The Hierophant (Le Pape): meaning of tarot arcanum V

In brief: number, names and keywords

The Hierophant (Pope) is the fifth card of the Major Arcana, with the same number in Marseille and in Rider-Waite. It faces the High Priestess (II): one keeps an inner knowledge, the other passes it on in public. In Waite’s deck it becomes “the Hierophant”, a Greek word meaning one who “shows the sacred things”: the priest who guided initiates through the mysteries of ancient Greece.

Some older decks, or authors of the 18th century, also use the name “High Priest”.

Keywords: transmission, tradition, teaching, values, institutions, guidance, ritual.

The image in the Marseille tarot

In Marseille, the Pope is an elderly man seated facing us on a throne, wearing a triple-crowned tiara. His right hand is raised in a gesture of blessing, two fingers extended; in the other hand he holds a staff ending in a cross with three bars. Two columns or a plain background frame him.

At his feet, two figures, seen from behind or in three-quarter view, turn towards him. They have tonsures (hair cut at the top of the head) and clothes of different colours. The two disciples look at the master: the card shows not a lone man, but a relationship of teaching.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck

In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the Hierophant sits between two grey pillars, dressed in a red robe and a cloak, wearing a triple crown. His right hand is raised in blessing, two fingers pointing to the sky and two folded. His left hand holds a sceptre with a triple cross.

At his feet lie two crossed keys, one gold and one silver. Two tonsured acolytes face him, one with roses on his robe, the other with lilies. Waite took up the Marseille arrangement but made the scene clearer, almost liturgical.

Symbolism of the elements in the image

These are the details that come up most often in traditional readings. They are lines of interpretation, not official definitions.

• The triple crown: three levels of authority or three planes (body, mind, soul), depending on the reading: a hierarchy of knowledge.
• The blessing hand: transmission: the gesture does not command, it confers. The two raised fingers are the signs of teaching.
• The two disciples: those who receive: one does not teach alone. In Waite’s deck, roses and lilies recall desire and purity, two ways of learning.
• The two keys (in Waite’s deck): the conscious and the unconscious, or heaven and earth: the teacher holds the access, but one must want to enter.
• The columns: the institution, the framework of a teaching. They also recall those of the High Priestess: two faces of one knowledge.
• The three-barred cross: an emblem of spiritual authority in the tradition of the Catholic Church; the card keeps this reference without turning it into dogma.

Upright meaning

Upright, the Hierophant traditionally evokes the teaching received and passed on: masters, family or cultural values, institutions, rituals that bring people together. It carries tradition, trust placed in a guide, the wisdom of those who came before us, but also the responsibility to pass it on in turn.

In a spread, it may suggest seeking advice, training or a collective framework (an association, a study group, a community). It invites us to ask which values are truly our own. It is also a card of ceremony: a wedding, a baptism, the award of a diploma, anything that marks a passage in front of witnesses.

Reversed: two schools of reading

School 1: the opposite. Reversed, the Hierophant speaks of conformism, dogmatism, dependence on an authority; or, on the contrary, the rejection of rules as a matter of principle, a refusal of all teaching.

School 2: a block. Teaching exists, but does not get through: a poor teacher, values that no longer suit us, an interrupted transmission. The card invites us to find our own path without disowning our roots. Several tarot readers prefer to read only upright cards.

In common areas of reading

The tarot does not say what will happen: it offers images for reflection. Here, in symbolic terms, is what this card may bring up depending on the theme of your question.

• Personal reflection: asking which beliefs and principles we have received, and which ones we choose to keep. Possible question: to whom do I owe what I know, and to whom can I pass it on?
• Relationships: shared values, public commitment, couple or family rituals; the card may also point to advice from a trusted person.
• Work: training, mentoring, institutions, the rules of a profession, passing on a craft. Symbolically, the card speaks of framework and learning, not of a promised status.
• Money: principles of prudence, advice from experienced people, reassuring rules. It predicts nothing and does not replace a finance professional.

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own: its neighbour nuances it. Here are a few common pairings, to be taken as starting points.

• The High Priestess: inner knowledge and outer teaching: tradition listened to with one’s own discernment.
• The Emperor: the authority of the framework and the authority of teaching: institutions, hierarchies.
• The Lovers: values and choices: deciding in line with what was handed down, or breaking away from it.
• The Devil: teaching and hold: the line between a guide and a guru, to be examined calmly.
• Judgement: transmission that gains meaning: the review of a path and what one makes of it.

To learn how to combine cards, try the three-card spread. To place this card among the 22 Major Arcana, see our guide to the Major Arcana.

Keyword of the day, question and practice

Keyword of the day: Pass on. For the day, share something you know: a tip, a recipe, a memory. Or thank someone who taught you something.

Question to ask yourself: What teachings have you received, and which ones do you wish to keep?

Writing (10 minutes). Write the names of three people who taught you something important. For each one, note what you have kept and what you have chosen to leave behind.

Short meditation. Look at the card’s two disciples. Choose to be each of them in turn, then the master. What changes in your posture? Note what you would like to receive, then what you would like to offer.

History and variants of the card

From the 15th century onwards, Italian tarocchi show a pope alongside the emperor. In a world where the Church and the Empire structured public life, these two figures were among the “great” of the game. To avoid any reference to the papacy, some decks renamed the card: the 18th-century Besançon tarot, for example, replaces the Popess and the Pope with Juno and Jupiter.

In the 19th century, occultists saw in it esoteric teaching; the Golden Dawn links it to the letter Vav (“the nail”, “the link”) and to Taurus. In 1909 Waite adopted “Hierophant” to step outside the Catholic framework while keeping the iconographic set-up. Modern tarots therefore show masters of all traditions: sometimes a sage, a shaman or a teacher.

Older variants: some decks show three disciples, others only one. The crossed keys in Waite’s version recall the keys of Saint Peter. The card keeps a Christian tone in its imagery, but its symbolic meaning, transmission, concerns everyone.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 22 Major Arcana, card by card.