The Hierophant/Pope - Conscience?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 24 Jan 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Jewel-ry	24 Jan 2004
Hi everyone, This thread follows on from my 78 week study with this card. I have been toddling along thinking this card represented conforming to standards, ones moral duty etc. All well and good but up until this week, I very much looked upon this as being an external factor which was demanding that you act a certain way i.e. religion, family, tradition etc. However I now view this as being ones conscience. As what you 'feel' you ought to do, or should do. Is this wrong? Your views ?? J :)

Diana	24 Jan 2004
Jewel-ry: I don't see the Pope as our conscience. However, I believe he is able to connect us to our conscience. The Pope is the Bridge. A concrete example: in a throw on a problem within a couple (eg. huband and wife), the Pope could point to the need of a family counsellor or therapist. The therapist will help us get in touch with our needs, lacks, desires, etc. etc. (The Pope, in my experience, almost always refers to something to do with the symbolic of the father. And therefore definitely has something to do with our conscience, because the imprint of the father is deep.) Edited to say: He is often the bridge between materiality and spirituality.

Jewel-ry	24 Jan 2004
Hi Diana, I probably worded that wrong because I didn't intend it to be the only meaning. I agree with you when you say 'he is able to connect us to our conscience' This is something I had never seen before. I had always seen this card as being 'fixed' so to speak. As if he represented a real person saying 'this is the way you should act'. I had a real Aha moment when I realised that ones conscience can be an aspect of this card. J :)

Diana	24 Jan 2004
Jewel-ry: I realised you were only talking of one aspect of the card. :) That's why I kind of only stuck to that aspect. I edited my post by the way, to add in a sentence at the end. I will include your thoughts in my own study of this card this week. (Although I am cheating a bit, I am studying two cards this week, the Pope and the Hermit.)

Imagemaker	24 Jan 2004
Since the Hierophant is also education and family, besides tradition, I see all those as the sources of one's conscience. How do we learn what's right and wrong, and internalize those judgments--through our family/moral educations. I think I developed my conscience through the pathways that the Hierophant represents.

Jewel-ry	24 Jan 2004
Thanks Imagemaker. I think that is what I am trying to say. I just never looked at the card deeply enough before. I certainly feel that I understand the Hierophant a little better after this week and I feel happy about that. It was always a card that I shirked away from before. J :)

Imagemaker	24 Jan 2004
Quote: It was always a card that I shirked away from before. Me, too! Especially in the Robyn Wood deck, which I have used so much.

ros	26 Jan 2004
I sometimes use this card of taking issues to the next level. So you have everything out in the open & it has to be sorted through so a solution can be made. The bridge is taking you to the next level of the issue so you can deal with it & move on. Someone will help you take the next step. You are conscious of the facts & now you can deal with the issue. Just an idea.

Jewel-ry	26 Jan 2004
Thanks ros, I quite like that. In a thread a couple of months someone once likened the Hierophants tiara to a layered cake! This too helps me to think about the layered aspects :D J :)

Major Tom	26 Jan 2004
I've always thought that the Pope is about belief. Isn't your conscience what you believe is right? Belief is the bridge between the human and the divine. Working together, people can strengthen their belief. One could make the case that it is belief that holds civilisation together. Belief in the Justice system, belief in scientific explainations, belief in money... even belief in God. })

The The Hierophant/Pope - Conscience? thread was originally posted on 24 Jan 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.