyone–EVERYONE–no matter which “side” they’re on, thinks that the other party is doing it all wrong and individuals have felt there is very little they can do about it. The Hierophant is a politician making decisions that people don’t approve of and who is, in their minds, out of control (I find this very interesting because, if we all stopped for a minute, it is the one thing everybody can agree on… but I digress again!).
So, we perceive the Hierophant as someone who tells you what to do, based on stale tradition and “shoulds,” when the last thing any tarot reader or free-thinker out there wants is to be told what to do.
There are negative aspects to every single tarot card. This is one of the only–if not THE only–cards where people focus solely on the negative aspects. I propose that this is because there is something about the Hierophant that resonates with something we don’t like in ourselves. The Hierophant is a part of our shadow self and we have rejected it out of anger, fear, or mistrust. Until we can understand these feelings about the Hierophant, negative emotions will be poking out their little heads in the worst ways. Be on the lookout, ye haters of the Hierophant!
One important aspect of integrating the Hierophant back into our conscious lives is to realize the positive things about this little fellow. The Hierophant is the fifth card in the major arcana, which is interesting, because the number five is all about freedom, change, and curiosity. This is not typically what we think of when we think of the Hierophant. In fact, it is quite the opposite.
But, there was a time when the church and spiritual leaders were revolutionaries! Think about the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, and Moses, to name a few. The ideas that they brought to the world changed things forever, so much so, that we still follow in their paths today. The Hierophant represents that brilliant and lasting change that can only come from divine evolution! The Hierophant, in his best form, is the monolith appearing and apes learning to use tools in the movie 2001 or the Buddha teaching non-attachment. There is no other card I can think of which depicts man bringing the power of change and knowledge to the masses the way that the Hierophant does.
Yes, he is on a throne and he is elevated above the people–but is it really so bad? I mean, when people speak to a large audience, don’t they need to be elevated so their voices can be heard? And, if a person has great wisdom, is it really them that puts themselves on the pedastal or is it their followers?
You know, so often, it seems like people want to squish the notion of hierarchies or of people being on different levels–which is understandable to an extent–but there is also a natural order that shouldn’t be ignored. Yes, everyone has something to offer of great value, but certain people have something to offer which garners a mass reaction. They, in turn, are highly regarded in the community. Denying this fact is to deny a part of nature–which, in turn, can have ugly results; like abusive power, repression, and a case of the emperor’s new clothes. It is no accident that these are all the negative aspects of the Hierophant.
The Hierophant is also about education and tradition, which are not so bad either. They only become bad when we stop letting the energy of the five flow through them. Things sour when you don’t let them change. Churches go bad when they don’t change with the times. There was a church that I used to go to, when I was church-goer, that was magical. It changed my life forever for the better–but then people started getting attached the way it was and the preist let it go to his head. Lo and behold, the negative aspects of the Heirophant came out and I high-tailed it out of there!
I dare you to start viewing the Hierophant as a positive and wonderful advocate for spiritual insight channeled from God, through a person, for change and the betterment of mankind. This Hierophant is offering his pure blessing to you (and warning you that to become too rigid leads to very bad things). Will you take his blessing? Or will you continue to let those who abuse power ruin the wonderful gift that the Hierophant has for us?
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This is such a great post, I’ve just recently begun trying to think of the Hierophant in a more positive light and I think you’ve helped open my mind to some of the other possibilities surrounding the card.
I’m glad to hear you liked it! I’ve also struggled with the Hierophant, but have recently started viewing it in a more positive light. I find it is much better to work with the power of the Hierophant than to dismiss it!
Thanks!
Cathy