Laurelle
Thank you! I suppose I've always thought of The Hierophant as representing structure and tradition... like some have said here on the forums more of an "institution" than an actual person, or perhaps a school of thought. I have never personally reacted well to authority, even well-meaning authority, so I guess I've never really been able to wrap my head around the concept or been very comfortable with it. To a lesser extent I also see it as a card that represents religion, but not necessarily spirituality, though I could be wrong on that end.
That is the general exoteric meaning of the Hierophant, but there was occult information hidden in that card. So on an esoteric level it means something completely different. As a reversed card is indicates that you haven't gotten the message yet.
The authority is actually coming from the higher source. It doesn't come from the Hierophant, the Hierophant is merely the channel... So if you are having trouble with "authority" you should go back to the Chariot and understand the concept of One-Will.