The mysteries of The Hierophant are a further elaboration of the alchemy described in the cards. The Holy Father or Pope bestows the secrets of the occult upon the Emperor and Empress leading them to their Great Work. There are many symbols in the card that reinforce this, but the primary symbolism in the Crowley deck can be defined by the overall color of the card, whose rusty hues signify blood.
The mythology present in the card spans Persian, Roman, Hebrew, and Egyptian cosmogeny, and the overall symbolic structure is complex when compared to other cards. In order of importance, the main symbol seems to be The Hierophant himself, which indicates this teacher is actually a man, though his visage appears to be mask or statue-like, more so than any other card. Perhaps secondary in importance in the image, is the Goddess or Priestess which guards him. Note, that she carries the moon, and is thought to represent Isis. Remember the menstrual cycle is a lunar cycle, and the card’s message is blood.
The bull and elephants in the card have multiple levels of meaning and reference. The card is referenced to Taurus, in which the moon is at it’s most powerful. It also refers to the ancient Mithraic mysteries, in which in some temples a bull was sacrificed on a grate above the initiates bathing them in its blood as part of their process of rebirth into the mysteries. The bull and elephants together also represent the super-human strength that Crowley claimed to temporarily possess after completing this portion of the alchemical work he had discovered.
The babe at The Hierophants heart, in the pentagram signifying man is supposed to be Horus, who is central to Crowley’s religion and the main protagonist of The Book of the Law. The initiate is supposed to identify with this Horus, who in this card could be the awakened soul at the heart of Tiphareth. Reclaiming the child-like nature of the soul and taking its place as the child of God then is also central to this process.
The corona behind the Pope’s mitre surrounded by a snake and nine nails, is thought by some to represent a window, but is actually a symbol for the egg present in The Empress and The Hermit, this time being fertilized, and the snake suggests, both the snake of the garden and the Kundalini serpent. This is part of Crowley’s underlying suggestion that the way forward is to eat the forbidden fruit. This was he thought, the method for completion of the alchemical process he had discovered in the cards and his occult research, but this is perhaps the one area of occultism in which he was incorrect, and is proven by the fact he aged and died. Crowley’s insistence that the Elixir of life must be consumed is incorrect and could have been rectified through careful study of old alchemical images.
The wand in The Hierophant’s right hand signifies the combination of elements, while his left is making a gesture that recalls both the Devil and acceptance of temptation as well as the initiation of the Knights Templar to their ass-headed God or Baphomet. That Crowley recognized this card was the lighter half of the pair with the Devil has to do with its connection to materiality and sexuality. The two opposing pentagrams in the card also signify that this initiation could be considered what people refer to as the left-hand path.
The Hierophant is the first card proceeding from the Fool then, that indicates menstrual blood is central to the alchemical great work, and the importance of the egg to the alchemical process. It is an invitation to perform a working of sexual magic involving blood but does not explicitly state how to perform the act, just that a High Priestess or Goddess must be involved. It also represents the great physical strength temporarily achieved through the ingestion of the elixir but falls short of the complete revelation of the method. This is the great secret that Crowley was hiding through making his writings so obscure and the main purpose for his religion. As we continue these examinations we will begin to see how to complete this great work alluded to in the Trumps.