The Hierophant
a.k.a. The Magus of the Eternal
Card Number: five
Rulership: Taurus
Hebrew Letter: Vau
Translation: Nail
This card is the path between Chokmah (wisdom) and Chesed (mercy). It can be seen as divine wisdom received, interpreted, and maintained. In this respect, the directed energies developed in the Supernal Triangle come to be regulated and formed into what we can think of as "tradition." In a way, we can see in the Hierophant both divine inspiration and guidance, but also, human limitation and greed.
The number five: consciousness; the hand, pentagram, humans; Mars; Geburah. Moons of Uranus. # of Chinese elements (earth, fire, water, wood, metal)--earth is the fifth element, yellow and central. The number of meditation. Sin, error, but also progress and knowledge. Without 'five' there is no human evolution or purpose. Courage. Achievement.
Taurus: The fixed earth sign of the zodiac. Venusian impulse, the Eros. In Egypt, Apis the Bull was an avatar of Osiris. Stubbornness, love of the Arts and hedonism. One of the tetramorphs, Taurus incorporates the lesson of velle, "to will."
Vau: Signifies the eye of the human and becomes the symbol of light; it also represents the ear and becomes the symbol of the sound of the air; the wind. In this respect, vau appears to be associated with waves, and wave-like phenomena. In its quality as a consonant, it is the emblem of water and represents the taste and the appetite. As a grammatical sign it is considered to be the image of mystery most profound and most incomprehensible--the symbol of the knot that unties, and of the point which separates being and non-being (perhaps the seam of the mobius strip--there is no seam!).
Numerically: Vau + Vau, which is 6 + 6 = 12 or 3. We will see twelve in the Hanged Man, and we have seen three in the Empress.
In readings:
Dignified: good counsel, advice, and teaching. A seeker after knowledge and wisdom. A preference for the orthodox and a need to conform--to be socially acceptable. Strict adherence to religion, sometimes. Marriage (sometimes).
Reversed: Slander, propaganda, and bad advice. Misrepresentation in the advertisement or sale of goods. Unconventionality. Distortion of truth.
Mythological Links: Bacchus. Christ in Olympus. Parsival as King-Priest. Apis. Hera, goddess of marriage. Hymen, god of marriage. Dionysius. All gods of redemption.
Metaphysical Musings: In many respects, the Hierophant is symbolic of the status-quo, and the maintainer of tradition. In him is the separation of good from evil, the sacred from the mundane, and the distinction that gets drawn between any other dichotomy (similar to how the Pythagorean table of opposites-in all its arbitrariness-comes to be accepted as the way things actually are; i.e., good = male = odd, as distinct from, bad = female = even). In his possession are the keys to Heaven and Hell, but he does not let on (or perhaps is taken in by his own dogma) that there is only one key to two doors; further, that both doors open into the same space.
A difficulty I have with this Pope is the orthodox-conformity that he represents is in opposition to free-spirited anarchy: after all, the idea behind the role of a hierophant stems from an established socio-religious ordering (which of course is a human construction). In him appears to be the death of spontaneity and the birth of redundancy. In addition, it is hard to accept this archetype as a blessing due to human foibles which tend to pervert tradition over time &/or maintain it at too high a cost to genuine human interests. However, the divine inspiration that drives the Pope is wondrous, and it is hard to deny this.
In some ways, he represents the need of humans to have consistent, comfortable, and predictable patterns--some sort of standard by which we can measure our experiences. It is this need for regularity that spins out fantastic yarns concerning our duties and obligations to divinities which are located in some sort of external reality. Some would call this last "bad religion" while others would call it an opportunity for forgiveness, salvation, and other such treats that come from the separation of the divine from the mundane--a distinction that obscures the star within every human being while at the same time giving us fuel by which we may shine brighter. The generator of, and solution to, paradox. |
