Recently passed Aries Season marked the beginning of the Astrological New Year. Ruled by Pluto and Mars, Aries is the sign of new beginnings, the sunrise and the birth of new life. In 2020, we saw some major Towers burning down to the ground and a lot of Judgement showing up in the private and public sphere. 2020 was a brutal year. Thinking back to who you were in 2019 to who you are now can be a pretty mind-boggling endeavor. We are now in a time when evolution is essential.
Starting in 2021 and lasting through 2023, we are witnessing a new time. This is big stuff. This will be a time of multiple and new levels of transparency, nuanced and difficult. Ethics and integrity will be a staple focus during this powerful time of reckoning with the institutional systems that have been holding society in place.
2021 is a 5 year, corresponding to the 5th card of the Major Arcana: The Hierophant. The Hierophant is the card of Choice and reclaiming your power. The Hierophant helps us reclaim the power that we have given away, wisdom, emotional as well as physical unpaid labor. It is the card of Intuition, helping us to process and let go of limited beliefs you have been holding on to. These beliefs that have inevitably influenced our actions might be untrue. The Hierophant guides us to letting go of that which holds us in outdated thinking. Following the path of the Hierophant calls us to unlearn foundational prejudices, toxic behaviors and belief systems that took root in our formative years. The years 2021 through 2023 will be extreme years. Now is the time to latch onto strengthening our beliefs, undoing trauma and standing in our truth.
2020, a 4 year in Numerology, corresponded with The Emperor. In the Major Arcana line-up, we see The Tower, The Emperor and Judgement as a row. The Emperor guided us to our truth: that what we say is of value, that we have the right to take up space, that we matter. That Black Lives Matter. We got down to the murky depths last year, and are rising from the ashes. The Emperor year was about getting rid of things that needed getting rid of long before, but also about heart-breaking loss. More than ever before, we have all been asked to examine the privilege we were raised with as a natural given.
Before I started working with Tarot, I had never heard the word ‘hierophant’ in my life. So, let’s break down what this Hierophant stuff is about. A ‘Hierophant’ was the name for a high priest of the Greek Eleusinian mysteries. The Elusian Mysteries was a secret rite in ancient Greece in celebration of goddess of the harvest, Demeter. Participants had to swear a vow of secrecy to take part in the celebration. Those who took part in the rites did an excellent job of keeping their secrets as today we only know a few fragments of what this celebration entailed. We know that the rite culminated in the displaying of sacred objects. The word ‘hierophant’ comes from ‘hiera’ (holy) and ‘phainein’ (to show). Essentially, the title of ‘hierophant’ means a person who shows the sacred to us. The hierophants – or priests – led the Elusian Mysteries.
Hierophant exists on the same row of the Major Arcana as Lovers, then Chariot. These three demonstrate the possibilities of choosing ourselves, and calling back to ourselves that things that we have given away. Hierophant instructs us to not sit back and let fate dictate come what may. Hierophant guides us into presence. This is about choice: this is a time of different frequencies and Hierophant teaches us to engage. Lovers asks us to choose ourselves, to invest in strong relationships and holding space for our loved ones. Chariot incorporates both, integrating them into shedding the superfluous and trusting our authentic sources of self.
At face value, Hierophant is someone who is the keeper of mighty traditional wisdom and passes it on to initiates. The standard narrative for Hierophant is that they are a symbol of established religions, or someone who is a mentor to an initiate, often associating the knowledge with entrance into secret societies. Along this narrative, Hierophant is the face of a spiritual community. The Rider/Smith/Waite deck illustrates Hierophant seated at a throne with two acolytes on either side, making Hierophant the firs card in the Tarot with more than one person.
The thing that Hierophant isn’t about is following the lead of another person. It’s traditionally patriarchal to look at the card as the symbol of the “big teacher”. It really would be worth our while to get rid of that line of thinking when it comes to Hierophant. Instead, Hierophant is about passing on knowledge. We have knowledge to share, and we pass that along to one another in order to enrich ourselves. There is so much more stimulating, nuanced principles Hierophant is engaged with.
As mentioned earlier, Hierophant is the first card in the Tarot that contains more than one person. The Hierophant shares information with their followers. In this age of social media, many seem to be self-appointed hierophants. Hierophant shows that what we say matters. Our words carry meaning and gravitas. There are consequences to what we do, there are also consequences in what we say. To believe that about one and not the other is incongruent: people listen to what we say. We are responsible for what we say, and need to be aware of that. This isn’t about thought-policing, this is about accountability. The days of getting away by sliding through on privilege and being lifted up by oppressive systems are (too) slowly fading.
Hierophant asks us who looks up to you. Believe it or not: there is someone out there who looks up to you. It also asks us to take into consideration who it is we’re listening to. Hierophant asks us to investigate our sources: the external that we ingest daily, and your internal sources. This is a card about personal responsibility. Our actions matter. Our words matter. Hierophant is not about tepid excuses. Hierophant tells us we must be mindful of just giving our energy away to anyone. Embodying Hierophant is about acknowledging that some things we say are untrue, that they come from a toxic source rooted in oppression. This is a card about personal responsibility. Our actions matter. Our words matter. Hierophant is not about tepid excuses.
We are being invited to reclaiming our integrity and personal responsibility. All of this starts with unpacking our beliefs. What antiquated beliefs do you still hold to and regurgitate? That shit’s uncomfortable, and reckoning with it by thinking critically using common sense will prove beneficial. We start by considering if what we believe holds water. What things have you been told about yourself when you were young and vulnerable? What has society told you about yourself? Hold those questions up to a light and consider how limiting these perceived truths really are, along with their veracity.
Who we emulate and follow is powerful, and is a form of devotion. Whose guidance do you seek? At one time in your life someone said something to you about yourself that didn’t have your best interests in mind. How did you draw that into your self-esteem and adopt that falsehood as a general truth of your identity? Hierophant tells us that it’s time to take back that which has been chipped away. It’s time to look inside ourselves for our own inner council and follow our intuition. Finding those who gas us up, inspire and align with how we ultimately see that reflected back on ourselves. Hierophant asks us to take care of ourselves and to align what we ingest with our core values.
The mainstream explanation of the Hierophant in Tarot is that it signifies cultural conformity, giving up individuality in order to support the group, moral judgements and the passing down of knowledge. They are the archetype of the teacher of the Tarot. While this can indeed be the case, the patriarchal view is of a male of a certain class in a power of great authority. This patriarch, in fact the Rider Waite Smith deck depicts him as a pope figure. In the Aleister Crowley deck The Book of Thoth, painted by artist Frieda Harris, also depicts Hierophant as the high priest of what feels like a secret society, similar to that of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, of which both were members. In this traditional interpretation, Hierophant is a learned figure of esteem bequeathing his life’s work to his initiates. For them to do so, that means the need to conform to tradition and decidedly religious knowledge. This patriarchal, literalist reading of Hierophant is more than just an esteemed man hanging judgement over his acolytes.
Removing the overtly dogmatic elements of Hierophant, we find a secular archivist, historian or librarian passing along and preserving knowledge for the next generation. Hierophant investigates ancient fixed systems. When examining these, we are pushed to reflect systems that need to be toppled, and systems that can benefit the greater good. There can also be a reverence for tradition. In contemporary Western culture, we automatically rush to asserting that anything advocating conforming at any level as a personal infringement and a deeply fundamental level. This goes past the belief in true freedom straight to a cold disregard for the rights of others and the obligations that come from living as a person in a society in the world. Racial, gender, and sexual expression has been used time and again in the name of tradition. We automatically wince at the associations with the word ‘tradition’ brings about. This is because this word has been co-opted by fundamentalists and extremist to codify their twisted definitions of what traditional values are.
Absolute rigid forced conformity for the sake of suppressing human beings from expressing themselves and limiting anyone from living in their truth is, of course, horrific. Imagine, all these negative associations created by a word that deserves reexamination. ‘Tradition’ does not have to be equated with those toxic associations. Millions of traditions, paths, schools of thought help individuals find solace in a tumultuous reality. Ancient traditions and faiths, for example, have uncovered and passed on legacies of humanity and spiritual knowledge. Not all of this has to automatically equate with strict adherence to authority.
Hierophant is present in places of learning, 12 step groups, organized religions, clubs and sports teams. To receive the knowledge of what Hierophant has to share. This could require following orders and sitting with discomfort because of that. Deciding to commit to a spiritual practice, educational pursuits, martial arts all demand a certain level of conforming to a set of standards and discipline.
Like me, you might also balk at the idea of being a “joiner” in any sort of group activities. But it depends on what it is you wish to pursue. Sometimes it just takes pushing the ego aside if it means enriching your life for the better. If you’re serious about following a path that requires commitment, then conforming to its tradition truly allows you access the source, and provides enrichment. Making a commitment requires you to be proactive, and that in turn is usually rocky at some point. There will be discomfort involved. It might feel excruciating. The decision to tackle addiction, and attempting sobriety can be one of the most difficult things a person could go through. The road to sobriety frequently involves conforming to a set of standards, especially in weekly group meetings, for example. It might not be necessarily fun per se, but it could be life-saving too.
Regardless if you’re joining a group or not, 2020 is a good year to focus on foundational root work. This will require you to stand firmly in your truth, unapologetically. By doing so, we create a sense of structure and set roots. It’s time to let our inner teacher, our inner Hierophant seek wisdom to allow us to stand in our truth. This is a time to pursue setting solid foundations now that will hold us steady for what’s on the horizon. This is about getting to the center of our truth. It requires us to be mindful of what you need, what needs nourishment in your life. Check your sources, and think critically. Where does your source of wisdom lie? It’s okay to reach out to those who would reach out to you. We must remain mindful of those we look to, and those who look to us. We all have influences whether we think so or don’t.
We’re now in the Age of Aquarius, and we are seeing a shifting away from the rugged-individualism-at-the-expense-of-all. This time is about coming to terms with the fact that what we as humans do have consequences. How we show up for others matters. Our foundations are facing tectonic shifts throughout 2021, and a lot of the awakening, enduring and structural work we did in 2020 will continue to be necessary. But, we’re very different people than who we were a year ago at this time. It’s not our first time at the ronarodeo anymore. We must find how to get through this even though it’s going to sting. It’s important to keep in mind that when we are growing, we are living and the reality of that is that it’s uncomfortable. But this is how progress can also be possible. We are seeing a time of evolutionary growth, and that comes with hella growing pains. This all involves evolution, and in order to evolve it’s necessary to get uncomfortable.