← “Röhrig Cards” deck

The Hierophant

“Röhrig Cards” deck · card #5

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"Wisdom lies only in wisdom."
Goethe

Just as the Emperor continues the work of the Empress, the Priest completes the work begun by the High Priestess. The High Priestess keeps her wisdom to herself. Now, the fifth card, the sage, is ready to help and guide the people who seek him. The wisdom that has grown through personal effort has raised him into the cosmic sphere, and now he stands in direct contact with reality.

He tested his skill as the Magician, developed new abilities as the High Priestess, established a bond with nature as the Empress, passed through matter as the Emperor — now he perfects his spirit as the Priest.

In many typical Tarot decks, the Priest is shown seated between two columns. Two figures kneel before him. The figure on the right, bowed, in a contracted posture, symbolizes the dogmatic path to religion. This type of person still lives according to the exoteric aspect of religion, and is grounded in dogma. The mission of established churches ought to lead such people toward independence, rather than making them dependent or allowing them to languish in their dependency. But if churches truly fulfilled this task, they would have to give up a portion of their power.

The kneeling figure on the left, upright yet still in a posture of reverence, symbolizes the independent path to religion. This figure embodies people who consciously seek their own path to God, people who know that liberation given by any external source will bring little benefit. They must free themselves, which is far more difficult, because it demands a love for oneself that must be developed from within, by themselves alone. How else could we love our neighbors as ourselves?

The number five corresponds to the fourfold unity fertilized by the One, who is born of the cosmic dimension. Five is transcended matter, guided by spirit. In the Tarot of the Aquarian Age this is remarkably depicted in the figure of a wise old man. Only the lower part of his face is clearly visible. His forehead, the sphere of thought, is invisible, yet evidently filled with cosmic energy.

The Priest signifies a spiritual master, an initiate, a seeker or a source of counsel, initiation and transformation. People who have reached this level of understanding are no longer helpless before the power of their carnal instincts. Many people come to them for advice, which they give from a position of benevolent authority and good will.

The symbol of Taurus, the bull, is found on the right side of the card. This bull embodies masculine energy and sexuality. It is ruled by Venus, who embodies femininity. This means that the masculine and feminine sources are united, and polarity has been transcended. A parallel can be drawn between this card and the second card (the High Priestess), which draws its meaning and power from polarity. This polarity has been dissolved in the fifth card, the Priest, who unites both energies — masculine and feminine — within himself. Only in this way can he consciously establish contact with another dimension.

The Hebrew letter VAV means a hook, a connecting line, something that joins two separate things together. Man has become a synthesis of man and woman, a hermaphrodite, joined from above. The striving of the lower toward the higher, as well as the receiving of the lower from the higher, strengthens this connection.

The rune RAIDHO means riding (on horseback), a wheel or a cart — transport on the path of cosmic energy. But we are still at the beginning of the path. Neither our horse nor our cart can remain motionless. The Priest still has many obstacles to overcome on the way to the final goal.

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