Welcome to this meditation with the Hierophant tarot card.
This one used to be called the Pope,
And it usually shows an intimidating looking religious figure sitting on a throne.
If you've pulled this card,
You may want to have it in front of you during this meditation,
Taking it in with your eyes open,
Or you could be imagining and feeling with your eyes closed.
Feel free to shift between open and closed eyes,
Depending on what feels most right to you.
Before we get too much into the meanings of this card,
Just take a moment to sit with the image.
Gaze at it if you have a card there,
Or you might think of this card in your mind's eye,
Whatever version you last saw.
Take a moment to notice which details pop out at you.
What's your first thought about what this card means to you,
If there is one,
Especially in relationship to a question you're asking?
What is the mood of this card for you?
Do you like this card?
Do you like this character?
Do you relate to this hierophant sitting on his throne?
Does he remind you of anyone?
Or do you feel a bit distanced from this card like you don't quite get it?
What do you feel in your body as you were looking at this card?
Whatever this may be for you,
Just take a moment with it.
Your feelings about the card reveal more about its meaning than anything I'm about to tell you.
The magic of tarot is that it pulls forward the knowledge you already have,
But maybe didn't know that you already have.
We'll pull these things together in a moment,
But just for now,
Trust your conscious and unconscious mind to give you some information about what this card is trying to tell you today.
Now take all that information from your own mind and body,
And we'll talk about the meanings of this card a bit.
So the hierophant is a religious authority.
He can either be the intercessor,
The one that can help you access spirituality,
Or he can act like a gatekeeper,
The one who judges whether or not you're worthy to enter into the mysteries.
The high priestess card has a similar energy,
But it's a more feminine version of that energy.
She's more interested in whether or not you want to look beyond the veil to see the mysteries she holds there.
With the hierophant there,
We are dealing with an element of authority,
Which is a masculine quality.
There's more of this feeling that he's in charge of whether or not you get to go to this place.
So the question I always sit with around this card is,
Who stands between you and God?
So let's consider spirituality for a moment.
What comes up for you right now when you think about God,
Goddess,
Spirit,
Or whatever faith or organization helps you understand the world?
Is it a comfortable,
Safe relationship for you?
Do you feel in some way unworthy,
Or has there been a break or betrayal in your faith?
Would you like to feel closer to your spirituality?
Do you feel you need someone to guide you there,
Or do you trust yourself to go on your own?
How does tradition work for you,
Or not,
In this life?
Do you feel constrained or supported by your traditions?
Do you wish you had more of them,
Or fewer?
Do your traditions allow you to be more or less of yourself?
If this card does remind you of someone,
Does that person feel more like a guide or a gatekeeper?
If this card represents an aspect of yourself,
What is that part doing for you?
Is it acting as guide,
Or gatekeeper,
Or maybe something else?
And what if you didn't need the Hierophant to access God?
What if it could be a direct line anytime you want it?
Feel free to write down any reflections that are coming to you as you settle with the meanings of this card for you today.
Remember to trust your own reactions more than any meaning someone else has written down.
Thank you for listening,
And good luck working with the archetype of the Hierophant.
