5. The Hierophant
-
Welcome to Soulchology’s worksheets, your starter-kit into an intuitive self-enquiry using tarot and astrology. I write these in my usual dry humour, which reflects the tone of my sessions too, because learning is intense enough without stripping it of humanity. A little wit makes the wisdom easier to digest!
Anyway, while full sessions include numerology, Lenormand, and therapeutic layers, these worksheets are your solo starter kit designed to get you going without frying your nervous system.
Grab your deck, take a breath and don’t overthink it. No altar required. You can read these on your lap, mid-commute, or in bed with questionable lighting. If you know current transits, great, add them in. If not, the cards still work because they’re generous like that.
And, if you shuffle really fast, they love to fling out like you’re live in an episode of Ghosts and Trevor is standing next to you.
Each sheet prompts you to connect the cards with your real life, that is, not your aspirational, one-day-when-I-journal-daily life. Pay attention to the artwork, colours, symbols, and emotional tone because tarot is layered, not linear. Study only what leaps out, don’t go looking for clues.
This isn’t about mystical perfection, it’s about noticing yourself. Your thoughts, your choices, your patterns. If you’re new to tarot and feeling twitchy about it, you might want to read my piece on Substack that gently dismantles the pressure.
My advice is to pull (or fling) your card at the end of the day, not first thing. That way, you’re reflecting and not pre-loading your brain with vague forecasts. It’s a faster way to build intuitive confidence and a more honest way to learn what the cards actually mean to you.
i. The Nutshell
Upright
The Hierophant won’t shut up about their lineage of herbalists, insists on proper form in a yoga class, and somehow makes quoting dead philosophers sound comforting. He’s tradition with teeth, structure with soul and the quiet reminder that we’re part of something older than our latest identity crisis. He represents wisdom passed down, sacred systems and the value of learning from what didn’t begin with us. His divine spark meets benevolent order and he wants you to question the rituals and structures that shape you. This archetype wants you to learn the lineage but doesn’t want you to become the doctrine unless you choose with eyes wide open.
Keywords: Tradition, mentorship, systems, doctrines, lineage, learning, ritual, conformity, beliefs.
Translation: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Just figure out which one to roll with that aligns with your values.
Reversed
When The Hierophant is reversed, it’s less “spiritual guide” and more “gatekeeper with a superiority complex.” Maybe we’re rejecting structure entirely because it reminds us of every institution that failed us, or maybe we’re hiding behind dogma to avoid personal responsibility. Either way, this reversal points to a disconnect between knowledge and meaning.
It might show up as rebellion for the sake of rebellion, rigid beliefs that no longer fit, or being stuck in “shoulds” that sound wise but feel hollow. His message? Question the teacher and burn the handbook if you must. But don’t confuse avoidance or entrapment with autonomy.
Keywords: Dogma, blind belief, cults, institutional distrust, spiritual bypassing, false authority.
Translation: Don’t become the system you’re rebelling against. Wisely rewrite your rule book.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The Hierophant’s symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck — what's hidden in plain sight?
Triple Cross Staff – Layers of power: spiritual, intellectual, institutional.
Raised Hand – A blessing or a reminder to listen. Transmission, not control.
Pillars – Gateways of tradition. What you pass through shapes your beliefs.
Two Acolytes – Duality in learning. One teacher, many interpretations.
Crossed Keys – Access to inner truth, if you’re willing to unlock it.
iii. Influences
Planetary: Venus rules The Hierophant. Yes, that Venus, better known for rose petals and love poems, but here she’s in her librarian era. This is Venus as the curator of sacred values, aesthetic order and meaningful connection through tradition. She isn’t lounging on a chaise, she’s archiving every soul lesson you’ve inherited. Under her influence, we’re reminded that beauty has structure, devotion needs practice and spiritual authority is about harmony over hierarchy. We could also bring the rulers of the ninth and twelfth houses into this but we’d be here all day, so instead the main focus is on Venus. But in the back of your mind, you could hold Jupiter and Uranus there since these lead to expansion and flipping the rule book.
Natal House(s): The Hierophant resonates with the Second House of values, voice and the beliefs you quietly build your life around. Ask, “Does this still reflect who I am now?” The Ninth House expands that search into meaning, worldview and the frameworks shaping your “why.” It rules education, spirituality and philosophy, and under the Hierophant’s stare, asks, “Were your beliefs chosen or inherited on autopilot?” The Twelfth House adds a deeper layer of ancestral memory, tradition and the blind spots of your spiritual DNA. Here, the Hierophant invites you to trace, question and rewrite what no longer fits.
Astrological Sign(s): Taurus, ruled by Venus, is the sign of The Hierophant being grounded, ritualistic, slow to move and impossible to shake once rooted. This energy values what works, what’s proven and what connects us back to something enduring. Taurus is the sign that asks, “But will this still matter in five years?” and insists on chewing those beliefs before swallowing. There’s a quiet devotion here to wisdom that’s stood the test of time. Expect resistance to chaos, suspicion of novelty and a deep love of a well-structured worldview. Sagittarius and Aquarius could also come to the party so any aspects in your chart that transits are hitting could show up these energies too since learning something new can also mean forgetting something old.
Numerologically: Five is the number of disruption and paradoxically, this is where The Hierophant thrives. While the card appears all robes and rituals, five is actually the pivot point: the moment you realise rules exist so you can ask better questions. It’s the energy of growing pains, tension between belonging and belief, tradition and change. Five says: learn the system, so you can eventually outgrow it with purpose. Not everything old is wise, but not everything new is progress either. The Hierophant asks, “What’s worth preserving?” Nine also resonates with wisdom, teaching, Jupiter and Sagittarius, whilst Three is creation and the combined number of the twelfth house where Aquarius rules.
Element: Earth. The Hierophant symbolises Earth’s lasting and unifying nature. It represents wisdom gained through experience, like the tortoise beating the hare by prioritising depth over haste. Earth is quiet but supportive. What personal truth have you long recognised but have not fully accepted?
iv. A Day in the Life of The Hierophant
Well That Escalated Quickly
You join a wellness cult by accident because someone offered you herbal tea and eye contact when you were at a low point, or you quote a sacred text to win an argument in a group chat and get immediately removed.
Adjusting the Knobs
You spend an hour journaling about your values, only to realise you’ve been living your dad’s retirement plan, or you teach someone a life lesson they didn’t ask for and call it “mentorship.”
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You alphabetise your bookshelf by philosophical alignment, or light a candle before opening your inbox just to make it feel like a ritual.
Writing the TED Talk
You reconnect with a tradition that actually means something to you, offer wisdom without preaching or attempting to convert others, and follow your own path knowing your life has roots without needing everyone else to plant the same tree.
v. Working with these Energies
Living with Discernment and Leading with Meaning
When this archetype shows up, especially reversed, it’s an invitation to stop outsourcing your wisdom and start engaging with the beliefs shaping your life. Tradition isn’t the enemy but unconscious loyalty to it might be. This is your reminder that clarity comes from active participation.
1. Question your frameworks
– What beliefs are running your life right now and where did they come from?
– Are your values embodied, or inherited?
– What systems do you follow out of fear of being wrong, rather than a sense of rightness?
2. Make truth personal instead of performative
– What’s actually sacred to you, even if no one else understands it?
– Are you living your values, or just talking about them?
– Where in your life do you need fewer rituals and more relevance?
3. Redefine tradition on your terms
– What teachings have stood the test of your experience?
– Which rules are worth rewriting and which are still wise?
– How do ancestral or cultural influences shape your spiritual DNA, for better or worse?
4. Let Taurus and Venus slow you down
– What truths only reveal themselves when you stop rushing?
– Are you grounded in what matters, or repeating what’s familiar?
– Where can you create beauty through intention, not impulse?
5. Commit to the search, not the certainty
– What questions are worth staying in, even without answers?
– Can you let wisdom unfold, instead of demanding it arrive fully formed?
– Where in your life are you being asked to understand, not just obey?
vi. Building Skills
Practicing Small Requests
The Hierophant represents the systems that shape us from culture to family to the inner rules we inherit. He’s also the guide who helps us revise those rules, one lived experience at a time. Sometimes, that revision starts with something deceptively small: asking.
Try this: Today, practice making one or two simple, direct requests. Ask a stranger for the time. Ask a shop assistant to help you find something. Ask a friend for a tiny favour. Nothing dramatic, just intentional.
Notice what stories come up when you ask. Do you fear being a burden? Rejection? Looking needy? These internal reactions point to the beliefs you’ve absorbed about worth, independence, and permission. The more you practice asking, the more you unlearn the script that says you have to do everything alone.
The Hierophant shows that beliefs change with experience. Even a simple request can be a small act of freedom in how we express ourselves.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot is a language, but it’s also a felt experience; its somatic. Embodiment is how you move it from the page into your body, your senses, your real life. This presence over performance. Before you try and memorise what The Hierophant means, feel its meaning. When you learn a card through sensation, i.e. what it smells like, where it lands in your body and how it shows up in your day, you create a personal, unforgettable map. The Hierophant becomes more than a concept, so try these to embody The Hierophant today:
Smell: If The Hierophant had a scent, what would it be? A library? Frankincense? A sun-warmed chapel or freshly brewed tea?
Body: Where do you feel it when you consider wisdom, tradition, or quiet knowing? Your heart? Your gut? The back of your neck? Your tailbone?
Soundtrack: What song feels like the moment you understand something ancient in a brand-new way?
Action: What could you do today that feels devotional to your own evolving truth?
Nature cue: Step outside. What in nature reflects Hierophant energy? An ancient tree? A stone path? The hush between birdsong?
Notice what stirs: The goal is to feel grounded in meaning; clear, connected and quietly certain.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The Hierophant card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to observe without overthinking.
What details catch your attention first?
How does this card feel in your body or mood: calm, reverent, curious, cautious?
If this card spoke a sentence to you, what would it ask?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to reflect on what The Hierophant means to you so you can be in a conscious relationship with it.
When have you followed a tradition or belief that genuinely supported you, and when haven’t you?
Where might you be repeating inherited scripts that no longer feel true?
What would it look like to reclaim or reframe a belief to make it your own?
Applied insight with a three card reading using The Hierophant as your anchor:
What belief or value am I being asked to re-examine right now?
Where have I outgrown the rules I was taught to follow?
What practice or mindset will help me align with my personal truth?
Pull cards and note your feelings or beliefs about it.
Write your own Keywords
Write three you words that echo your beliefs now:
—————————————————
—————————————————
—————————————————
x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.