THE HIEROPHANT (Ganesh) in The Secret Dakini Oracle

The Hierophant (5 Ganesh/Lord of Obstacles) in The Secret Dakini Oracle

In the previous post I spoke about how one can identify one's own "family" of cards in the Tarot. Although The Hierophant happens to be one in my family (I'm a 5 by birth date and my name also adds to 5), that is not why I chose it today. I just had a feeling this particular version had something to say to me after a particularly hard day dealing with many both worldly and emotional issues. As my move to California on February 6th gets closer, the problems multiply and my ability to cope shrinks.

As soon as I pulled this card up on my screen I got what it had to say, and then some! Yes, we may be caught in a huge web of snafus, delays, problems, hostilities, etc., but with dear Ganesh at our center we will make it through.

Then I noted that in this deck Ganesh is named "Lord of Obstacles," as distinct from "Remover of Obstacles" as He is almost always called. This points to something I have thought for some time. That Ganesh may serve an even more primary purpose than removing obstacles, He may place those we most need and can learn from in our paths to begin with so that we will be empowered by dealing with them. This is not to say that He does not also remove obstacles. E.g., many times today I felt Him moving me forward; in essence pushing the obstacle of myself out of my own way. :-D Oh my, I just flashed on a childhood memory that illustrates this. I was terrified to ride my first two wheeled bike without my father holding the seat behind me to keep me upright. He insisted I would do fine, then gave me a good shove to get me going, and let go. And I did do just fine.

And how might all this relate to Tarot "meanings" for The Hierophant? The Hierophant is, IMHO, above all about spiritual lessons/teaching. Especially intuition, i.e. "inner tuition." (Along with The High Priestess.) It is often due to those tugs and little shoves of intuition that we move in ways from which we learn.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****

INVOKING GANESH

The Hierophant (High Priest), by Lisa Hunt, in The Animals Divine Tarot

Ganesh is my favoritie Deity. Actually I should say, He's "first among equals" among the various Deities I consciously relate to. (I say "consciously" because I sometimes suspect others than those I am aware of have their influences and/or ways with my life.) I've been calling on Him even more than usual as I am going through this huge uprooting to move cross country to California.

My prayer, especially now given that I have actual material objects in my way (like an old huge couch to somehow get out of my living room without taking it out over the terrace the way it came in 23 years ago), is for Him to graciously remove all obstacles from my path. (One of His titles is "Remover of Obstacles.) I am willing to do, and am doing all the necessary work. I just really need His help, as well. It would be very helpful, too, if He continued to bless this new enterprise, this new life I'm heading toward. (Ganesh is often invoked at the start of new enterprises to ensure their success.)

As I sort, throw out, prepare for a house give-way and sale, type gazillions of emails to my out-of-town landlord (helping with the apartment repair list and obtaining a new tenant), begin to actually pack stuff in cartons (that I first have to put together) etc., etc. I do so wish I, too, had four arms. But I am more than grateful that Ganesh does. And that I continue to feel His loving presence along this tumultuous but welcome path of change.

By the way, be sure to check out the link to The Animals Divine Tarot (under the image above). It's an absolutely wonderful Tarot deck.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****

THE HIEROPHANT (V; The Pope)

TODAY’S CARD IS The Hierophant (V). The rendering below is from the The Mary El Tarot and is used by permission:



Here’s The Hierophant in The Rider/Waite/Smith Tarot:



MY TAROT BACKGROUND: I’ve been studying, collecting, and teaching about Tarot cards for over 30 years; my other two passions are dreams and poetry (see link at bottom to my dreams and poetry blog).

Over these years, I have collected my notes about Tarot card meanings in piles of envelope backs, yellow sticky notes, pieces of old flyers, etc. It occurred to me that I should assemble these notes on meanings so that I could more easily refer to them. Ergo, this blog. I will not include here the more traditional meanings (as I learned them), but only those that were – at least to me – less common when they occurred to me.

Books and web sites abound for the more traditional meanings of the Tarot cards. If you are a beginner with The Tarot, I highly encourage you try some of the links listed as resources at the bottoms of previous posts here or do a web search of your own. Tarot is an extremely diverse and exciting field.

I ultimately offer any of the meanings I post here hoping to contribute to the rich and constantly evolving universe of The Tarot.

THE HIEROPHANT:

In the Mary El Tarot V is visually very pleasing and also quite different from many other renderings. For one, I revel in its being female, as V is usually male – sometimes titled The Pope. I chose The Hierophant to look at today because it is in my personal family of cards in The Tarot (one can determine cards of personal relevance by birth date, astrology sign, and numerology--see Resource link at bottom of this post). V also holds an additional resonance for me because Ganesh appears on The Hierophant in the Secret Daikini Oracle, and Ganesh is my dearest Deity.

DIFFERENT TAKES ON MEANINGS FOR THE HIEROPHANT (V; THE POPE):

Not listening to one’s friends, or intuition, or dreams, or some professional one has consulted, when it might do well to at least hear what’s being offered.

Stuck in the middle.

Required to act as a mediator, as opposed to initiating any action of one’s own.

Secrecy.

Not wanting to or not able to connect with others.

The issue in question is an unconscious process, or elements of the unconscious are very much in play, so all the information needed to make a decision or move, is not yet available.

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That’s all for now on different takes on The Hierophant.

Resource: Innerchange-Tarot, how to determine your Tarot “profile,” i.e., cards in the Tarot of particular relevance to you. This site also has some other good articles on The Tarot.

‘til next time, keep listening to and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for some articles about Tarot.****

A LITTLE TEMPERANCE MAY BE CALLED FOR....

Temperance in The Maroon Tarot

I ran across the above image today when searching for a Ganesh image I thought I'd placed in a wrong folder (long story). I'd forgotten how beautiful and evocative it is. I'm a bit rushed and bleary-eyed today (all this getting ready to move to California is at a very wearying stage), so decided to leave it up to you, dear reader, to see what this card has to say today.

Then I got Aeclectic Tarot's new Tarot newsletter (visit the site and sign up for it if you haven't already!) and came across another unusual Temperance image, in The Chocolate Tarot:




So when I take my afternoon break (which usually ends with a nap, I'm getting to be such a Crone :-D) I'll definitely meditate a bit on what Temperance has to say to me. As I typed that into blogger, I recalled reading somewhere that Temperance's path on the Qabalistic Tree of Life is the most difficult path of all. Which given how I've been feeling during this preparation to move I could most certainly agree with. :-D However, there's also something about balance of opposites/intensities in this card -- e.g., the RWS images of a volcano and irises:



And even though this balancing may come hard, it will. Oh, well, so much for leaving it all up to you to respond to this card. What can I say? Tarot images can be so compelling and energizing.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****