The Hierophant Card in the Rider Waite Smith deck of Tarot Cards is rich in colour and symbolism.
They are important because they can add extra depth and meaning to your readings.
Colours of the Hierophant Card
The Hierophant card is mostly red indicating power and authority. The front of the gown is white, which adds a more spiritual, counselling, advisory type of role to the card.
The pillars are grey and made of stone. Traditionally grey is a colour of wisdom, although in the Hierophant Card, the wisdom is only obtained by following the teachings of the guru figure.
Symbols of the Hierophant Card
The Two pillars indicate balance and looking at both sides of something.
Unlike the High Priestess card which has a thin veil between the conscious and the unconscious, there is no veil in the Hierophant and so the unconscious remains closed off.
The figure almost seems to be blocking the way to the information on the other side of the pillars. That seems to only be accessible to a few and the promised enlightenment only comes by following a path of learning, education and knowledge.
The gold crown is a triple papal crown. Gold points towards purity, perfection and highest attainment of inner and outer states.
The toothed prongs at the top represent the rays of the sun's light and are designed to connect the highest spiritual teachings to the people on the earth.
The Sceptre is the triple-tiered papal cross. The crown and the sceptre represent the 3 tiers of humans which are earth and body, mind, spirit and consciousness.
The Hierophant raises his right hand in what is known esoterically as the Blessing, with two fingers pointing skyward and two pointing down, thus forming a bridge between heaven and earth.
The Crossed keys are both gold. In some decks one is silver and one is gold, which represents the inner and outer knowledge.
As both keys are gold, this indicates that the inner aspects may be hidden from those who follow the outer path of doctrine. The crossed keys are the access to the hidden, inner - or secret- knowledge.
The Roses and Lilies on the clothes of the figures symbolise the two paths to learning and understanding, These are the path of the heart, love, compassion and emotions, as represented by the roses or the path of the intellect and logic as symbolised by the lilies.
The Rose can also be a symbol of pain and suffering because of its thorns. The symbol of the Rose is the symbol of the sun, which is drawn as a circle with a dot in the middle. If you look closely you can just about see that on the right hand side of the throne.
The Lily is a symbol of purity, innocence. The shape of lily could be seen as phallic and as such represent a masculine symbol. For Christians the Lily can be a symbol of repentance. In alchemy it is a symbol of purity and chastity.
The symbol of the Lily is the Moon. If you look very closely, you can see the symbol for the Moon on top of the Sun on the left hand side of the throne.
The sign of the Moon on top of the sign is the astrological symbol of Taurus.
No detail, however small, is in this card by accident. Everything is relevant.
This is especially important if your eye suddenly falls on a detail in the card that you maybe have not noticed before or jumps out at you. That detail may have an important message for you.
Amanda Goldston
Tarot Author and Coach
© 2009 Amanda Goldston
Amanda Goldston is the author of Develop Your Intuition Through Tarot Book, a speaker and Tarot Coach. She has been reading Tarot cards for over 16 years and has helped 1000s of people to make the best choices for themselves.
She now teaches others to read the cards for themselves for fun, profit and personal growth. For details of Tarot books and courses from Amanda Goldston, please visit her website at:
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