This is an initiator, the deepest voice that whispers divine guidance in the form of our intuitive inner monologue. Our everyday minds tend to be too busy to hear this intuitive guidance. There are parts of us that are greater than the conscious mind’s rambling–this quiet voice is one of benevolence and self development. It is the voice that guides and changes reality through the deeper understanding of the better part of humankind’s nature.
The Hierophant is the power we appeal to in moments of crisis. We beg these parts of our nature when we finally feel that we cannot cope anymore. Sometimes the message the Hierophant brings can be hard to hear (like in processes of grieving), but usually it sinks in after a while and makes more sense.
Taurus rules this card, and it’s not known for its speedy action as reality is very slow to move. It can take time for us to catch up with the advanced divine advice offered by this card, but eventually it will be part of our nature, affecting every action taken.
The chaos that is in our life — the complete environment, including culture, past, clothes, haircut, smell, skin colour, friends, family, etc.–will govern the way we understand the Hierophant’s communication. It’s all about hearing what the higher mind thinks about our current place in the universe, and what we could do next.
When looked at as a component of the human psyche, the Hierophant transmits the sum of the situation through whatever window of communication you use. You may just wish to reach a stillness of mind so that you can receive some help, or you may want to understand someone’s troubles. This all comes under the common aspiration to cause change, and the Hierophant is there ready to give advice based on your total experiences so far in life.
The Hierophant is your own mind, and is an aspect that is fairly deep in the Tree of Life. Meditation and stilling of your emotional world can get you receptive to this guiding influence.
(A quick note here: Emotions are like water. Emotions can be a raging sea if troubled, or disturbed if mentality blows random thoughts around in your mind that get over analysed. Keeping yourself emotionally clear will enable many positive things to start becoming established.)
This is the higher brain function at work formulating a coping mechanism that will enable you to stay sane through times of incredible pressure and insurmountable problems. This deeper conscious mind should be accepted and studied for what it is, then you can try to manipulate experiences to find positive outcomes. Imagine the effect in your own life if someone had shown you clearness, clarity, power, love, compassion, and control — all those qualities that would make the sum of your experiences add up to something very special. You could spend ten years developing this behaviour, and refining your environment as best as you can (being easy on yourself, and not putting yourself under too much pressure); this is going to add up to an incredible amount of material for the deeper mechanics in your mind.
You have to live the dream to get it established. Walk the talk.
The Hierophant is deep in the mind, but is also a very solid part of our life. It gives us the option of sustaining this humanistic connection, and creating an altruistic vision within ourselves. A small word of warning! The main reason you will be creating this altruistic vision of harmony is that it does not exist outside of you! All of the environment that you occupy does not sustain it, feed it, support it, or even acknowledge it. The difference with what you are doing with the Tarot is that you are determined to iron out flaws in yourself and then in reality.
That’s why the process starts slowly. You give a little, and you get a little back internally. Be aware that people will see this void and fill it — sometimes with junk, with commercial products, hate, love, anything and everything. The Hierophant is then the most important aspect we work with — the more junk we clear out of ourselves, the more it can guide us to better ground within our own minds, and bring about a solid sense of self.
Note: As you expand your world with random acts of selflessness, you will find that more connections with the world begin to activate, and more options become open to you. Others have also walked this path and may try to take advantage of that.
Advanced notes:
The Hebrew letter ‘Vau’ (meaning nail in most references) has many possible correspondences. We could view this as an idea being fixed in consciousness from a divine source. Again the spheres give a twist to the nature of path; on one hand we have the diversity of humanity (Chokmah, the Zodiac, all the people surrounding us), and on the other is expansion (Chesed, Jupiter), which shows the higher altruistic nature that is being allowed to voice itself internally. This could be seen as expansion once the Hierophant is being activated in the psyche.
Jupiter is the king of the gods and on a planetary scale this is true also. Jupiter can suck in planet-killing asteroids with its huge gravity. It’s our protector (catches most of them thankfully!), and can be seen in the same way on the Tree of Life as being a protector who is able to influence the outcome of various situations through changing subtle notions within the self, if one is open to them. This aspect would offer words of wisdom for those able to accept them.