Difference between revisions of "The Hierophant"

In many modern decks, the Hierophant is represented with his right hand raised in blessing or benediction, with two fingers pointing skyward and two pointing down, thus forming a bridge between Heaven and Earth reminiscent of that formed by the body of [[The Hanged Man]]. The Hierophant is thus a true "pontiff," in that he is the builder of the bridge between deity and humanity. In his left hand he held a triple cross.

The papacy was not just a religious force, but was a political and military force as well. When the tarot was invented, the Pope controlled a large portion of central Italy known as the Papal States. Renaissance culture did not question the abstract ideal of the Pope as God's human representative on Earth, but others involved in the religious Reformation of that Age would have disagreed. In the [[Tarot of Marseilles]], he wears a red cape and a blue robe, in contrast to ''The Papess'', who wears a blue cape and blue robe.

In occult circles the more commonly encountered modern name "Hierophant" is due to [[Antoine Court de Gébelin]] and was an attempt to dechristianise the standard French tarot pack, the Tarot de Marseilles, out of a mistaken belief of a pre-Christian origin. According to de Gebelin, "hierophant" was the title of the chief priest in the Eleusinian mysteries (an ancient Greek ritual).