LS Pagan Tarot - The Hierophant

I have not noticed till tonight. . . the Seeker is covering something with her hand while she watches the fire created by the burning of books.

Does anyone else think she is remembering what she has heard of the "burning times" and covering up her pentacle?

I was more thinking about Fahrenheit 451 while seeing this card.

Oh wow. . . yes, that too. I had not even thought of that till your post. (Guess that dates us, huh? )

This is why I like this place. More head are better than one!

This card is very interesting, and very confusing at the same time.

The man looking at the scene...the one above it all. I never know what to think of him. My first impression was that he could be the one who has ordered the massive books destruction. But, he seems to be the High Priest of the Seeker's cover (you can see him in the Justice)

The Hierophant's social power could be related to his power to make people burn other people in the past, and books nowadays. But if the guy is from the Seeker's coven...then you get a contradiction.


Argh, i hate to confused myself! Yet i manage to do that all the time!

Any other opinion?

Thanks

~Yuko

I think the Hierophant is watching what is going on. . . outnumbered and not in a position to prevent it. I have thought several times about what kind of books they must be burning, and since my take on the card is that the Seeker is covering her pentacle (seen around her neck in a few other cards), I have pretty much decided the burning books may be about witches and the craft. . . which would conform to traditional interpretations of this card - refusal to think "outside the box," conformity with "traditional" (read: the majority opinion) views of religion, group mentality as opposed to individual choice, etc.

Just my opinion.

And if we consider that it's the Hierophant who persuaded people to burn books then the card warns us against so called "Chinese whisper" (the Hierophant is ment to bring heaven truths down to earth, but when he is somewhat "corrupted", we get what see in this card).
I guess the card is also about manipulating the crowd, dominant wrecked ideology, even infusion, hypnosis.

At a building of church the group of people burns down books. We do not see, that it for books, but perfectly we understand, that it " books of shadows ", the literature on magic. We look, thinking to interfere or not, and here we see it, the Teacher, Emperor from the last card. It costs and easy looks at all this. It is absolutely quiet, it above all it. It understands, that knowledge to not destroy so simply, that the paper is burnt, and knowledge remain, being transferred by word of mouth. Books and records, it only частичка a material world, record of pupils, during study. After all this it becomes simple your life, and no books already simply are necessary. You in all this. You inside of Magic, and it, envelop you giving all new and new understanding, new sides it would seem simple things.
And these people to whom it seems, that they act correctly, burning books (and to it so can and it seems) столького tiot do not know and do not understand. But the Teacher is assured, what who that of them when нибудь realizes all this, and will come on the same track, a track of Magic which conducts to understanding of laws of the Nature, whether instead of we are it частичкой? And trying to destroy Magic thus, we only destroy ourselves, as частичку the nature, becoming grey crowd, weight, instead of the person.
It does not see us, and we do not see it. But the fact of burning of books is unpleasant to us, and we leave, precisely knowing, we shall make what choice further and what we by shall go. We shall not burn down гримуаров. But we also shall not interfere. We above it, and we know it.

My - personal - take on the card.
The Hierophant is the Church - as an institution and a building- set in stone. unmoving, unmovable and imposing:
Shouting: "I have been here for a thousand years - and so I am right!"
There is the rebellious act of book burning going on.
Is is the books of paganism?
Is it pagans burning bibles to protest the outdated doctrines of the church?
Is someone burning a stack of pornography?
We do not know and it may "come up" different in every reading and every time we meet this card.
There is no police, so the event is sanctioned by the authorities.
A man is taking a picture with his cell phone, to
??? document the event???
???put it on U-Tube and show his friends???
From the portico a young priest is observing the event.
He has a pensive body posture. He is not directly involved in the on-goings.
He is the one who tries to change the antiquated structure of the church from the inside out.
Our seeker went to witness the event but is taken aback by its violence,
by the cell phone guy and his sensationalism.
She turns away covering her pentagram protectively.
.... because there once was a similar time of burning...
and - in a session of past life regression she has been there, when she was a living witness and maybe even victim to that.....
See the Judgement card