Ethyrial Tarot Copyright © 2005-7 Gigi Miner
Used with Permission
As I get older, I find that life offers me the chance to see things through new eyes. When I was young, I was easily influenced by others. While there were many reasons for this, it still remained a fact that I took my cues from others for my own perceptions as well as my self view. This is common in youth. While young, we have yet to establish our own points of view, let alone understand who and what we are on the inside. Hopefully, as we get older, we begin to understand ourselves. We learn that we can have an opinion aside from our peers or elders. In fact, even the most contrary of personality may have a deep-seated desire to be accepted and, thusly, alters their life to fit in.
The Hierophant from the Ethyrial Tarot © shows a set of masks that occupy the corners of the card. They appear to be the same. In the middle is a mask that seems to be trying to fit in with the others, but its colors show through in spite of its desire to blend into the group. A collar sits appropriately, where the neck would be situated. Although difficult to see, there is a chain that leads off to the side. Not only does its almost transparent nature depict the hidden chains we often carry, but it also shows that there are times in our lives when we give away our power to others.
Now let us look at the bars. Notice that they are only in the front. There is no sign of any bars in the background. Our imprisonments can very often be of our own creating. The limits that we impose upon ourselves are not truly confining apart from what we do to ourselves. When we are young, we look for our self-image in the eyes of others. We try to fit into a group in order to feel as if we belong. In the process, we may give away our personal power. Generally, the Hierophant may talk about tradition and the counsel of a wise advisor. I have never been comfortable with the Hierophant. To me, he is not the wisdom embodied in the Hermit card. To me, he is about controlling people to his own will. My experiences have provided me with a somewhat shaded view of this card. This card will often come up in readings for me when the client is heavily influenced by their religious upbringing. While personal beliefs are not the issue that I see with this card, the lack of personal exploration of one’s beliefs is. When we accept the teachings or thoughts of another without deciding if they fit with us, then we have given away some of our power.
Note the middle mask. It cannot look like the others, no matter how much it tries. In spite of the images that seem to be filling its head, it cannot totally conform to the others, thus it is still an outcast from the group. Getting older and hopefully more mature, there is the gift that may come where we stop worrying about what other people have to say about us or our beliefs. Shakespeare wrote, “to thine own self be true”. In order to be true to yourself, you first have to know what you think and what you believe. The only way to truly find out that is to separate yourself from the group long enough to establish your own ideas. With our modern world, it is not uncommon for us to be bombarded with images, words, ideas, songs, anything that will place tidbits of information into our brains. Hopefully, we find the time and space to sort through all of this input and keep only that which is of use to us. If we fail to sort out the chafe, inevitably we will be left with things that do nothing but clutter our spirits.
One of my ventures is that I teach adult education. I help people learn more about computers, among other things, something which today’s youth have grown up with, but with which many adults have little if any experience. Part of the lesson is to do some housekeeping. This not only includes defragmenting the machine, but also cleaning out useless files that only serve to bog it down. The mind has been referred to as a biological computer. If we allow anything in without editing, we willhave a fine mess on our hands. There is an old saying in technology, “garbage in, garbage out”. If we do not sort through all of the information that comes to us, we may end up bogged down ourselves. As young people, we are built to take in lots of information. That is how we learn. Somewhere along the line, however, we need to start to sort through it all and decide what is our truth and what is not.
The Hierophant allows us the chance to sift through the myriad of ideas in our lives. We can accept everything that we have been told, or we can examine it in our own light. Just because we have never thought to question something in the past does not mean that we cannot do so now. Why do you believe what you believe? Is it something that you simply accept or is it something that you have taken apart, examined, and found it fitting in with your spirit?
Regardless of why you believe something, it is important that we understand how easily we can give away our power by not examining things personally. Once you have looked over things, and then if it still fits, all the better as it will become one of those strong foundations in your life. If, however, you merely accept something because someone else says it is so, you deny yourself the joy of discovery as well as the knowledge that this is indeed something that you need and want.
Humanity formed groups in order to survive. Conformity assured survival and safety. As humanity has evolved from simply the survival mode, let us hope that it is possible to continue to evolve to a place of spiritual growth as well. No longer do we need someone to interpret secret information for us. Now we have access to the resources to explore these things ourselves. Knowledge is power. Consider how much power you can hold in your hands. Instead of submitting to another who will tell you what to think and feel, you can find out for yourself what is your own personal truth.
When the Hierophant shows up in your life, consider your truths. Are they yours or did you inherit them from someone else?
The Fallen - An erotic Aesop's Fable - Some tales are older than time; so are some people. Available now at:
Lulu Content
Miners Books
Ladyfogg
