Cathedral: Structure Versus Control
Cathedral: The Hierophant of the Incidental Tarot
I racked my brains for weeks over Trump #5, and how to portray a card I’ve always held a certain repugnance for. I’ve never been able to appreciate traditional renderings of this card, called the Hierophant, or the Pope. Perhaps this is because I am inherently irreligious, and I find the inclusion of a Pope figure to be somewhat antithetical to a set of divinatory images, no matter what its historic or esoteric interpretation. But in my musings, I realized that the Hierophant does not necessarily portray an individual religious leader, so much as it represents a very human institution of power. The Hierophant is often associated with organized religion in general, and similarly, any large bureaucratic or hierarchical organization. Higher education, governments and the legal system all fall within the realm of the Hierophant’s influence.
The Pope, at one time, was the most powerful person on earth, second only (according to the church) to God himself. The Church was his vehicle on earth, and by its laws all men within its reach were compelled to live. One can argue the validity of the Church’s sovereignty passionately on either side. But what is clear to me, is that over the course of human history, we have a tendency and (I daresay) a biological need to create structures outside ourselves that control our behavior. Historically, religion has been the dominant power structure of the last two millennia, and therefore the Hierophant (or the Pope) was a most appropriate icon.
As a work of art that arose from the power of the Church in the middle ages, Cathedral is an intricately beautiful reflection of that same power structure. The character of its dubious benefactors aside, to look upon a cathedral’s sheer majesty and mastery of skill, it’s clear that the visionaries who actually built it were indeed motivated by spiritual aspiration, a divine spark that endures and outshines the darker undercurrents of control and abuse that have tainted its past.
I choose to see the vibration of this card in a broader, more positive light. Every culture on earth has built great monuments to the Gods, whether the Greeks or the Hindu or the ancient Mayans. Humanity has always strived to build something akin to the house of God on earth…a temple from which man could aspire to the perfection of his divine origins. But such monuments of greatness cannot be manifest by an individual alone. Teamwork, cooperation, guidance and organization are absolute necessities to achieve such wonders on earth. In a way, one can think of these qualities as the opposite of hubris. These are the highest values of Cathedral’s influence.
READING CATHEDRAL: Cathedral is a card that indicates dedication, vision, and the mastery of skill needed to realize great ambitions. Often this means submitting to the will of existing power structures (universities, governments, spiritual organizations) in order to have the support necessary to manifest such dreams. Or more properly, submitting to and cooperating with powers outside oneself, whether those are spiritual in nature or earthly. If one enters into a relationship with these “powers that be” in a conscientious manner, it can be a truly beneficial learning experience. The danger lies in allowing such organizations too much control over your ideas, behavior, or lifestyle. To submit to an authority outside oneself—to the exclusion of oneself—is a dangerous path to wander down, for ultimately, only we are responsible for the choices we make. Cathedral is also a card of the slippery slope of power. Just as a government can struggle to rise above its own excesses and abuses of power, such is the warning Cathedral can bring to an individual when it appears in a reading. On one hand, it represents the glory of a cooperative achievement, submitting to the wisdom that came before you, of jumping through the hoops of your chosen system and reaping the rewards of that effort. On the other hand, Cathedral warns of losing your individual spirit in the machinations of those constructs
we set outside ourselves.
To define Cathedral in a word: SUBMISSION.
REVERSED. Oppression, usury, abuse of power. Moralizing without conscience. Submitting to religious or political morals against one’s own instinct. Feeling powerless to break out of “the machine.”