Reclaiming The Hierophant

Deck: Tarot Vintage

With all of his associations with ordered religion, patriarchal systems and the pressure to conform, The Hierophant is a notoriously unpopular archetype in the tarot community. Believe me, I get it - especially in today’s sociopolitical climate.

But no card is all bad, the same as no card is all good. In fact, The Hierophant is far more neutral than you might think.

Yes, he represents all of those things, but he represents so much more.

When viewed more positively, we see him as a mentor or a teacher, a representation of community and tradition. But these are just buzzwords. And when you line them up alongside the others - religion, patriarchy, conformity, teacher, community, tradition - even the positive ones look a little less so. In today’s world, these words can lead us to see him as a symbol of someone who might abuse a position of power, or who forces us to live by rules that aren’t in alignment with who we are, or who gatekeeps wisdom, spiritual connection and truth.

I know - things aren’t looking good for our buddy, The Hierophant. But bear with me, because we’re just getting to the good stuff…

A ‘hierophant’, by definition, is “one who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles”. As you can see, while a priest does indeed fit the definition of a ‘hierophant’, there are other things that can meet that criteria. Essentially, this card is about someone who devotes their life to understanding something bigger than themselves, and then uses that wisdom to impact a community of people in a meaningful way, teaching, guiding and sharing with all they can.

There are many, many ways this can appear positively in our lives.

He can look like the wise guide, with a lot of knowledge to share with us, who we can consult and learn from. His traditions are such because they have been formed with purpose, wisdom and a reverence for what he believes in. This isn’t a case of the authoritarian, “You’ll do it this way, because this is the way it’s always been done.” Rather, “Based on my experience (and perhaps many who have come before), this is the way you’re going to want to do it.”

He can also represent the community we find, and choose, because it gives us a sense of belonging and found family. We often perceive The Hierophant to represent conformity - forcing square pegs into round holes. But if we find a community that we believe in and that makes us feel seen, this isn’t conformity, it’s integration. Human beings are inherently social creatures. There’s a reason why The Hierophant is so early in the major arcana - community is a fundamental and foundational part of our existence. We crave to belong. We seek to understand our identity, and deeply desire to have that recognised by the world around us. As you can see, if we dismiss The Hierophant as a powerful, stuffy and rigid old man forcing us to conform to old ways, we erase a vitally important part of our existence from the tarot deck.

This brings me to an important set of questions that The Hierophant asks us. Where do you feel like you most belong? Who is your tribe? And if you don’t think you’ve found them yet, what are you looking for? How might you find it? Or more importantly… How might you create it?

The thing is, when we perceive The Hierophant as a negative symbol, we view him as something external to us. And by doing so, we give away our power to the very structures and systems that put us off the card in the first place.

Make no mistake, The Hierophant wields a lot of power - he has the wisdom of, and access to, something bigger. He wields something that is fundamentally useful and helpful to us, and as you can see from what we’ve already explored, he can use that power in benevolent or corrupt ways. But what if you could embody The Hierophant? I mean, don’t you have wisdom to share?

When we put The Hierophant on a pedestal, the notion of being The Hierophant becomes too intimidating. But the thing is, we all have something to offer. We all have capacity to be of service in some way, to our community, our tribe. If you haven’t found your place in the world yet, what if you can be the leader that brings all of the ‘yous’ together? If you’ve learned something in your lifetime, what if you could teach it to someone else? If you believe in something, why not help others to believe in it too? If you have a gift, why not share it?

Because The Hierophant’s community can be large or small. Embodying The Hierophant doesn’t mean you need to lead a congregation, or create a movement (although you absolutely could). All you need to do is take ownership of your natural gifts and utilise them to make a difference, even if it only affects one person.

And so, this brings me to the second set of questions that The Hierophant asks of us. What wisdom or knowledge have you been gifted during your lifetime? How has that helped you, and how might it help others? How can you take one step today to share what you know with even one person? And remember, what seems basic to you, may be life-changing to someone else.

The problem is, when we see The Hierophant as an oppressive and authoritarian symbol, we give the power of this card to those places. What if we reclaimed that power? What if, instead of avoiding The Hierophant, we embraced him? What if we chose to use his power for good? What if we each embodied The Hierophant, in our own way? That would be a hell of a lot more people using that power for good… and if we truly want the world to be a better place, perhaps this is how we do it.

In our own tribes. Our own little worlds.

One small act of service at a time.

Much love

N x

If this helped you understand The Hierophant a little better, but you’d like to explore it further, join me to take a personalised 1-1 deep dive into The Hierophant by booking The Wand, a one-hour 1-1 mentoring session where we explore one card in-depth. Perhaps he’s your stalker card, appearing in your readings again and again, but you have no idea what he’s trying to tell you. Or maybe you just don’t get him in the same way you do other cards. Do you look at The Hierophant and just see his bad side? Or maybe it’s another card entirely. Let’s unpack it together - I’d love to work with you!

And did you know one of my on-going mentoring packages is called The Hierophant? Reserve your spot before Thursday 25th September 2025 and I’ll give you a whopping 50% off your first month! To claim, just mention this offer during our free set-up call.