Journey of “The Hierophant”- Major Arcana VI

The Hierophant also goes by the name ‘the High Priest’ in some of the decks. He is the masculine counterpart to the High Priestess. The Hierophant is often depicted as a religious figure who sits on a stone platform with large columns on each side which symbolize support and structure. The symbolic reference of the holy trinity is signified by the white robes that he has put on which also indicate his conviction and purity. His crown and his staff represent the significance of three universes. Just like the Magician, the Hierophant has his hand raised towards the sky but he does this to channel the energy through society for the collective good. He wears two crossed keys which represent the harmony between the polarities of life.

The Hierophant is a card that stands for traditions and customs. It is a card representing divine places, religion, customary foundations and anything that supports a conventional approach. The card alerts us when we might be giving our capacity, our power away to another person or an organization. It is a card that wakes us up to that truth that we are aimlessly following something just because every other person is doing so as well. It proposes that you are not assuming liability for your life, but instead surrendering freedom to another.

The Hierophant archetype assists you in the following areas

• To receive spiritual guidance in any area of your life
• To receive a sense of support from the community
• To strengthen faith
• To be a role model for others to follow
• Emotional mastery
• Pursuing higher knowledge
• Increasing understanding in different areas
• To receive help in studying and learning
• If you are seeking a deeper meaning of life
• To understand the importance of rituals and ceremonies
• Developing discipline
• Utilizing an orthodox method to accomplish something
• Adjusting to a new system
• Staying committed towards a cause
• Becoming a better team player
• Developing loyalty

Signs that you are lacking the archetypical energy of The Hierophant

• Corruption
• If you often find yourself breaking rules
• Defying guidelines
• Dismissing standard ways and convention out of prejudice
• Insubordination
• Flighty relationships
• Feeling hypocritical, upright and pompous
• Becoming overly judgemental
• Diminished sense of security
• Feeling lost
• Absence of help from family
• Money related inconvenience
• Powerlessness to change
• Extreme uncertainty
• Feeling confined by structure
• Lack of adaptability
• Defying the norms
• Struggle with a parent or authority.

The Hierophant: Wisdom through introspection

Self-inquiry is the process through which you understand who you truly are. We might have an understanding of the truth but its more important to experience it. Experiential truth has the power to change lives. The truth cannot be distorted when you experience it rather than just understand it.

Listed below are some of the ways through which you can tap into this ability to introspect:

Meditation:
Meditation is a process by which you put to rest the conscious mind and sit in a place of relaxed awareness which is a surprisingly different brainwave state from our ordinary waking state. Meditation is one of the simplest and easiest ways to introspect. It can easily be accommodated into a busy life and can be done practically anywhere without the need for any equipment. You don’t have to sit cross-legged and chant OM to meditate. Any activity that quiets the mind and redirects it to a singular focus is meditation.

Meditation teaches the mind to receive. You go beyond your ability to analyze and find stillness. And in that stillness, there is the opportunity to listen and to receive. In meditation, the mind is in a state of clarity and centeredness. Self-reflection needs the mind to be still which can only be achieved by the process of one pointed awareness of the inner world. We are able to experience our fundamental states of love, compassion, and harmony, where we beyond the constructs of our own mind. Unlike the outside experiences, these states are not momentary. They continue having an everlasting presence in our lives.

Dream Work:
Dreams have always been a topic of great mystery. The receiving of ideas and information during dream time has intrigued science to look deeper into the phenomenon of dreams rather than merely concluding it as the unconscious mind’s attempt to sort information. Dream has been an integral part of many ancient cultures. To them, it marked the soul’s ability to travel to different planes opening them up to greater sources of information and guidance.

Dream work is based on the premise that every individual has an inner world of fantasy which plays out during dreams as a form of inner dialogue, between the sub-conscious and the conscious mind. The elements or the symbology of the dream varies in meaning from person to person. Dream work is the process by which one introspects on the elements of the dreams to journey inward and developing a greater rapport with the different aspects of one’s personality. The elements of a dream are an important representation of what the person is going through in his/her life.

Creativity:
Creativity is often considered to be a gift of grace. It allows us to be connected to a part of us that is connected to the creator. Creativity in any of its form brings the non-physical world of thoughts and ideas to the physical world of manifestation through us. It helps us to explore our intrinsic emotions. Everything physical was once part of the mental realm and in the process of creation, it moves from one world to the other. As we create, we notice the difference between the creator and the created.

Creativity also allows us to access different brainwave states. There have been so many instances where the mere act of creating something has led to better emotional states and in some cases overall healing and life shifting perspectives as well. There is something magical about the process of creating. These are moments of absolute self- alignment. There is also the childlike joy in such processes.

Divination:
Divination is the different method that we use to gain insight into a particular problem or situation by means of connecting to a source of higher information. History is filled with examples of people who used different forms of divination through the use of signs, symbols, rituals and channeling information from higher realms.

All divinations are forms of communication. Divination merely creates a medium that allows the unconscious to communicate with the conscious. Sometimes it even bridges us to higher forms of consciousness allowing us to download information of a higher frequency. Divination creates a perspective shift and places us at a vantage point that allows us to receive more information.

Prayer:
In very simple words prayer is conversing with God. It is the expression of our association with God. We rely upon God for everything, even life itself. Prayer communicates this reliance as we approach God for what we require. It allows us to focus our intent on the divine and taps into the power of our emotions to unleash our untapped potential. Through prayer we allow the grace of the divine to flow through us and into us.

There are a lot of people who are into blind faith, but genuine faith has the power to put us in touch with a force so mighty that it can only be experienced and not expressed in words. Prayer certainly guides us through turbulent times and gives us the strength and courage to overcome the adversities of life. It transcends logic and allows us to do things that otherwise would not have been possible for us.

All of us have different ways to connect to source and we need to honor this connection in whatever way we choose and not get influenced by the methods described by orthodox organizations. Our connection to source is personal and it must not get biased by the practices of other people. Do what connects you to source and at the same time allow others to practice their method of connecting. Do not condemn or reject someone else’s practice. Just follow what works for you.

Signs and symbol:
Whenever we ask the question, the universe always answers. Now, we may not receive the answer on a piece of paper or as a verbal dialogue because the universe communicates through signs and symbols. It creates synchronicities to let us know that it is there to guide us and help us if we allow it to.

The realization kicks in when you feel like you are being spoken to via mundane life events which do not seem to have any significance to other people but it brings to you the answer that you were looking for because your frequency was open to receive the answer to the questions that you have asked.

It feels like a scene from a movie where everything fades away and in that moment of time it is just you and the answer that you were seeking revealing itself to you through these signs in a space that lasts almost an eternity.

So, when you ask, make sure you are receptive and aware to receive.

Life events:
Surprisingly all of us here on planet earth has a unique life story. There were so many born before us and so many that are to come after us and yet all our lives are completely different in terms of the stories we live out. Even if two people are born in similar environments their lives still turn out to be different from one another. Our life story reflects the lessons that we have come here to learn. It reflects to us the gifts that we have come here to share. Our life story reflects the patterns and themes that we have been living out. It reveals the energy components of the energy spectrums that we have been living in. One of the most important thing is that it helps us identify the areas of growth and challenges in our life and also map out our soul’s purpose here on earth.

However, there is one important thing that you have to understand. We are not our life story. So many people get caught up in the idea of being a victim or a persecutor. Our life stories are simply the journey that we have taken. It does not describe who we are but what we have been through. We are in our truest sense eternal and that can never change.

Article by Darshan.S

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Darshan is a Reiki healer & teacher, Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist and a Professional Dowser. He owns a Metaphysical Store called “Crystal Alchemy” through which he helps spread awareness about Crystals and other Healing Modalities. You can reach Darshan at www.facebook.com/Crystal.Alchemy.Store, www.facebook.com/TheHealingOcean.