Tarot Diary | the Hierophant
The Hierophant, Pagan Otherworlds Tarot
Tarot Diary is a weekly conversation with the Tarot about my creative journey. Perhaps some of what I share will be of service. As always, take what resonates and leave the rest.
A solo pilgrimage to find my own creative heartbeat.
The Hierophant is a teacher - a spiritual guide - someone who acts as a bridge between you and the Divine. But the Hierophant is also about stepping into your personal power - rejecting the idea that we need someone else to act as the gateway. While turning to others to guide us as we connect with our ancestors, Spirit, or our guides can be helpful, it’s easy to become stuck. We can begin to lean so heavily on the systems and beliefs of others that we forget to listen to our own intuition and allow it to guide us to our truth.
I think we often have this idea that someone who holds the title “teacher” must have everything figured out - when the opposite is often the case. Teachers and spiritual leaders are human, just like us. They’re fallible, just like we are. They have egos and bodies, and when it comes to their practice, they all started somewhere. They may be further down the spiritual and/or creative path - but they’re on the journey, just the same.
Sometimes, we need teachers to guide us in a certain direction, to open the gate for us and give us that bit of permission we’ve not been brave enough to give ourselves. Especially when we’re feeling nervous to start out - that bit of encouragement can be just what we need to begin. Or, maybe a teacher has a particular skillset that we’d like to learn. But it’s important not to give our power away - and to recognize when it’s time to release those relationships and teacher/student dynamics.
This morning, the Hierophant says, “it’s time to trust your own wisdom.”
How can I become the bridge? What does it mean to step into the role of Hierophant in my creative practice? For many months now, I’ve been feeling a need to turn away from teachers and rules about how things “should” be done. One part of this process has been to release other people’s methods and practices and create my own. I’ve also been tuning out the external voices that shout into the abyss of social media platforms, and making space on this website world for my own creative voice to come forward.
What if, instead of looking to someone else to lead me down a path they created, I carve out a path through the woods myself? What does that look like? What does it feel like? And what’s stopping me from gathering up my notebooks, my wool, and my needles, tucking some snacks into my backpack, and heading out into the forest on my own?
I mentioned in this post that I’ve been deep in death card energy - it’s been a continual shedding. I’m ready to follow my inner compass and forge new paths for myself that align with the magic and medicine that want to come through me. As I walk this path, I’m constantly working to overcome fear of being seen in my truth. My fear of being vulnerable - of trying new things and stumbling - has held me back from exploring the new ideas that are coming through. This is something that I’m ready to release. Sharing here is a part of that process.
The Hierophant says, “Don’t give your power away - you hold the key to your own path. You don’t need someone else to give you permission.”
The one message from the Hierophant that I am feeling uncomfortable with is: Teach yourself so that you can teach others. I feel discomfort around the idea of sharing from a place of authority - which my inner critic is telling me is ego-driven. But I also know that my ego/mind likes to keep me stuck in what feels “comfortable” and safe - and I want to really consider where that story is coming from. Why do I view the idea of teaching as ego-driven when it applies to me - but as an act of generosity when it applies to others? What gifts might I share with others - and in what ways does that feel scary or unsafe? How can I reframe this story and begin to move from a place of authenticity?
Some questions I’ll be contemplating this week:
Where do I unintentionally give my power away to teachers and other authority figures?
How can I begin to forge my own path through the woods?
In what ways does my discomfort with the word “teacher” result in me hiding my gifts?
How can I permission myself to take up the role of teacher & guide in a way that feels authentic?
Five: Contraction, conflict, uncertainty, changing tide, loss, self-tending, testing, seeking autonomy and personal power.
Hierophant: Spiritual leader; teacher; guide; Intuitive guidance; the key to connection with Spirit; the gateway or the bridge.