Buckland Romani - Hierophant

well i love this card (where normally i look at the hierophant and think 'boring'!!!!).

he is an alchemist. he is NOT conservative. the people look to him for answers and are in awe of his talents and skills.

what does the anvil traditionally represent?

The Anvil!
Forging. Creating. Transformation through work. Swords into Ploughshares. I like this depiction of the Hierophant too. The smith was essential to the life of the community. He shod the horses, created cauldrons for cooking, mended broken axles, so vardos could move, made and repaired weapons. The smith's capacity for defense also cannot be underrated. Not only did he forge weapons, because of the nature of his work, he was a powerfully strong individual. When a smith took up one of the weapons he had made, chances are good that he would be an indomitable warrior as well.

I like that in this card the Hierophant doesn't just sit on his throne and preach, he gets down to work and gets his hands dirty. The only real knowledge comes from experience? You can learn things from watching others, but the lessons best learned and remembered are the ones you have to do yourself.

I like the way he and the horse mirror eachother in this card. They are both involved in the work of the process with a very relaxed and natural approach. The horse seems at ease, trusting in the work being done, and the smith is able bodied, fully engaged in the work of the moment. And very strong. To me he seems to be looking at the viewer and connecting silently....asking the question, are you interested in this work being done? Would you like to know more?

I have a friend who has the Hierophant as his soul card and out of all the decks he has seen this one is his favpurite and with good reason. I think that this card has helped explain the role of the Hierophant more than any other deck. The blacksmith was an essential part of life to the gypsies without him they could not move as well as forging all manner of metal works aside from horseshoes as already mentioned he often doubled as the horse doctor. It's such a relaxed card as opposed to the usual man preaching which automatically makes me want to not listen.

Hi Emeraldgirl,

I agree, it invites you in and makes you privy to the process. Brings it down to earth for you.

I imagine he would have a lot of stories to tell. Within those stories people would learn all sorts of lessons, but never feel as though they were being "taught".

In my clan - Manoush- the blacksmith (Petulengro)is seen as an assisant of the shaman =Shuvihano. He has power over Kaulo Jaag = black Fire! He transforms one thing into another using black Fire. He, as here in the pic takes care of a Graili = horse, our most revered animals.
The horseshoes he creates are are used as protection fron evil and often are nailed over the entrance door of a home or stable. They are used in spells, magic, and for charms...
Horseshoe nails have similar use.
The Man we see here in the card is the active counterpart to the Shuvain/ Shuvihanah we see as the Magician card. He made her knife! Her wielding Power!

Mi-Shell thank you so much for that excellent information!