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The Hierophant Tarot Card Meanings
The Hierophant, in a nutshell, is about doing what is right, what is expected, and what would be the traditional definition of proper, upstanding, decent behavior.
Decent in this context does not mean a misplaced morality or prudishness. The Hierophant in some decks is called the Pope and this is because the card has a very strong connection to the church.
However, this connection is to the large scale, over-arching organization of religion, not a particular organization or denomination, and in fact it can be said to have a correlation with any large organization, including governments, hospitals, universities, and the like.
When you see the card in a reading, it will often indicate that a big organization or someone in it is going to be involved with your situation somehow.
The Hierophant Meanings Step-by-Step
Friends, Friendships, and Family
Pulling this card here can mean that you are soon going to be trying to grapple with trying to be fair with at least two sides of some sort of division of people.
Sometimes a side is just one person, of course. You are no doubt aware that it is not always possible to keep everyone happy in a situation. Ultimately, everyone involved has to do what they think is right. Bear in mind that you have to be fair to yourself, too.
If you end up resentful because you have put someone else’s needs higher than your own, but they have not done the same for you, it would have been better for you to have prioritized your needs in the first place.
Depending on the situation at hand, you may have to come to terms with the fact that big organizations are not set up to be able to understand what a given person or a given family actually needs.
Big organizations can and do change, but it takes a tremendous amount of work to bring that into being. If you are dealing with a huge, overwhelming mismatch between what you need and what someone else needs and compromise does not seem possible then you may need to call in a third party to adjudicate.
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Love and Relationships
The Hierophant is generally a positive card with regard to love and personal relationships, and it can sometimes point to marriage.
However, again one has to be thoughtful about the aspect of doing what is right; often, marrying because you think it is what is expected is not likely to turn out well for anyone concerned.
Having said that, of course, sometimes listening to one’s conscience can keep us from doing something that is not really in line with what we believe in or with what we think is important.
Conversely, don’t hold back completely from a long-term partner because you are concerned that if you tell the truth about the things you fantasize about, they won’t want to be with you anymore.
The chances of that happening are remote – and you may find out that they’ve been hoping for some time that you would share something of your deepest desires with them. As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured, nothing gained!”
Spiritual Growth
This is a time to reevaluate your thoughts with regard to spirituality. Perhaps you have never been involved in organized religion, or perhaps you swore off it when you were ten years old.
The appearance of this card in a spiritually oriented reading points to groups of people having something very positive to offer you.
This does not necessarily mean that it must be an organized or traditional religion with millions of members; a discussion group that most people would consider secular may be just the ticket. You will benefit from groups, even if you cannot or do not leave your home. Books like “A Course in Miracles” or “The Power of Now” are studied by groups the world over. Reach out.
Work and Career
The Hierophant here points towards having a good relationship with the larger group.
This does not mean that you must be a sheep or to support policies or plans that you know to be harmful, or in error, but there are ways and means as to how, when, and where to speak your mind.
Social scientists use the term organizational culture because all organizations, even a two-person office or a family, will eventually develop and maintain a culture. Be sure that you are at least moderately well adapted to the way things are done at the place where you work.
Money and Finances
This is not the time to take funky risks with your money, but that does not mean you can’t try new things. If you want to, say, make a foray into cryptocurrency, you can do that and do all right, of course.
But the Hierophant’s energy tells you that your best bet is if you’re going to invest into something even slightly unusual like that, you’ll fare better if you do so with the advice of the most mainstream, respected crypto “guru” you can learn from.
Obviously, with this kind of guidance, generally speaking, you should be somewhat conservative about how you spend, invest and save money. The energy here does not suggest risks or lending that you can’t afford to lose.
Message from Spirit
The message here has to do with honor. You are being called to honor not only your own wants and needs, but also those of other people.
At the same time, you will need to honor the needs and expectations of the larger community e.g. the family, the nation, the church. To honor does not mean to do exactly what they want. It means to understand what the expectations are and to understand your place within them.
The Hierophant Tarot Card Meanings by Tarot Time
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Image Attribution: “RWS Tarot 05 Hierophant” by Pamela Coleman Smith – a 1909 card scanned by Holly Voley (http://home.comcast.net/~vilex/) for the public domain, and retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/tarot (see note on that page regarding source of images). Via Wikipedia.
