The Hierophant: tarot meaning, upright and reversed

A teacher blesses two attendants between pillars, with crossed keys at the foot of the throne.

Upright

teaching · tradition

Seek a coherent teaching, shared practice, or trustworthy guide within a tradition.

Reversed

conformity · questioning

An inherited rule may need examination; distinguish a living teaching from mere compliance.

In a reading

The position gives this card a particular task: a description of the situation, a challenge, or guidance. Read its image and meaning alongside the other cards and the question that brought them together.

Golden Dawn correspondence

Zodiac sign: Taurus. This is the attribution in Book T.

Sources

A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. These notes are original interpretations of the Waite–Smith imagery, informed by that text.