Thirteen
Continuing my mission to get us through the deck
Our Hierophant, a holy man traditionally dressed in cossack and red velvet cap, sits slumped in his chair. He seems tired, defeated, worried. What could he be worried about? Well, in his other hand is a crumpled piece of paper--a letter perhaps? I don't think it's too far a leap to think that he's read something in that letter that has him slumped and thinking. Perhaps it is a blackmail letter detailing some indiscretion from his past, or perhaps it is a high command instructing him to perform some questionable act.
He is in a barred vestibule (?) and outside the window are three women in black robes (nuns?) . Note: they remind me of the three fates or oracles. I suspect they may not be what they seem, and are watching him to see what he does, maybe even judging him on it. Above his chair is a strange statue/candle holder (?) that might be an angel. It seems to be gagged and blindfolded (?). Does it stand for him, or for those commanding him?
The Hierophant is a card about traditions, morality, religious law, teachings and culture. In the negative, the Hierophant often refers to those who follow the letter of tradition without understanding its spirit. Yet I don't think this is that kind of Hierophant. He is, at least to me, oddly sympathetic. He meets our eyes, and his posture seems so defeated, so human. I think that the letter is asking him to do something he may not want to do. I feel this interpretation is backed up by the bars, the way he's almost lost in those robes, and the gagged/blindfolded statue over his head. The unbending traditions of his church are, I'm guessing, have kept him trapped and forced to him to do things that might be religious law, but that he knows are morally and spiritually wrong.
Now this latest command has come. And he is in a quandary. Does it obey his superiors and keep to tradition, or does he follow his moral compass?
Our Hierophant, a holy man traditionally dressed in cossack and red velvet cap, sits slumped in his chair. He seems tired, defeated, worried. What could he be worried about? Well, in his other hand is a crumpled piece of paper--a letter perhaps? I don't think it's too far a leap to think that he's read something in that letter that has him slumped and thinking. Perhaps it is a blackmail letter detailing some indiscretion from his past, or perhaps it is a high command instructing him to perform some questionable act.
He is in a barred vestibule (?) and outside the window are three women in black robes (nuns?) . Note: they remind me of the three fates or oracles. I suspect they may not be what they seem, and are watching him to see what he does, maybe even judging him on it. Above his chair is a strange statue/candle holder (?) that might be an angel. It seems to be gagged and blindfolded (?). Does it stand for him, or for those commanding him?
The Hierophant is a card about traditions, morality, religious law, teachings and culture. In the negative, the Hierophant often refers to those who follow the letter of tradition without understanding its spirit. Yet I don't think this is that kind of Hierophant. He is, at least to me, oddly sympathetic. He meets our eyes, and his posture seems so defeated, so human. I think that the letter is asking him to do something he may not want to do. I feel this interpretation is backed up by the bars, the way he's almost lost in those robes, and the gagged/blindfolded statue over his head. The unbending traditions of his church are, I'm guessing, have kept him trapped and forced to him to do things that might be religious law, but that he knows are morally and spiritually wrong.
Now this latest command has come. And he is in a quandary. Does it obey his superiors and keep to tradition, or does he follow his moral compass?