Shadow Essay: The Hierophant

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 02 Feb 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Karenwhe	02 Feb 2003
Well I came across this article/essay and I thought that it would be interesting to share it and discuss it. It is of particular interest to me as the Hierophant is my birth card, kind of I am supposed to carry him around all my life (damn, not to mention how much I hate religion and I am stuck with a Pope - just kidding). http://www.ata-tarot.com/ata2-0/reflections/2-01-03/Shadow%20-%20Hierophant.htm

truthsayer	02 Feb 2003
good article! thanks for sharing. i longed disliked the hierphant card. i've had a long running feud with ppl who saw fit to push their belief systems on me. i saw the hierphant to be the embodiment of my belief. however, over the past 3 years, my relationship with the hierphant has improved. in the FACT deck, no one chose to do the hierphant so i agreed to do it b/c i wanted to face my discomfort. what can i say? it was an emotional experience. i fought a clear image of jesus praying for 2 monthes until i finally gave in and did it that way. i know many ppl here weren't comfortable with my interpretation but h*** i wasn't comfortable w/ my hierphant! but when the powers that be said,"truth you're going to do the hierphant this way." you kinda tend to listen or give the job to somebody else. i listened. my relationship with the hierphant has been civil-even good-ever since. the article you posted smacks clearly of what i wanted to say w/o knowing i wanted to say what's in that article. ;)

Kiama	03 Feb 2003
Thankyou for sharing that article, it was very enlightening! Indeed, the Heirophant was one card I never really clicked with til recently. And it is one of the only cards in the Robin Wood deck which I do not agree with the representation of. It is such a shame that Wood let her own prejudices get in the way of the true meaning of the Heirophant. To me, the Heirophant represents the Teacher, the Mediator, the Guide. Jesus, the Buddha, my old woodwork teacher... Truthsayer: I think you did a beautiful Heirophant for the FACT project! My boyfriend who had to give the card away cuz his drawing arm got broken in a car accident, took one look at it and said: 'Wow, I'm glad Truthsayer did it instead of me!' We were both amazed by it, and it spoke to us both immensely, despite the fact that we're non-Christian. I am alot closer to the Heirophant now, but it takes a long tie to get over the prejudices I faced about the clergy, etc... Kiama

Karenwhe	03 Feb 2003
Well, I guess you people are more advanced than me. I don't have a relationship yet with the poor fellow, I guess we learnt to get along......... He also represents to me teacher, etc., (not guide), but he mostly represents to me the things I most resent, unions, religions, closed clubs, and all institutions types, (The Establishment) places where it is either their way or the "highway".

Dark Inquisitor	03 Feb 2003
I never cared much for the Heirophant either- until I met one! A very caring doctor who was not just one of those assembly line guys, but really took time to talk to to me & communicate with me on a spiritual level. This is the guy who is going to do the right thing, take care that you are treated fairly, and see to the greater good of all if he gets the chance. If you have to choose between professional people & are seeking tarot advice on the matter- go with the one who gets the Heirophant card. They are going to bring a higher dimension to their work & be concerned with truth & high ideals. Holmes is a very good example of the Heirophant right here in our midst! You will often see him trying to be the peacemaker -- bringing higher guidance to petty difficulties & reaching out to those in conflict & inner trouble. I think the associations of rigidity & intolerance belong to the reversed apsect of the card. Maybe we just don't see enough of the true Heirophant represented in daily life to make the connection . Tarotphelia

Vita-morte	03 Feb 2003
I'm not a fan of the Hierophant, either, but the article was very interesting! Just a question in reference to the original post, however: what is a birth card? Forgive my prevailing ignorance of the tarot, I'm still learning! ;)

Kiama	04 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Tarotphelia I never cared much for the Heirophant either- until I met one! I too had this. A very nice Vicar of a local Parush church who belonged to the same voluntary organisation as me. We would sit and talk for ages and ages about religion, spirituality, etc, despite the fact that he is quite obviously Christian, and I am Pagan. We learned alot from each other. I think, reflecting on the thing I just wrote, that the Heirophant card is also about finding your 'inner teacher', the part of you that knows what you need to learn, and helps you learn it, aswell as teaches others. Kiama

Karenwhe	04 Feb 2003
Forgive me if I made myself misunderstood, but I was talking about the Shadow (the twilight zone :D)of the card. Otherwise, I agree with y'all however I never saw in the Heirophant yet a doctor thought I saw once a hospital in a reading.

Karenwhe	04 Feb 2003
Quote: Originally posted by Vita-morte I'm not a fan of the Hierophant, either, but the article was very interesting! Just a question in reference to the original post, however: what is a birth card? Forgive my prevailing ignorance of the tarot, I'm still learning! ;) I took the privilage of looking at your profile and by your birth date your birth card is the Empress. And if you are not happy about it we could always swap.......... :) :) :) More on that here: http://www.queenofpentacles.com/archcalc/archcalc.html

lupo138	04 Feb 2003
*banging my head to the wall* I had to click the link and there you are, I am a hierophant as well. *sigh* why not the Magician or the Devil ?

Karenwhe	04 Feb 2003
You're kidding........ talking of the Magician is my daily card, actually he comes often lately in my readings..........

Silverlotus	04 Feb 2003
The Hierophant is the card of my Zodiac sign, and I have had an interesting relationship with it over the years. I am very drawn to anything associated with Taurus because I feel I fit my sign very well. (Sadly, sometimes.) So, I've always been drawn to this card even though I haven't always understood it. My first deck was the Aquarian Tarot, and the Heirophant in that deck wasn't to bad. He ment tradition to me, and that's about it. My next deck was the Witches' Tarot. Here was the High Priest, preforming the great rite, but holding the knife instead of the chalice. An intersting card. He was an older man, so he still ment tradition, but he also totally represented god energy. I could sort of relate to him here. My "everyday" deck now is the Robin Wood Tarot. That Heirophant was hard to get to know. But in reading the article and Ms. Wood's book, I think I understand him a little better. There is a lot of me in him, and I also see my very religious grandfather in him too. I think the Hierophant can be all those "bad" things the Robin Wood card seems to show, but also a caring man with an awful sense of humour. :) He holds on to his tradition because it is what he knows. Maybe he is a little afraid to give it up because he doesn't know if he can make it in this changing world without it. Maybe the two other figures on the card are trying to help him grow, while he is trying to help them learn. I'm not really sure, but the essay has given me a lot to think about.

Vita-morte	04 Feb 2003
Thank-you for "talking the privledge" of finding my birth card and giving me the site, Karenwhe, although I view it as more of doing me a favor! :)

The Shadow Essay: The Hierophant thread was originally posted on 02 Feb 2003 in the Talking Tarot board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Talking Tarot, or read more archived threads.