high priest

quan_yin

HP and legal disputes

I recently stumbled upon HP as representing a lawsuit. I would like to know -- has anyone else had this association?

In my reading, the other side was represented by King of Wands. Outcome was Justice card, with 10 Pent (R) as a secondary outcome. I took this to mean that the outcome would be positive and just. I was correct.

Strange, because I read for a stranger whom I had no idea was in any legal issue whatsoever. I cannot explain why HP in the throw felt like a legal dispute. I have never had this courtroom sense before on this card. It's new to me.
 

Esmeralda

At first I;m like.... the high priest? WHAT?????

lol

Im stupid
 

XLCR

"This card can also represent a teacher, a man of authority in religion or academia in general. He wants to give his wisdom to the world and lead others to higher development. "

I get the High Priest all the time when doing a relationship reading for myself and someone I am interested in. I usually appear as the High Priestess and he as the High Priest.
He is a professor and has a very bright clear golden aura (indicative of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom). So the quote above fits. I do feel that this person is here to "teach" me as literally a spiritual teacher so for me this is the description of the high priest. Have to say also that for me it is about "feeling" the cards. In my Sacred Circle tarot deck the High Priest appears to be tall. so when I did a reading concerning myself and someone who was 6'5 I saw the High priest as representing someone tall in stature. Did an internet reading for a woman once and got the queen of disc, in my deck she is seated on a throne, as I looked at the card I felt something wrong with her legs as though she could not rise from the throne - turned out that the woman was confined to a wheel chair - so I think it all comes down to what your intuition tells you the card means.
 

quan_yin

by HP I mean HIEROPHANT, not High Priestess, sorry

Hope that was clear before.
 

GreaterSecrets

When I look at the Rider deck version of this card I see a man dressed regally in the vestments of the Pope sitting on his throne between two pillars. His right hand is lifted, with two fingers raised to form a sign of the benediction. To the left and right here are two acolytes (a.k.a. initiates) before him preparing to take up their appointed roles.

This looks like a formal church setting to me. Between them at the feet of the Pope are two crossed keys at the bottom of the card. What do the keys unlock? The gates of heaven and hell?

So to me there is a rather uneasy relationship with religious tradition. Especially the pope-like hierarchy, or the structured system that requires adherence.

But mainly I see in the symbols the need to conform to rules via a common belief.
Three words come to mind when I look at this card:
1. belief
2. conforming
3. identification

I have a sense of identification with structured groups (the group identity) with rules, procedures, and ritual. Remember in addition to the churches, there are schools, clubs, teams, companies, bowling leagues, internet forums <g>. For me the card can stand for any institution, their values and the roles assigned to membership.

Therefore in my readings, having the Hierophant/Pope/High Priest appear in a reading may have some provoking implications. He points the way to the possibility of a struggle with this institution or group that does not regard your innovative, free-spirited or individual effort. These groups can be elevating or oppressive, depending on circumstances and position of the card along with the surrounding indicators. Sometimes we need to follow the program (i.e. embrace tradition). At other times we need to trust ourselves and break with convention.

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Gilabno: Greater Secrets


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A short side note:
As someone has already mentioned the Hierophant was the High Priest at the Temple in Eleusis, near Athens. A celebration held annually in honor of Demeter and Persephone called the Eleusinian Mysteries was presided over by the Hierophant. These rites were the most sacred and revered of all the ritual celebrations of ancient Greece. As Christianity began to spread, the Mysteries were condemned by the early Church fathers and eventually subsumed by the church rituals. There are a lot of good resources about this on the internet just search on Eleusinian Mysteries.
 

coyoteblack

In the druid craft Tarot he is called the high priest I think it is more fitting . This card to me stands for the books learning institiations as well as the learned wo/man who " bridge" us to the other side in the unseen world of spirtuality
 

psychicangel

the high preist

i have been reading tarot for 18 years now and i still have problems interpreting this card, i my eyes i see it as a teacher, either in tarot or spiritual teachings. or even a building which one has to enter to learn as in a college or school maybe !
does anyone agree on this?
would be interesting to know!
 

Goldenhair

The Hierophant or High Priest is my soul and personality card, so I've done a lot of thinking about him. Here are my thoughts:

The H. can be two aspects of a person, the person themselves and the position they hold. The Pope is a position in the RC Church that has been filled by numerous men, some considered good, some bad. This also holds true of presidents, dictators, kings, queens and first ladies, many people filling a designated role in a variety of ways. When this card shows up in a reading for myself, I look to see if it is referring to my role [Weight Watchers Leader, etc.] or me personally, usually by referring to the surrounding cards.
 

zach bender

I am certain that my understanding of (5) hierophant will continue to evolve over time. In my earlier readings, it often came up in connection with adherence to established norms, and it still carries some of this flavor for me, though of course my relationship with "the deck" -- which for me is largely personified by (2) high priestess -- has grown, and so the deck is increasingly willing to use (5) hierophant for more subtle meanings.

zb