The Hierophant

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This article is about the tarot card. For information on the title, see Hierophant. For the Will Haven album, see The Hierophant (album).
Rider–Waite tarot deck

The Hierophant (V), alternatively depicted as The Pope or The High Priest (as a counterpart to "

holy".[1]

Description and symbolism

In many modern packs, the Hierophant is represented with his right hand raised in blessing or benediction, with two fingers pointing skyward and two pointing down, thus forming a bridge between Heaven and Hell reminiscent of that formed by the body of The Hanged Man. The Hierophant is thus a true "pontiff", in that he is the builder of the bridge between deity and humanity. In his left hand he held a triple cross. His crown has three nails projecting from it, symbolizing the crucifixion of Jesus.[2] The Hierophant is typically male, even in decks that take a feminist view of the Tarot, such as the Motherpeace Tarot, The Hierophant was also known as "The Teacher of Wisdom".

In most iconographic depictions, the Hierophant is seen seated on a throne between two pillars symbolizing

tonsured priests.[2]
The card is also known as "The High Priest", as a counterpart to "The High Priestess" (which itself is also sometimes known as "The Papess", as counterpart to "The Pope").

History

The papacy was not just a religious force, but was a political and military force as well. When the tarot was invented, the Pope controlled a large portion of central Italy known as the Papal States. Renaissance culture did not question the abstract ideal of the Pope as God's human representative on Earth, but others involved in the religious Reformation of that Age would have disagreed. In Tarot of Marseilles, he wears a red cape and a blue robe, in contrast to The Papess, who wears a blue cape and red robe.

In occult circles, the more commonly encountered modern name "Hierophant"  is due to

Eleusinian mysteries (an ancient Greek ritual). However, historical evidence shows that tarot cards were invented in Northern Italy in the first half of the 15th century and not in ancient Egypt.[5]

Interpretation

The Hierophant stands for righteousness, sacredness, hierarchical order,[6] orthodoxy,[7] and moral righteousness. He is an exoteric figure, in contrast to the esoteric symbolism of The High Priestess.[2] Reversed, the Hierophant can be interpreted as standing for unorthodoxy, originality, and gullibility.[7]

According to

Venus.[9]

In media

The Persona series includes various characters represented by tarot cards. In Persona 5 The Hierophant card belongs to Sojiro Sakura, a secondary character.

References

  1. ^ "hierophant | Greek priest". Retrieved 2016-09-10.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4406-4975-2
    .
  3. ^ Dummett, Michael and Ronald Decker. History of the Occult Tarot. Duckworth, 2002.
  4. Sir Michael Dummett
    (2002). A Wicked Pack of Cards. London: Duckworth. p.44.
  5. ^ Decker, Depaulis and Dummett (2002), p.27.
  6. ^ Swain, Kelcey (2016-08-16), V. The Hierophant, retrieved 2023-10-07
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1-57863-408-8
    .
  8. OCLC 57549699.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)[permanent dead link
    ]
  9. ^ "A Taste of Tarot: Taurus & The Hierophant". Tarot.com. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  10. ^ Kwao, Komla (2022-07-15). "Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: What MHA Quirk Would Noriaki Kakyoin Have?". CBR. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  11. ^ Tran, Andrew (2015-11-20). "The Annotated Adventure Time: Customs and Riddles in "Stakes" Pt. V & VI". Overmental. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  12. ^ McWhertor, Michael (2018-03-05). "Ranking the fishmen of video games". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-10-07.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pope (Major Arcana).
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