V The Hierophant

This card has its energies related to the sign of Taurus

When the Pope appears in a reading, the answers refer to the search for wise advice. This card can also represent a Taurus person related to the question, in your life or who is about to appear to interact.

Taurus is a fixed sign very familiar with fixed routine and structure, things that bring security, a primary feeling for the sign. The Pope embodies all this and invites us to return to our roots and traditions. It suggests that you seek knowledge or advice about the situation at hand (an expert, professional or a wise friend, for example).

The card does not indicate that you should make important decisions on your own. Research, study, and counseling, in addition to being more traditional ways of doing things, can be the way forward to resolve the situation at hand. The card also represents a status improvement, but advice and assistance from structured people or institutions are important for this to happen.

Finally, it can also mean the search for a higher power, a greater force that comes within you and that ultimately favors a new chance of spiritual elevation.

A little more about the card The Hierophant...

The Pope is Tarot card number 5, also known as The Hierophant, and can be considered a counterpart to the High Priestess. This Major Arcanum points out the importance of study and knowledge in relation to some questions. In the order of archetypes, while the Magician only points the way forward, the Pope is our guide, the one who takes us by the hand and leads us to our spiritual goal. He represents a path to higher consciousness.

In the card, we see a man wearing religious attire in an environment that resembles a church. His robes represent the triune principle or the three realms - material, spiritual and mental. In his left hand, he holds a three-lined scepter, yet another symbol of his dominion over the three realms. Below him, the crossed keys represent the balance between the conscious and the unconscious, which unlock the secrets and mysteries.

Two initiates kneel before him. The Pope’s task is to bring them to his doctrine, teaching them to channel their faith. He raises his right hand to give his blessing, the same hand the Magician raises to perform his magic. However, while the Magician collects the energy of the Universe and channels it to the material plane, the Pope captures his power through the material world, from the faith generated by the people of the world.

It is one of the so-called pillar cards of the Tarot and when it appears in a reading, it is usually to remember that information and knowledge are the keys to the situation in question. In addition to the Pope, The High Priestess and Justice are also pillar cards, both representing knowledge or information.