Moving to card #5 in the Major Arcana, still within the Creation line, we have the Hierophant. As with all previous posts, I will focus on how I read this card, look at symbolism across the cards I own, speak on the light and the dark of the invitations, and pull in references from outside sources.
The numerology of Five within the tarot is often associated with challenge, controversy, and conflict. All of these things are present in the Hierophant. The Hierophant invites us to push past our previously held understandings. We are being invited to see where we connect to the Divine, to the other, to it all in a way that can greatly uproot us from what we thought we knew.
However, another aspect seen between the numerology and this card is inquiry, curiosity, and unity towards a higher, or more spiritual understanding. This card is where we create (as we are in the Creation line) a broader sense of not only who we are as sovereign individuals, but how that sovereignty contributes to a greater interconnective system.
As we look across the Hierophant from all my decks, I encourage you to look at the symbolism and pull this card of your decks to make some intuitive connections with what you see.
Bridging the Self into the Whole with the Hierophant
A brief recap will show that the first four cards in the Creation line of the Major Arcana speak to:
- The Magician: Awakening to the magick within and around you
- The High Priestess: Taking that magick and listening to it in the space of intuition
- The Empress: Taking what messages are revealed through intuition and bringing them into being
- The Emperor: Building supportive foundations for that seed from the Empress to thrive with a strong force of will
After we have gone through those first four cards, the Hierophant says that when we have done the work of those four cards, we begin to see how our magickal presence, our wild spirits, are a ripple effect of the bigger picture. We begin to understand our role in the bigger picture and within the Divine. The Hierophant says that when we start to do our own work, transformations, manifestations, and deeper integrations we contribute to an understanding of the whole. We begin to see the interconnection at work. We are sovereign, but fully within a living ecosystem, where everything plays a part.
Often the Hierophant is referred to as a teacher, mentor, sage, or wise one who is there to help you on your journey towards a deeper wisdom. I think this idea of the Hierophant is not helpful, and actually kind of bullshit. This is the Hierophant in shadow. You don’t need a priest or a church or the Pope to hear the word of God if that is where your faith resides. You don’t need to join a coven to feel the liminal magick of the Moon, connect to any chosen Goddess, or align to Nature’s cycles. You have the capability within you to find this knowledge. Sure, a mentor or teacher will be of help in some things, and there are many different types of mentors or teachers, but it is within you that the messages of understanding live. It is you who must open that door. That kind of gatekeeping leads to power plays that hurt the very system it is trying to build.
Speaking of opening doors, the key is going to be a recurring symbol with the Hierophant. The Key symbolizes many things. One of them is choice. With the key you have the option to open the door, reveal the secrets, and explore the unknown, or you could let it be. The key also represents freedom, inquiry, discovery, new beginnings, virginity, and deeper knowledge. The double keys represent the crossroads between the conscious and subconscious.
In the Wild Unknown image, we see the Hierophant depicted as a raven sitting on a key with a bolt of lightning momentarily illuminating from behind the storm. The Raven is a fitting depiction as ravens are often seen as conduits and messengers from the Spirit world. The strike of lighting suggests a flash of brilliance, clarity, or seeing things from a bigger perspective. Now is the time to heed the message and take the key. In the Mystical Dream Tarot, the Hierophant sits with open hands above a cauldron. He channels the power and understanding of the separate parts to create something better than before, while an initiate opens to the beautiful vastness of the world behind him.
This card shows that the Hierophant is a constant source of wisdom through learning and living, trial and error, and pure experience. Finally, the Dark Wood Tarot shows us the Hierophant as an ancient tree. The tree holds a scroll of ancient sigils and symbols while making the sign of Benediction with the other hand. The turtles represent physical lineage and history, while the snake represents the awakening of Kundalini energy. This image shows us how once we move past the order and foundational support of the Emperor, we can look past the veil into the spiritual, divine, or energetic understandings that permeate all lived experiences in some way.
The next way that I read the Hierophant is: Illuminating what has been elusive, mysterious, magickal, or liminal in a way that leaves a mark of change. The Hierophant opens the door to things that have been there in your life all along, but you may not have been in a space to read the signs. Once you do, you see a deeper meaning, connection, or purpose. This is not always easy to do because it often requires that we have faith that the Divine is with us, even at the moments we feel down in the dirt.
The Hierophant illuminates the spiritual and Divine acting out behind the scenes, in the cellular, or acted on in the stories that have turned into myth. The Hebrew letter for the Hierophant is Vav translates to the word “nail.” The nails are the unseen holds in the building of the house that help keep it standing. This symbolizes that the spiritual, energetic, shadow, subconscious, liminal, or unknown are part of the structures of all of society in some form.
It also represents how we make sense of ourselves concerning the bigger picture. If we can find the energies that hold us together, it helps us come to the bigger structures with a greater capacity to learn, grow, and connect. Just like the timeless stories that speak to deeper meanings and lived experiences, the Hierophant speaks to how we take up space in a bigger capacity by finding
The last way that I read the Hierophant in the light is: strong foundations allow for knowledge to be gained on the spectrum. This means that when we have strong foundations, we can more fully explore the connection between the spiritual and the material, the light and the dark, the known and the unknown, the macro and the microcosm. In essence, the two should elevate and uplift each other. To put it another way, when we feel secure in our physical lives or selves, we can more honestly and openly question the spiritual concepts that elude linear thoughts or logic. When we open into the liminal space of spirit, Divine, our faith, and the bigger picture we find that our physical lives take on a greater meaning.
The Hierophant says that when we do this work for ourselves, finding the meaning behind the structures of life, or finding the Divine in the small and big moments, we fill the gaps with a felt understanding that permeates the spectrum. When we are doing our own work, we are permeating the Divine to others, perhaps even helping them find it inside themselves. The Hierophant is the giver and taker of the sacred. When working with him, it is important to remind ourselves that like the High Priestess, there is sacred magick, intuitive magick, and Divine connections in all things. We just have to find that first in ourselves so we can pinpoint where it lies in the structures that we are a part of.
The Hierophant in Symbol, Literature, and Resources
Let’s look at some of the imagery from my collection. I find that the Hierophant is one card that varies heavily, or more than some other cards in the Major Arcana. Whereas the Empress will often depict a pregnant woman …sigh, the Hierophant has taken on many different interpretations, which I enjoy.
First, from the Ostara Tarot, there is so much symbolism here. The stairway retreating towards the center suggests that we have to find the Hierophant internally. The torn pages, the book with eyes, and the hands all suggest a working understanding of the laws of Nature, Spiritualism, Philosophy, etc. The plant suggests that when we nurture deeper understandings, we grow in our capacity to learn, speak, and engage on the content.
From the Spirit Animal Tarot, we have the Hierophant as the Bull: the Sacred Keeper of Tradition. Again, this deck does not disappoint. The Bull is an animal that speaks to practical knowledge cultivated from our ancestors’ need for survival, yet it is bridged towards a spiritual practice of revering the animal as protected by the gods and goddesses. Bulls were the lifeline for the fertility and strength of the herd. A strong and healthy herd meant that a community could continue to thrive. In the weavings of animal and plant husbandry comes ritual that channeled the Divine through the Bull itself. Again, taking on a practical and esoteric approach to our lived experiences is where we deepen in our ability to counsel, understand, and connect.
The Guardian of the Night Tarot shows a rat leading a bunch of other rats into a bakery- influenced in imagery by the movie Ratatouille. I love this image because it speaks to the light of the Hierophant is that we cannot tell someone else to walk a path that we have not tread in some capacity. The rat can only lead the other rats to the bakery because the first rat has taken that pilgrimage of self. When the Hierophant comes forward, it is about leaning into your sovereignty that makes your connection to the Divine, to others, and to the systems you are a part of that much more powerful. Remy from this Disney movie exemplifies this because he not only walks his own path, but he uses the traditional knowledge of cooking and being a rat to find himself. In that way, he helps motivate others to do the same.
The Hush Tarot shows a group of Nighthawks converging together. This animal is nocturnal, thought to help the souls of the passing move to where they need to go. They represent an ability to transition, finding resolve amidst great change. Total Hierophant. We are going to be moving into unknown, dark, or turbulent storms with this card. It is how we stay willing and open to the experience that matters. It is how we lean into trust, intuition, and imagination in the dark times that help us understand the power of the spirit to endure, adapt, and paradoxically remain consistent with spiritual growth.
Finally, we have the last four in my collection. Starting with the Tarot of Dragons depiction, we see a brightly colored, feathered dragon standing atop a great pyramid with different types of animals coming into the clearing. The guidebook says that he is a descendant of Kukulkan- the plumed serpent dog. This image shows faith interchanges from the past into the present, from mysticism into science, and culture in history. All contribute to the web of life.
The Hierophant in the Herbcrafter’s Tarot is connected to cacao. True cacao has been a ceremonial drink, opening the heart more fully and pumping the blood more strongly. This allows deeper understandings to truly reach the heart if they are from the heart. Hot chocolate today has no medicinal benefits. By reconnecting to old wisdom of the world, we connect more strongly to ourselves. However, we need to trust and be patient with the Divine. It moves outside our time limits. This is perhaps the greatest heart-opener of all. In order to speak on the wisdom of the Divine, we must bring the Divine into ourselves.
The Crow Tarot shows many of the symbols already mentioned. The stained glass with the angelic wings is a nice touch. He is a conduit for the angels and the Divine as a black crow. Standing on top of the key to understanding and freedom, he recognizes the differences and similarities. All are connected. The Shadowscapes Tarot shows another tree sage, this one with his roots intertwined around symbolic and fossil records of time. He holds all life in his branches, including the red chameleons. They symbolize the ability to adapt and embrace change amidst their surroundings, using their DNA to make it so. This is one of the greatest teachings of the Hierophant- the World will change around you constantly. The higher truth is adapting to it from the strength of your heart. Your shoulders and neck will guide you to that which is calling you.
Before you leave I just want to leave you with one depiction of the Hierophant from pop culture. This is of course not to say that this character only depicts the Hierophant. Rather, many of the traits that we see in this character highlight some of the most beautiful traits in the Hierophant.
That character is Yoda.
Yoda emulates the ancient knowledge of the Force, yet approaches his experiences and the way he engages with others not as above them, but as a guide for their own growth. He could use his own power of the Force for self-gain, but he sees what it costs the spirit to do so. Those who are ruled by hate and fear have no capacity to learn. Instead, they become consumed by their suffering, which does not have to be their whole truth. He teaches patience, trust, and the act of doing in order to flow with the force.
He moves from the Divine truth of the force and leans into it in times of great darkness to continue to light his way and teach him the powers of the Divine.
Thank you for reading!
Like the way I read the cards?
Ashlie McDiarmid
Hello there! I hope you liked this blog post. As a tarot and oracle reader, my goal with my blogs is to offer you content, resources, and access to the tools that have transformed my life.
I believe that your own intuition is the deepest form of knowing, but here in my little corner of the internet, I share insights based in intuition and instinct. I share my love for nature, witchcraft, and the wild spirit.
- If your spirit is at home in wild places
- If you feel the need to claim your autonomy as ritual
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