Today’s Tarot: The Hierophant

I would be lying if I were to say my relationship with this card was an easy one. Since my earliest tarot teacher informed me this card represented “The Pope” or religious constructs, I ‘checked out’ from any interaction with this card, as I’m sure many people with a variety of problems with ‘The Church’ would do. So, for me, and other perennial outsiders, it can be a bit difficult to take a lesson from the Hierophant.

But really what this card is representing is mentorship and group membership — that we learn our values and beliefs initially from a guide or a mentor, before we begin forming our own based on the consequences of our choices. The Hierophant is emblematic of those models that we lock ourselves into because it’s ‘traditionally’ how it’s done. The Hierophant also represents times that we sublimate ourselves to a group — be that a church, a family, a political cause, or a peer group. It can represent when we resort to traditional methods vs. trying something new.

Notice — the Hierophant isn’t the only person shown in this card — in the foreground are two acolytes, also richly dressed. The Hierophant has knowledge he will share, but only to those who are members of his group.