This month I am continuing my deep dive into the Tarot with The Hierophant card. I have been reading the works of A.E. Waite, Paul Foster Case, Aliester Crowley, and Rachel Pollack in an attempt to arrive at some consensus of meaning.
The Hierophant has long been one of those cards which I've struggled to connect with. I think it stems from the fact that I grew up as an athiest, and as much as I am facinated with religion and spirituality now, the overtly Catholic symbolism of the card had always felt other and foreign to me. My understanding of this card was limited to thinking that it stood for organised religion and authoirty: the human element of religion which can sometimes be far removed from divinity. Now, I understand a completely different aspect of this card which I've found incredibly thought provoking.
So, let's take a look at what the books had to say about the meaning of The Hierophant.
The Hierophant: Meaning
The Hierophant is a link between the divine and human world. They embody the human traditions, teachings, rituals, and practices by which we are able to meet the conditions needed for divine experiences, according to passed-down human wisdom. However, they are also a reminder to value our own inner voice and connection to the divine, especially when our intuition is in conflict with the teachings of others.
Communicating with the Divine
'The voice of The Hierophant gives verbal form to the vision of The Fool.' Paul Foster Case [1]
At its core, The Hierophant is about the attempt to express divine, spritual experiences in human langauge and signs. I say 'attempt', because the nature of lanugage and communication makes that task difficult. When trying to communicate something divine which is beyond our world and everyday experience, we are limited to metaphor and symbolism which can easily be misunderstood. Different religions can be seen as different languages, each trying to express complex ideas through stories, music, ritual, and ceremony which have been passed down and built upon for thousands of years.
Paul Foster Case explains that religions are founded by people who have had spiritual experiences, and that the conditions for those experiences can be recreated. [1]. With dedication, practices such as meditiation and yoga can help you to have those experiences directly. In short, following an established religious or spiritual tradition can offer a pathway to accessing higher spiritual states.
However, in Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom, Rachel Pollack comments on the role of religious leaders communicating with God on behalf of the layman. She raises the point that 'people become priests for all sorts of reasons' and therefore may not have a true connection to the divine, and that 'those who do feel a genuine calling to communicate with God may show very little talent for communicating with people' [2]. With this in mind, The Hierophant reminds us that anyone offering spiritual guidance is human, and therefore (however well intended) bias, and limited by earthly language. While the teachings of others are vital in helping us to develop spirtually, we should also measure religious teachings according to our own inner voice.
The Inner Voice
One the one hand, The Hierophant calls to our attention religious tradition and leaders, which are outward, external elements of spiritual life. On the other, it invites us to look inward, and to listen to our own intuition.
'Knowledge of the higher aspects of reality come to us through the soundless sound of an Inner Voice, which often speaks as plainly as any voice heard with the physical ear.' Paul Foster Case [1]
Many spiritual practices, even prayer, can lead to altered states of mind and a sense of connection to the divine. We should follow established practices and beliefs as far as they can benefit us, but sceptisim and criticality can also help to further your spiritual journey. Asking how far you agree with something, how well it aligns with your own observations and experiences, and whether it enriches your daily life is important. After all, Jesus was not a Christian and Buddha was not a Buddhist. Free thinkers may start thier journey by immersing themselves in tradition and the teachings of others, but they should ultimately begin to question them to arrive at thier own philosophies or means of expression.
The Bridge-Maker
In The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A.E. Waite draws attention to the hand gesutre being made by the Hierophant, which I wanted to dig futher into.
The gesutre of an outstretched index and middle finger is commonly seen in religious iconography, but it has its history in Greek and Roman rheotic, in which different hand gestures used by speakers had established meanings. [3]. Removed from a religious context, this is still a significant symbol for the card's meaning of communication: the Hierophant is speaking to us, gesturing for us to listen.
This gesture was then adopted by the Church to represent Jesus (and other figures) as speakers, mouthpeices for God who should be listened to. It is said that the two fingers represent the dual nature of Christ (physical and divine), linking to Waite's description of the Hierophant as symbolising the 'manifest (physical) and concealed (divine) part of doctrine' [4].
Waite also highlights that The High Priestess (or female Pope, linking that card to The Hierophant) makes no sign, once again foregrounding the Hierophant's communicative nature, attempting to formalise and share spiritual truth.
Paul Foster Case directly disagrees with Waite's idea that the Hierophant represents 'the outer side of life which leads to the doctrine' [1], but I think this a perfect example of how language and symbolism can be misunderstood, becuause it seems to me that thier ideas about the Hierophant are in alignment. To me, by drawing attention to the Hierophant's gesture, Waite establishes the card as one of connection, both through language and symbolism, but also through the gesture itself, with the two touching fingers.
Case prefers to descirbe the Hierophant as 'the "bridge-maker" who provides a connecting link between outer experience and interior illumination.' [1]. That bridge may come in the form of prescribed spiritual teachings, practices, and experiences (what Waite calls 'the outer side of life'), which leads to 'the doctrine', Waite's term, I understand, not to refer to a particular religious doctrine, but the universal truth which all religions are attempting to communicate, and the arrival at which can only be felt inside of you in flashes of spiritual experience.
To add a third voice to the argument, Alister Crowley in The Book of Thoth describes this card as the 'uniting of the microcosm with the macrocosom', yet another way of expressing the same idea: that by following traditions and teachings which come from outside of yourself, you may access something within. [5].
Reflection
The traditional Catholic symbolism of this card may be a sticking point for a student of Tarot, but, as with all cards, it must be remembered that this card is a symbol attempting to communicate an idea, thereby enacting its own meaning: to draw our awareness to the sources of our spiritual inspiration, and to remind ourselves that we must look within as well as without.
Whether you follow an established practice or religion or reject them all, the meaning of this card is still applicable to you. The Tarot itself is a product of tradition and teachings, and by reading this post you are listening to the ideas of another, which, I hope, will inspire something valuable within you.
Suggested Tasks
Spend some time meditating on the meaning and imagery of The Hierophant, journalling any thoughts which arise.
Try making your own version of the card using different symbolism. What imagery could you use to capture the meaning of the card in an original way?
Lay out the Major Arcana cards in numerical order and consider the meaning of The Hierophant in relation to the sequence of The Fool’s Journey.
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References
[1] The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages, Paul Foster Case, The Banton Press, Arran, 1993.
[2] Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot, Rachel Pollack, Thorsons, London, 1997.
[4] The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A.E. Waite, University Press, New York, 1959.
[5] The Book of Thoth (Egyptian Tarot), Aleister Crowley, Weiser, Maine, 1983.
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