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V - the Hierophant
Zodiac: Taurus (ruled by Venus - III. the Empress) Tree of life: From Chokmah to Chesed Element: Earth (Cold and Dry - Melancholy or Black Bile) Number: 5 as quintessence, the power that exceeds the four elements The Hierophant is a symbol for a world of belief and confession, may it be a church, a sect or an occult society. He's the pope, the druid or the High Priest in a system of creeds and dogmas. He represents the religious and intellectual tradition of a person, and may be the one the person is born to it or possibly the one who has chosen it by himself. In the positive aspect, the Hierophant represents the search for knowledge and illumination, the desire to study creed and dogma instead of simply accepting them, to research and achieve further development. It also stands for the deep fulfillment someone can find when really trusting their own beliefs. In a negative view, the Hierophant can stand for bigotry, the blind faith in dogma, intolerance towards everything different from the own confession. It can also mean gullibility, running to any kind of new belief just because the traditional one is suddenly considered boring or unsatisfying. Drive: Search for hidden truths, trust in inner instincts Light: Wisdom and knowledge as an experience independent from dogmatism and science Shadow: Intolerance, esoteric nonsense ( source: www.corax.com/tarot/cards )
Divine wisdom. Inspiration. Stubborn strength. Toil. Intolerance. Endurance. Persistence. Teaching help from superiors. Organization. Peace. Goodness of heart. The reference in this card is to Taurus the Bull and its Indian equivalent, The Elephant. The pentagram with its dancing male child symbolizes the New Aeon of the child Horus, which takes the place of the Old Aeon that has governed us for 2,000 years. The Hierophant moves only at intervals of 2,000 years. The four masks are the guardians of every mystery, culminating in the Grand Mystery of the uniting of microcosm and macrocosm. The woman before the hierophant represents Venus, now armed and militant. The Wand with its interlaced rings shows the three Aeons of Isis, Osiris and Horus. Taurus. Vau. The Hierophant is seated on his governing sign Taurus, the elephants are the Indian form of the same. The pentagram with a point upwards and the dancing child shows that he has the heart of a child; in the reversed pentagram the meaning seems to suggest he has dominion through will; the final pentagram again points upwards, showing his acceptance of a governing cosmic law. The four masks are the Cherubim, man, eagle, lion and bull. His votary the woman, stands with her sword pointing downwards signifying, perhaps, that women in the future will draw fresh wisdom by the use of her subconscious. ( source: Aleister Crowley's Thoth tarot deck booklet )
Uncle Al's extended commentaries on the Major Arcana Coming Soon! --- ( source: Aleister Crowley's Book of Thoth )
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