| 
                 The Hierophant is usually depicted as a person in the office
                  of an establish religion.  
                  For example, the Robin
                  Wood Tarot Deck clearly depicts the Hierophant as a christian
                  bishop. In some Tarot Decks, "The Hierophant" card is called
                  "The Pope" card. 
                Regardless of the religion, faith, or philosophy illustrated
                  on the card (if any), the Tarot Hierophant is generally considered
                  to be a protector of ancient cultures, traditions, and established
                  practices concerning faith, spirituality, and wisdom. 
                In some Tarot Decks, the Hierophant is portrayed harshly and
                  so is interpreted by some readers as representing "rigid dogma"
                  and the authoritarian aspects of organized religion. However,
                  to
                  others such interpretation would be a gross over-simplification
                  because the Hierophant can also refer to our ability to balance
                  the physical and spiritual aspects of life, and  to develop
                  moral codes.  
                 The presence of the Hierophant in a spread can indicate a
                  variety of concepts (incl. for e.g. tradition, servitude, ritual,
                  mythology, dogma, the interaction of the physical world with
                  that of spirit, metaphysics) depending on his position in the
                  spead and the reader's intuition in
                  that
                  particular
                  case.  
              
				
                  
                 |