5 THE HIEROPHANT
Around you there are many influences at work, only some of which may be apparent from your present perspective.
Now is the time for you to make whatever compromises are necessary in order to be able to continue in your present direction. In ancient times, the Hierophant was the master of ceremonies and thus was the original forerunner of the Masonic tradition, the spiritual tradition through which the ancient mysteries were handed down despite years of religious intolerance and persecution.
The basic meaning of this card is that now is a point in your life when you are ready to say to the world, ‘Here I am’ and the reply of the world will be, ‘And here is the effect of all the causes, good, bad and indifferent, which you have made in the period leading up to now.’
The presence of this card is suggesting that your life has been a rather eccentric one – and probably always will be. But at this point you will increasingly see that even those who you have assumed to be very orthodox or conventional have actually led similar lives, beneath the surface level of immediately visible reality.
You are about to receive an initiation into the way in which the world works – remember, even in some of the trying experiences that lie ahead, that you are surrounded by friends and allies who, for reasons of their own, prefer to remain in the background ready to be of help if needed, rather than be so openly identified with your position.
The Hierophant was the ‘Chairman’ as it were of the Magical Order of the Golden Dawn, a semi-Masonic order set up around the end of the last century to enact symbolic journeys of its members through the doorways and pathways of the Tree of Life. The Hierophant would have to learn long speeches by heart which would then be recited in front of the new members; set-piece speeches in which he would go on about the significance of the cube, or Star of David, or the journey of the soul into the astral plane. He would pass on to the new member ‘keys’ of magical value – sometimes they would be angelic names, or things they could do to enhance their own magical powers in one way or another. Some of these spells would have to do with invisibility, or knowledge, or protection. So it was really a school that he was responsible for running. This school attracted many members of the intelligentsia, including a number of writers, historians and professors, as well as members of ‘high’ society, even as far up as the House of Lords. So, you can see that this card really has a lot to do with hierarchy, structure, traditions and so on. These days mystical knowledge is a lot more freely available than it was in the age when the church and its own form of orthodoxy had a much stronger grip over what got published and what was freely discussed in polite society. So, these days, the appeal of small esoteric societies has waned, as people are now able to get insight into their lives from a much wider range of spiritual practices than ever before.
Another aspect of the Hierophant is the relevance of initiation. In some societies around the world, the male members of the tribe have to go through some kind of initiation in which they are led out into the forest or desert for a certain period and left to face their own fears. The Hierophant is he who leads through the pathway of initiations such as these. They would always be regarded as symbolic turning-points for those concerned, and after being taken, there was no going back to the more juvenile states which preceded them. They always marked the divide between man and boy, woman and girl. In a sense, the ritual of marriage is an initiation in itself, in its original form, as it would originally mark the development of the married couple from childhood innocence to adulthood. In every religion, there are rituals to mark the symbolic passing of the soul through each of its major lifetime landmarks. The rite of a funeral is, in a sense, another example of this.
The Hierophant card touches upon all of these other areas as well.
6 THE LOVERS
This card has come up for you because it is talking about intensity in relationships that you are involved in with others. It is really saying that until now, your relationships have been pretty hit and miss as to whether they have worked out or not. Sometimes they have and sometimes they simply – and sadly – haven’t.
Now you must begin to experience them from a new viewpoint, to realize that they are not just based upon affinity, but also upon communication and reality. In other words, you must see that your relationships depend not just upon feeling, but also upon how much you have in common with the other person and how well you are able to communicate with them too.
This card is saying that in any relationship scenario, be it love or friendship, you must regard any upsets as a challenge to be overcome and not just as a barrier.
Here we are also looking at the principle of duality in relationships. It may be that your partner is complementing certain aspects of your own personality – or challenging them.
This card is saying that instead of reacting to whatever is going on in your love life, just relax and experience it instead. Life’s teachings come to each of us in many guises, sometimes in a very obvious form and sometimes in a less than obvious form. Here, the Tarot is saying, become aware of the fact that life’s teachings are coming to you through the kinds of relationships which are forming around you. Learn from them.
But we are also looking at the principle of love in its wider sense. Whatever we love, we do well. In the realm of Tarot training, I know if someone is going to do well in their studies if they actually have a love of the Tarot. When this principle is at work in our lives, it is we who experience the fruits through both giving and receiving. For whatever – or whoever – we love, no time is too much to spend. We do not count. And thus we begin to tap into the universal spirit of giving which mystics have called God, or deity, or infinity. For those that have tasted of its essence, there can be no higher teaching than this.
What – or who – do you most love? What is it about your object of affection that draws you towards it in this way? Does your life feel empty without someone or something special which you can be involved with? Or are you able to create something to be at the centre of your life?
7 THE CHARIOT
In this card we see someone holding the reins of power in their hands and, we must suppose, the principle of strong leadership is being shown. But if we look in a little more detail, we can see that the reins of power which this man holds onto so determinedly are in fact connected to the two horses which drive his chariot.
The fact is that although you may well feel empowered under this influence, remember that to a greater extent than you realize, your position depends upon the continued good will and co-operation of other people who are also involved in the situation with you.
At the base of the chariot are two sphinxes, one white and the other black. They are saying that you will achieve balance here in your life by maintaining a sense of forward motion, not by staying passive, waiting for something to happen.
At this point, great power is being given to you, possibly from a higher spiritual plane of being. You must use this extra energy by doing something with it – other people are waiting for you to take the initiative. You must now create a game plan and mobilize the human resources which are now available to you. If you don’t, rest assured that others will, and you will have missed an important chance. The Chariot is about the completion of projects, as well as their initiation. The wheels of the chariot invariably have to turn full circle if any sense of forward motion is to occur.
It is telling you to look around in your life and see what needs to be completed. You may be reminded of promises you have made which you have since forgotten about. When the Chariot card comes up in a spread it hints that now is an ideal period to fulfil commitments. It also touches upon the danger of