The Hierophant
The Hierophant card challenges traditional views and dogmatism, representing authority, knowledge, learning, and enlightenment. Although it can signify conservatism and conformity, it also embodies positive attributes like wisdom, moral guidance, and intellectual growth. The card can indicate a journey of self-improvement and the influence of a wise figure or educator.
Keywords
Struggling with the Card
This is a card I struggled with quite a bit because I don’t really like what it stands for. The interpretations of the Hierophant that I’ve read relate to dogmatism, tradition, morality—a lot of things that I struggle to find a personal point of reference with. A short while after finishing the art for this card, I pulled the Hierophant as a signifier for myself in an end of the year reading. It was my first year immersing myself fully in the creation of the deck and diving deep into the lore and learning of the tarot. Sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees—that was how I saw the Hierophant then, and how he retroactively became more accessible to me.
Religious and Artistic Representation
There is definitely a religious aspect to my representation that harkens to Christianity, but I did my best to strip the art of direct references and symbols that definitively point to any one religion. The robes are simple, the palm frond stands for peace and progress, the tome is unidentifiable. My focus with this card was on knowledge and learning. The Hierophant is made wise by the experience of his years. His stole bears the traditional symbolic keys that unlock the path to knowledge, and in his hand he holds a book. A light shines upon him and his disciples.
Authority and Wisdom
The Hierophant is still representative of social and academic authority, and thus can be conservative, dogmatic and conformist. He can be interpreted as an educator, a religious figure, or a moral authority constraining the querent. But he can also be a positive influence, a seeker of enlightenment and a wise figure willing and ready to help and to teach, or he can indicate a journey of learning, self-improvement, and intellectual and moral advancement. My accent color choices were meant to support that bright, positive aspect of the card.
Fyodor Pavlov tarot
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