The fives in tarot, including the Hierophant, are about changes or disruptions. Many don’t see this in the Hierophant and consequently, it is a very misunderstood card. We see a priest or pope teaching acolytes. We assume that he is controlling them, telling them what to do, in the same way that we assume the Emperor is bossing or controlling just because he can or for some other selfish purpose. What is really going on here, the cause of the strive and uncomfortable feelings, is that this is the card where are our faith, our spiritual beliefs become translated into the mundane world. This is the card where we are asked to walk our talk. And as many of us don’t, or at least

In tarot, we often see the numbers as representing specific energy. As we mentioned in the Emperor, fours represent stability, or taken to a negative extreme, stagnation. Each of the suits in tarot also represents a specific energy. The Wands and Swords are active energy while the Cups and Pentacles are passive energy. It is interesting to see how the energy of the four merges with the energy of the suits to create either a restful or lethargic feeling. In the active suits, Wands and Swords, the fours show a quiet calmness, with the Swords being peaceful and the Wands being happy or celebratory but not wild (the 3 of Cups has a more wild energy). In both cards there is a nice

After the abundance and creation of the Empress and the Threes, The Emperor and the Fours come into the picture to help organize and stabilize everything. Fours represent structure and stability. And, interestingly, out of all the Majors we’ve looked at so far, the Emperor is the first one whose modern interpretation really stays true to the historical and literal idea of his name--his meaning has remained stable. Like an Emperor, this card represents experience, wisdom, skill, ability, and leadership. It is a card of vision and seeing the bigger picture. The Emperor creates systems to make the best use of all resources available and to meet as many needs as

Just as the Empress is a symbol of rich abundance, so the threes all have the feeling of culmination and saturation about them. In the 3 of Wands, you can often feel the strength of will drawing the desired event towards the character in the card. Whatever has been determined is just about to burst forth (just as the Empress is often shown as being very, very pregnant). The 3 of Cups shows the joy of relationships overflowing into spontaneous celebration. The 3 of Swords depicts the despair and unbalance that occurs when the mind is unable to control and dictate everything. The 3 of Pentacles illustrates the manifestation of a project, the fruit that is born