1. Tarot
2. Card meanings
3. The Hierophant

Major Arcana · V

The Hierophant

• alliance
• mercy and goodness
• inspiration

Upright meaning

Tradition, teaching and shared values. Waite speaks of alliance, mercy and goodness: the wisdom of a community, a mentor or an established path.

Reversed meaning

Reversed, Waite reads society, good understanding and concord, alongside over-kindness. A prompt to notice where agreeing keeps the peace, and where it costs you.

• society
• good understanding
• concord

Symbolism

A figure in a triple crown sits between two pillars, raising a hand in blessing over two kneeling followers.

Group

Major Arcana

Element, astrology

Not given by Waite, so we give none

Source

Our own plain-English summary of A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1911), Part II §2 (symbolism); Part III §3 (divinatory meanings). The keywords are Waite’s own words. Waite’s fortune-telling lists also contain harsher terms; we keep to the reflective readings he gives and never state an event as certain.

Tarot is a tool for reflection, not a prediction of fixed outcomes. This is not medical, legal or financial advice.