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The Rider-Waite-Smith-Key 5- Hierophant is depicted as the Pope, this is understandable since originally, when the cards appeared, metaphysics was merely a way of looking at the ruling faith. Once Religious Theogony stopped ruling, metaphysics became more science and less faithful. However, to the 15th century meta-physician, the Pope spoke from the throne, infallibly, and thus had to be listened to as he spoke "The Word".

Waite took his meaning from the Sepher Yetzirah (THE BOOK OF FORMATION by Rabbi Akiba Ben Joseph) and applies the meaning of hearing to the letter Vau (Vav), and to The Hierophant, by illustrating two priests kneeling and listening to their Pontiff. The Connolly Tarot- Key 5-The Hierophant shows 2 scholars. These two priests/scholars represent the cooperation of the 2 opposites within the human condition, intuition, and reason, conscious and subconscious, etc. Both united, being an integral and inseparable process of enlightenment.

Both Hierophants, with hand raised, blesses both from his position enthroned between the two columns of the Mysteries. The golden key at the feet of the RWS Hierophant and on the upper left stain glass of the Connolly Hierophant, represents the Key to Heaven (Gold is the Sun) and though both keys are gold, one is supposed to be the silver key to Hell (Silver is the Moon, this is not a aspersion, as the Moon Goddess, Hel, rules the underworld.) and is the "window to the No-Thing". In the Pope's hand is the "Triple cross of the Western Peoples", often called the Papal Cross.

The Priest-Key 5- is also the universal Key of learning and teaching.

This key or principle was well explained in the publication of the-Course in Miracles-"as you teach so will you learn.’ If that is true, and it is true indeed, do not forget that what you teach is teaching you."

The Hierophant is also the High Priest or Priest in many decks. In the Manara Deck, the word Priest is used. Presented on the Milo Manara Erotic Tarot-Key-5-The Priest is an interesting scene of a woman "flashing" a Priest who seems a bit taken aback. This is an attack on celibacy, which is a true sexual perversion as the act of sex, is the Divine Creative's invention created out of the understanding of Love, and the act of celibacy, is a male fearing of giving his power and/or energy to women. For in the dark corners of fundamental Patriarchal religions, is the proposition that women drove mankind into sin by "eating of the fruit of knowledge" and therefore, are servants of Satan and that the act of sex is an act of a succubus/vampire. Whereas, the Divine Creative is Sex, and the act of female and male union creates the continuation of Love that is Life and information, of which the DNA Molecule coding is. Look at your babies, are they actions produced by evil? If you think so, you need therapy. Besides would any sane God create without knowledge and create its "own image" to be ignorant and evil? Not according to the Gnostic Sophia-the Goddess of wisdom, who was the birther of the Priest.

Knowledge is information and, in this universe, in-form-action becomes image/Form. Hence, it is the knowledge gathered by the One- Self, which has formed into the manifestations of energy, all around and as us. It is also the information in the DNA molecule that makes diversity in body forms. However, by keeping people superstitious and/or ignorant of knowledge, one can rule their individual minds. Hence the ruler is one who now controls definition by enforcing fear and true bigotry. Woman is profaned in our Fundamental religious society. In truth, woman is the Life maker.

On the Manara card the Woman is showing the Holy Grail to the ignorant, fear based superstitious priest. Something that he is seeking as a "cup used by Christ" and/or Holy Grail. (to be born is to use that "cup") but has profaned so he can't find it. It is the Womb that all Life comes from and is known as the "invisible Sephiroth" of Knowledge that is Daath, not some male fire. By hiding the female's power, her womb, behind sin, fear and clothing, Fundamentalism keeps Daath invisible. For Female is the "Will to Form" and or Magnetism of the Electromagnetic universe. Male is electrical, and unless information (Mother Binah is Understanding and as the Priestess she is Knowledge) is understood, it can't be applied to energy. Electricity is used as a carrier of information on this computer! She forms it, he is but a catalyst that "Will to Forces" the process of I AM and/or the fecund force. Let's just say that energy is everywhere, but for it to become "Transformations", i.e. forms, it must be contained, measured, and understood, before it can become forms. The Homo Sapiens DNA is Understood as a Molecular code "from the Stars", the manifestation of Understood love that forms in the Womb of Earth from the outer panspermia. Therefore, Manara in his art, is inferring the flash of truth into the face of ignorance.

Panspermia is a hypothesis in the field of astrobiology and cosmology that suggests life, or the necessary organic materials for life, may exist throughout the universe and could be distributed by meteoroids, asteroids, comets, planetoids, or spacecraft in the form of microbial life or organic compounds.

There are several variations of the panspermia hypothesis:

1. Lithopanspermia: This hypothesis suggests that life could have originated on one celestial body (such as a planet or moon) and then spread to others via rocks ejected into space due to meteorite impacts. These rocks, known as meteorites, can potentially carry microorganisms or organic molecules.

2. Radiopanspermia: This variant of panspermia proposes that life may have traveled between celestial bodies on high-speed particles like cosmic rays, which could carry microorganisms or organic molecules.

3. Directed Panspermia: This is a more speculative idea that suggests life could be deliberately transported from one place to another by advanced extraterrestrial civilizations. It's a concept often explored in science fiction.

The panspermia hypothesis doesn't address the question of the origin of life itself but rather how life, or its building blocks, might have spread from one location in the universe to another. While there's some evidence to support the possibility of panspermia, it remains a topic of ongoing scientific research and debate.

In the context of your interest in metaphysics and parapsychology, panspermia could be a fascinating concept to explore in terms of its potential implications for the interconnectedness of life in the universe or its relevance to philosophical and spiritual discussions.

. This card represents an authority, -- employer, teacher, mentor, or some other person in control.

As previously stated, in Traditional Tarot- the key 4-The Emperor, represented the father as "Law Maker". The Hierophant is the father as Lawgiver, a distinction that is important. The Hierophant is an administrator. Therefore, the Emperor works for himself as a creative free agent, while the Hierophant works for a large organization, whose rules he upholds, although he is paradoxically unaware this is the case.

The personality of the Hierophant can be encountered as an earthly person, who may be variously benevolent and just, thoughtful and kind, or it may be high-handed, egocentric, and even sadistic. One must deal with the Hierophant in whatever garb of temperament he may appear. By doing so we work out our own relationship with authority. Here we examine how we feel about control in our lives. Do we resent those who attempt to impose structure on us, feeling that it restricts our creative freedom? Or do we need the psychological support of external regulation? The idea behind "enlightenment" is self-mastery and/or "Inner Authority", whereby, the Greater Self and Lesser Self have become "As above, so below" and thereby, listen to the Greater Authority of Self. In such a one, the Hierophant is not an outside authority as one realizes that "everyone I see is another way to be me" and stands by the Golden rule of do unto another as you would have done unto yourself, as their inner authority's primary voice.

Therefore, all is not "sweetness and light" in the HIEROPHANT, and most authorities on tarot agree that there are some unpleasant aspects to this Key 5. I would recommend that the serious student read the book by Richard Cavendish: THE TAROT, where the implications of this State of Energy Consciousness are very cleverly related to Gnosticism (Those who know). He points out that the Demiurge, the Lesser Creator (Archon) which rules over manifestation, was also known by the Gnostics as the "Great Deceiver" (Jehovah), and that initiates of the Valentinian Gnostics were taught to ignore the authority of this one who is a type of "Librarian of measurement" and only has authority over its library of rules and as one knows, not all rulebooks are truth. The Truth is that there is only one authority over us, and that is our own "Will to be" and/or Freedom to Choose and we get to experience freely, the consequences thereof; some call this fate.

Besides, only slaves need masters and saviors. If we listen intently to our "Holy Guardian Angel" and/or Greater Self, whose voice resides in our "heart". We will find that we are indeed on the Hero's journey towards truth.

When the HIEROPHANT/PRIEST card is thrown during a reading, the querent is:

• Experiencing the Principle of learning and teaching which is a desire for making things tangible.
• The querent may be seeking guidance from a counselor who has knowledge and authority or wishes to.
• There is a choice here, of aligning oneself to a philosophy, religion and/or set of beliefs to which one feels a sense of loyalty.
• Being free to disentangle oneself from any belief system, the querent still chooses to be involved.
• Life is the teacher here, as the querent experiences growth through a meditative process like philosophy that views every experience as a lesson-learning opportunity.

When reversed-Rider-Waite-Smith or surrounded with negative cards-The Priest, it implies:

•  There is an espousing of moral, ethical, and spiritual values which may attribute to oppressing others, especially when espousing orthodoxy.
• There can be an inner sense of obedience to authority, imagined or otherwise, contributing to gullibility.

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