March 31, 2012: The Hierophant, Haindl Tarot
The "hierophant", literally, means "the one who shows the sacred objects." Religious tradition, one of the major themes of the card, involves wisdom, but even more so, the sharing of veneration. And veneration is the recognition of the sacred. So today's card message is about teaching and learning sacred things, in a sacred manner, from a sacred person...
I also notice the card is made up of exclusively male figures, an old man, a man, and a youth. So it is in many religious organizations, where "clergy" are primarily, or exclusively, male. But this card has a deeper resonance than that...the Hierophant is the "father-as-teacher" and each and every one of us has one of those, whether we have a relationship with our earthly father or not. We all have male characteristics, whether we are men or women. And we all have a need for "fathering", whether we know it or not.
This card is about the "father-as-teacher", and you may be the recipient, or the giver, of such teaching today. Think, whether or not you actually have a father, of the things that to you make up a "good daddy". Think of the characteristics, whatever they are to you, that in a positive way make you think of someone as "manly". Think of what a good man might be, and think of what power there may be in the Male Mysteries, no matter how these intersect with you personally. And now--think what the "father of mystery" is trying to teach you today, or trying to help you teach someone else today. And go forth and do/be/become that thing.
