Tarot Pull: The Hierophant
This week’s tarot pull isn’t really all that random, but it is one of my favorite cards (now), and it’s pretty much the one on my mind all the time as I’m busily editing.
In July 2021, I finished writing my fourth full-length novel, appropriately titled THE HIEROPHANT. It is a manuscript near and dear to my heart and constantly plays in the back of my mind…which is probably why editing it is currently a terrifying experience. More relevant to this article, no other manuscript I’ve written (thus far) has been so heavily influenced by the art of tarot. Without delving too deeply into the plot line (you’ll get plenty of that along the way here), THE HIEROPHANT incorporates several archetypal figures from the major arcana most commonly found in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck system. The most pivotal archetype to the plot? You guessed it—The Hierophant.
Some common keywords for the card in its upright position are “spiritual wisdom, religious beliefs, conformity, tradition, institutions.”
Common keywords for The Hierophant in the reverse position are “personal beliefs, freedom, challenging the status quo.” (See Biddy Tarot’s excellent breakdown here)
Keywords and classic interpretation of tarot cards are great and all— in fact, pivotal when you’re first starting out— but I’ll paraphrase my favorite earth-bound sage, Dana Newkirk, here: once you’ve learned the classic interpretation, you have to go back and “unlearn” what you know. That’s intuitive reading, and for me, that’s really where the creative process lives. That was never more true for me than with The Hierophant card.
PICTURED RIGHT: Ethereal Visions Deck
I’ll be honest— I hated this card for the longest time. Even more than The Emperor card, The Hierophant always represented male dominance to me. It was a card of restriction and imposition. When I pulled it, I always sensed some external force was putting the kibosh on my carefully laid plans. Imagine my surprise when I wrote this novel and saw this archetype reflected back at me, and not solely in a negative sense.
Glancing through the various versions of The Hierophant card featured in this post, you’ll see this archetype quite literally holds the keys to wisdom…or at least believes he does. This can be a good thing. If you look at The Hierophant card from The Rackham deck, it’s downright whimsical. It can also be an oppressive, detrimental thing. Certainly, that’s how it’s represented in the Tarot Del Toro deck (though most of that deck’s cards have a bit of a heavy connotation for obvious reasons). However, I even catch the negative vibes associated with this card when using The Star Spinner and Ethereal Visions decks. In all of these instances, it’s some guy claiming to possess holy knowledge they are gatekeeping. Not a fan.
PICTURED ABOVE (left to right): Tarot Del Toro; Rackham Tarot; Star Spinner Tarot
It was The Hierophant card in the Wild Unknown deck (pictured left) that tripped my switch when it came to interpreting this card, and that meaning is what is ultimately reflected in my novel. The raven here is still holding the key; it still possesses knowledge that is perhaps unknown to most. However, the raven is calling into the darkness. It is screaming into a storm as lightning flashes overhead. It could function as a harbinger of doom (ravens often are depicted as such in folklore), but it could also be bringing you the key to unlock yourself. It may be crying out to you in the midst of your own storm. The raven could be doing all of the above.
With the Wild Unknown deck, I could see both a light and shadow side to the archetype— a figure which is just as much stifling as it is concerned. The implications of that could still work for either good or bad (or somewhere in between), but it is far more nuanced than some bearded bro waving his finger in your face and shaming you back into your figurative seat. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that The Wild Unknown deck became the only deck I worked with when looking for creative inspiration and direction with this manuscript (more on that to come in future articles).
PICTURED ABOVE: Madam Clara’s 5-Cent Tarot; The Wonderland Tarot
Ultimately, it’s up to you to determine how you read a card. Yes; there are guardrails, but for creative purposes, it’s entirely okay to veer off course and take it in a different direction. It’s okay to sift through multiple decks until you find one that clicks with the general vibe of what you’re creating or that represents you as a creator. You just might find that the art in a particular deck sparks the vision for something you wouldn’t otherwise uncover on your own. That’s the beautiful thing about tarot— let your mind wander to wherever the imagery takes you, and trust where you find yourself.
I never would have imagined The Hierophant card would ultimately unlock a tale about self-forgiveness, acceptance and agency, but here we are.
Tarot decks from left to right: The Wonderland Tarot; Star Spinner Tarot; The Wild Unknown Tarot; Tarot Del Toro; Front row: Madam Clara’s 5-Cent Tarot; Ethereal Visions Tarot; Rackham Tarot
Thanks for reading! If you have thoughts or questions, feel free to contact me here or on Twitter.
Until next time, stay creatively and perpetually weird!
- Allison
