Challenging The Hierophant: Gatekeeper or Guardian?

Preface: This article is one of several in our “Challenging” series. The purpose of these articles is to flip the script on cards that we usually view as difficult, providing a fresh and more positive perspective. If this type of exploration is of interest to you, then feel free to check out the other cards we’ve tackled: The Devil, Judgement, 5 of Pentacles, 4 of Cups, 8 of Swords

There are certain cards that repel us more than others - maybe because we don’t like their message in relation to the question we’ve asked, or because we don’t quite grasp the concepts they represent, or they just seem too “out there” - not at all relatable to everyday life.

The other day we opened up a poll asking others what card challenged them most, giving 4 options to choose from, as follows: Judgement, The Hierophant, The Tower, and The Hanged Man. I can’t say I was surprised that The Hierophant rose above the rest, even if it wasn’t by any huge margin. But what specifically about The Hierophant put it in top place? Why do we find this particular archetype so difficult, and what can be done to reconcile this?

For starters, let’s recap what folks had to say about this key, keeping in mind that whether it's a collective understanding or a personal one, we have arrived at these impressions by some natural pathway and that cannot be dismissed. Below are a summary of themes that came forward:

• The depiction of The Hierophant as a religious figure, representative of a specific value system

• The idea of dogmatism, judgment, condemnation, and harsh beliefs

• Authority, patriarchy, and as a result, the idea of having to bow down to or obey either of these things

• It feels out of touch and unrelatable, especially in day-to-day life

It’s honestly a bit difficult to deny any of this, given the visual representation of The Hierophant and what may be implied by those tones. As well, at a time when old, outworn power structures are coming to light and beginning to crumble, it's no surprise that many of us struggle with a card like the Hierophant — after all, when we are learning tarot, this card is often presented as a symbol of those exact forces.

In addition, we're told we have to live and act a certain way to ensure our place within the social hierarchy, and if we choose to follow our own path, rather than the one that has been laid for us, we risk losing our security. As we live and grow, we absorb and internalize all these voices until they become an aspect of us that keeps us in line even when the authority is out of sight. This could be expressed as the superego - an inner judge that punishes us with feelings of shame and guilt. And if The Hierophant shadow is really doing its job, then it turns us also into overzealous authority figures - projecting our own ideas of “right” and “wrong” onto others as a way to keep them in line as well, even if we’re not aware of it.

So is that what The Hierophant ultimately has to offer us? A wagging finger and rigid demeanor? Perhaps - through a certain lens - we could start and stop there. But, is it possible The Hierophant has more to say? Is there something else underneath their religious veneer that can speak to us? Something less dogmatic, less demanding, less condemning, and something less obvious?

To begin to expand out conception of this archetype, let’s first explore what others have written on the matter. These quotes come from a series of tarot practitioners who had a hand in shaping what is now our modern understanding of the cards.

“[The Hierophant] is the ruling power of external religion as The High Priestess is the prevailing genius of the esoteric, withdrawn power. The proper meanings of this card have suffered woeful admixture from nearly all hands. Grand Orient says truly that The Hierophant is the power of the keys.” - A.E. Waite (The Pictorial Key to the Tarot)

“The master of the sacred mysteries wears the triple crown of a Pope, the lower design of trefoils representing the lower material world, the middle one representing the formative world, and the top tier representing the creative world. The symbol of three is repeated in his staff, revealing the realms of spirit, soul and body. The letter W at the very top is the Hebrew letter Vav, meaning nail, means of union, link. Here it is used to suggest the linking of man to God through the inner voice.” - Eden Gray (A Complete Guide to The Tarot)

“The Hindu word for union is Yoga. This card symbolizes interior hearing, or the development of intuition by certain practices of Yoga.  This that we call interior hearing is the real inner teaching, coming from your own Inner Self, your true Teacher. That self is represented by The Hierophant.” Builders of the Adytum, as founded by Paul Foster Case (Highlights of Tarot)

“Five is the hand of the philosopher. It is made up of the four elements plus spirit, which - like the coordination between the human thumb and the fingers - cooperates with the four elements, but is not with them for it works by opposition. Five is called The Christ, and in the Tarot it is the hierophant or priest, because it is the spirit of man rising from the tomb of matter.” - Manly P. Hall (The Sacred Magic of the Qabbalah)

So what if The Hierophant, while depicted as a gatekeeper to external wisdom, actually represented our own internal guardian of this nature? Above we are presented with phrases such as “interior hearing”, “inner voice”, “union”, “true teacher”, “power of the keys”, and these all allude to more positive attributes and angles belonging to this card.

The Hierophant paired with verse 14 of The Tao Te Ching taken earlier this year as we were working through that exercise.

When one pulls The Hierophant in a reading, what might that suggest then? Using some of the ideas from the quotes above, let’s consider the following suggestions.

• If we’re strictly divining, The Hierophant could be an indication that a wedding or other traditional ceremony is on the horizon.

• If we’re pulled in the direction of some of the shadow points explored previously, perhaps systems of belief are up for evaluation. Maybe matters of authority are pertinent and need to be addressed.

• The Hierophant, if we’re playing with the “teacher” theme, could suggest that you’d benefit from a mentor or further study. Or, maybe you’re being called to teach and lead in a particular area of expertise yourself!

• There are many aspects of The Hierophant which point to “union” (the crossed keys, the kneeling priests, the Hebrew letter association, the pillars, etc). In this case, The Hierophant in a reading could point to our connection to our own source of divinity - whether they be internal or external in nature.

• Tradition and religion are clearly evident, but what about in the context of spirituality and ritual? Perhaps The Hierophant isn’t just suggesting we get to church, but rather pay reverence to our own altar and customs.

As you can see, there are many ways to approach this figure, and the above is only just scratching the surface. Even still, we’re left with some lingering concerns around the challenges it tends to illicit. Of course, it’s no wonder it does, given the harm so many institutions have caused - whether they be religious, financial, political, or otherwise. Not to mention the smaller scale, more personal examples we all experience i.e. parental figures, bosses, or certain spiritual “know-it-alls” who get more from seeing their influence in motion than improving the wellbeing of those they claim to support. All of this can leave us confused and with a bad taste where “knowledge-keepers” are concerned...and rightly so.

Of course, a system or institution, or tradition isn’t inherently harmful. In fact, one can be supportive, affirming, enhancing, and beautiful! Things take a turn when instead of lifting us up, they strip us of our agency and use coercion (especially subtly) to persuade us in handing over all authority; to second-guess what we know to be of truth to us. We think that’s an important distinction because, among other things, The Hierophant sits between two pillars and therefore alludes to the importance of balance and the danger of extremes. 

So could it be then that the idea of a Hierophant, combined with difficult experiences, has in some way suppressed our natural ability to tap into what is intrinsically within? Could it be that the shadow aspects of religion, society, and spirituality diminish our inner knowing - making us downplay this wise inner council? Making us question who actually knows what’s best for us? 

If we’re dealing strictly with the esoteric aspect of this card, and particularly in matters of personal development, then maybe The Hierophant has something else to offer altogether. Something contrary to what the shadowy examples above encourage. Perhaps its gift to us then is rather underwhelming and therefore easy to miss, a sort of nothing in particular - a silence - just space. Space to go within, to explore our own truth, connect with that inner teacher, reaffirm our value system, and find the courage to lean on our own source of wisdom in the face of it all.

The Hierophant is a gatekeeper, but those keys are laid in plain sight. We suspect while so much attention is given to the forces that appear to hold all the power, we are missing out on a valuable lesson. If The Hierophant is us, then the answer is and has always been contained within. To be greeted by The Hierophant in its exalted form may very well be a reminder of this fact - that we are the ones that have kept ourselves out, and we are the ones that can let ourselves back in.

Julia & Tim