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Above all things, know thyself!

The Magus of the Eternal. The Oracle of the Gods is the Child-Voice of Love in Thine Own Soul; hear thou it. Heed not the Siren-Voice of Sense, or the Phantom-Voice of Reason: rest in Simplicity and listen to the Silence.

-Crowley

The Hierophant (ATU V): Vav — The Magus of the Eternal

In the Thoth Tarot, the Hierophant is far more than a religious figure or custodian of tradition. He is the Magus of the Eternal—the force that binds what was, what is, and what shall be into a single continuous act of revelation. His very title in Qabalah, the Path of Vav/Vau, is the “Eternal Intelligence,” a name rooted in the 32 Paths of Wisdom from the Sepher Yetzirah, and amplified by Paul Foster Case.

To understand this card at its deepest levels, we must not think of “eternity” as infinite duration, but as the untorn moment—the perpetual “Now” through which Spirit incarnates into form with every breath.

Vav (ו): The Nail That Binds Heaven to Earth

The Hebrew letter Vav means nail or hook, and this is not symbolic poetry—this is a metaphysical truth.

A nail connects.
A hook binds.
A Vav links worlds.

Thus the Hierophant is:

• The bond between the Divine Template and the human receiver

• The joining of Chokmah’s pure Fire to Chesed’s manifested Mercy

• The connective tissue of consciousness itself, fastening the Above to the Below

Crowley’s Thoth Tarot illustrates this beautifully: behind the Hierophant stand nine nails, a hidden reference to the power of Vav multiplied—a matrix of connections, a metaphysical architecture stitching eternity into incarnation.

In this sense, Vav is the “umbilical cord” of Spirit. It channels the Infinite through the finite, anchoring timeless principles into every moment of personal and collective evolution.

Paul Foster Case and the Eternal Intelligence

Paul Foster Case, working from the Sepher Yetzirah, assigned the title “Eternal Intelligence” to the 16th Path because:

• The truths transmitted by this Path do not perish.

• They survive all cultural forms, religions, and eras.

• They reveal that spiritual Law remains invariant even as human interpretations change.

Case understood the Hierophant as a living conduit—a perennial, unbroken beam of Archetypal Mind illuminating the evolving worlds. The Hierophant does not merely “teach”; he translates the ineffable Wisdom of Chokmah into a frequency the embodied soul can absorb.

Where the Magus (Beth) speaks the Word, the Hierophant (Vav) makes it flesh.

**A Forward-Thinking Hermetic Insight:

The Hierophant as the DNA of Spirit**

In a modern Hermetic frame, the Hierophant is the spiritual genome, the pattern of Divine Intelligence replicating itself across the incarnations of consciousness.

Just as DNA preserves and transmits biological essence across generations, Vav is the code that preserves and transmits spiritual essence across lifetimes, ages, and civilizations.

This is why the Hierophant is shown within a pentagram-shaped womb in the Thoth Tarot. What is eternal continually rebirths itself within new forms.

Vav is the conduit through which the eternal renews itself.

Astrology of ATU V: Taurus — The Preserver of Value

The Hierophant is ruled by Taurus, Fixed Earth.

Taurus stabilizes.

Taurus preserves.

Taurus holds the memory of value through cycles of dissolution and rebirth.

In this way, Taurus expresses the Hierophant’s secret:

Eternal truth must be preserved, not as rigid dogma, but as living continuity.

Just as the Earth holds seeds through winter so life may bloom again, the Hierophant preserves the seeds of Wisdom across the ages, ensuring that nothing of value is ever lost—only germinated in new Aeons.

**The Hierophant as Inner Teacher:

The Vav Within the Soul**

A critical post-modern Hermetic shift is the recognition that the Hierophant is not primarily external. The true Hierophant is the inner guide—the Solar Priest within the Heart (Tiphareth), the one who remembers the original covenant between the Soul and the Divine.

He is the aspect of you that:

• recognizes truth immediately

• recalls wisdom beyond one lifetime

• bridges the personal ego with the universal archetype

• maintains continuity of identity across incarnations

This is why Crowley called him the Magus of the Eternal.

Vav is the connective thread in your own myth.

**The Hierophant’s Descent:

From Crown to Heart to World**

The flow of Eternal Intelligence follows a precise Qabalistic descent:

1. Kether – Pure Being

2. Chokmah – Creative Wisdom

3. Vav (The Hierophant) – Transmission

4. Tiphareth – The Solar Self awakened

5. Malkuth – Manifestation in experience

Thus, the Hierophant is the hinge-point between the abstract Supernals and the embodied life of the soul.

He nails wisdom into your heart so your life becomes the scripture of your awakening.

Why “Eternal Intelligence”?

Because the Hierophant is:

• the transmitter of everlasting law

• the sustainer of the Divine pattern throughout time

• the bridge between archetypal knowing and lived experience

• the connective force linking the immortal Soul to every incarnation

• the living continuity of Spirit weaving through matter

Eternity is not an endless timeline—it is the timelessness that pulses within every moment.
The Hierophant is the one who reveals this.

Although the Path of the Hierophant is a powerfully masculine one (Electric Force), to which the Bull-Taurus is applied and image definitively applied to this card, he is supported by the Dark Isis (Fallen Sophia or Lilith) figure as his authority as teacher comes from her: Fallen as in came to earth.

Dark Isis with uraeus serpents.

Being "Fixed Earth"; therefore, s/he is a stable foundation for knowledge; a stabilizing extreme. This is the absolute foundation of the process of revelation where the inherited Knowing of the Creator, THE DIVINE CREATIVE (often called the Great Father but is an androgynous intelligence), is expressing Its experience through the Supreme Spiritual Self to the Psyche of Tiphareth (The Sun/Son of Beauty). Therefore, memory is involved and the solid foundation of "Above all things, know thyself" is established as a Universal Inheritance for the Divine Golden Child- (Horus the Solar Self and/or Soul) shown in a pentagram on the Thoth Hierophant's chest.

On the Hierophant ATU 5-Thoth Tarot Card, the Dark Isis is standing beneath the Hierophant Sumerian Priest image of Osiris. To me this means that all his authority is supported by her and that she is the hidden mystery behind the Hierophant's authority. Here I am tapping into one of the most profound and often overlooked Hermetic mysteries in the Thoth Tarot's Hierophant (ATU V). Let's walk forward with this and really flesh it out for your grimoire, blog, or master class materials.

✴ The Dark Isis Beneath the Hierophant: The Hidden Support of Authority ✴

In the Thoth Tarot, Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris encoded deep, layered mysteries into every card. On the Hierophant card, we see the large, enthroned figure representing Osiris as Hierophant — the “Initiated Teacher” or “Sacred Lawgiver.”
But if you look beneath the Hierophant's throne or feet, there stands a Dark Isis, the veiled, shadowed form of the ancient Goddess of Mysteries.

She is not passive. She is the foundation, the Mystery which supports and even empowers the authority of the Hierophant.

1. Dark Isis as the Prima Materia: The Matrix of Authority

• Isis in her dark form represents the Veiled Unmanifest, the Womb of Nuit, the Sea of Stars from which all form is born.

• Without this hidden substratum of Being — without the Dark Isis — no outer authority would have any true legitimacy.

• The Hierophant must stand on this mystery — if he severs himself from it, he becomes a false teacher, a mere tyrant or dogmatist.

Thus, all true authority (hierophantic, priestly, or magus-level) must be rooted in the hidden Feminine Source — the unknowable Depth that confers authenticity.

Forward-Hermetic Insight:
In modern Hermetic thought, this is like saying that any true spiritual teaching must be nourished from the Infinite Unknown — not just from inherited dogma, but from living connection to Mystery itself.

2. The Hierophant’s Authority: The Visible Manifestation of the Invisible

The Hierophant’s robes, posture, and tools (especially the Nine Nails) represent the formalization of eternal truths into teachings, symbols, and rites.
But the real source is invisible — the Dark Isis, the hidden Daath beneath the supernal triad.

• The Hierophant is the Vav/Vau (hook/nail), but Isis is the Ain Soph Aur — the endless light that gives the nail something to connect.

• Thus, he is merely the conduit, not the source.

• His power is borrowed, granted to him by She who is veiled.

If he forgets the Dark Isis, his connection rots, and he becomes rigid, lifeless, corrupt and cannot be trusted.

Forward Interpretation:
In the 21st-century spiritual landscape, a true Initiate must remain humbled by the Unknown, servant to the Mystery, and always aware that he/she teaches only what the Dark Womb allows to be revealed.

3. The Mythological Frame: Isis and Osiris

• In the ancient Egyptian myth, Isis resurrects Osiris after his death.

• Without Isis, Osiris is inert.
  Thus, even symbolically, the Divine King’s power is entirely dependent on the Feminine, the Matrix of Regeneration.

Crowley’s Thoth Tarot captures this with subtle brilliance:
The Hierophant’s authority rests on the veiled, silent, eternal presence of the Mother of Mysteries.

• The visible form (Osiris/Hierophant) is the exoteric teaching.

• The hidden form (Dark Isis) is the esoteric current that makes the outer form alive.

4. Hermetic and Qabalistic Perspective

On the Tree of Life, the Hierophant is the path between Chokmah (Wisdom) and Chesed (Mercy).

• Chokmah is the primal flash of masculine force.

• Chesed is the structure of divine order — the formalized Mercy and Law.

But underneath this transmission flows Binah (Understanding, the Great Mother).

• Binah is Dark Isis in her Qabalistic aspect.

• Without Binah, no Wisdom or Mercy would have context.

Thus the Hierophant’s authority hangs invisibly from Binah’s dark and silent support.

✴ Summary

The Dark Isis is the hidden wellspring of the Hierophant’s authority.

She represents the eternal, veiled Mystery from which all spiritual law and teaching must derive.

Without Her, the Hierophant would have no legitimacy, no power, and no true Wisdom.

All true initiates are guardians not merely of visible traditions, but of the invisible Womb that births and sustains them.

In his Book of Law [Equinox IV] Crowley states, " This Woman, represents Venus as she now is in this new Aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant." This is also true of this new Aeon of Horus, as the Matriarch is now clearing the way for the New Age.

She also carries the Moon, which is exalted in Taurus, as a crescent shaped sickle in her hand.

More evidence of this new initiatory love relationship between Venus and the Hierophant is shown in the Oriel (the ornate window) with a serpent boundary, behind the Hierophants phallic head gear. The Sexual and/or Vital Energy of the Serpent force represents the first masculine microwave of energy in the Universe and the Oriel represents the Virgin Mary (Venus), as found behind and over the altars in Churches. Crowley describes this as:" This symbolism is further carried out in the oriel where behind the Phallic headdress, the rose of 5 petals in blossom. The symbol of the snake and dove refers to this verse of the Book of Law-chap. 1, verse 57;' There are love and love. There is the dove and there is the serpent". [Book of Thoth, Pg. 79]

Therefore, it is apparent that in this new age of Horus the non-compliant Lilith (The Priestess) replaces the compliant female Eve. Woman will take her world back in the age of Horus and will not bow to the male ego's false authority over life. Lilith is Life as the first wife! There is even a deeper meaning for "There are love and love" as death is seen as an act of the Loving Dark Mother.

Kether | Chokmah / \ Dark Isis/Binah — Hierophant (Vav Path) — Chesed

(The Hierophant 'walks upon' the Dark Isis, who supports his link between Wisdom and Mercy.)

Sigil for the Dark Isis and the Hierophant/Osiris.

As stated, the meaning of the Hebrew word Vau, is nail or hook, implying a nailing together, or binding, and links the Macrocosm (The Great Universe) and Microcosm (Manifestation), and/or The Greater Self to the lesser Self of Matter, forever linking us to the Divine Spirit. Above the Thoth HIEROPHANT are shown 9 nails, representing the letter Vau, as well as displaying the relationship to the teachings, which relate Higher ideas into Lower organisms that is often called, "As above so below". Here the fabric of Time/Space is nailed to the Abyss and/or Abyssal Womb, which can be entered/seen through the Oriel behind his head.

**Closing Insight:

The Hierophant Is the Continuity of Your Own Becoming**

In the deepest Hermetic sense, the Hierophant is not a card about belief, religion, or conformity. It is the internal Priest of your lineage of light—the voice of your own ancient wisdom calling you forward.

The Mysteries are eternal
because you are eternal.

The Hierophant is the Vav linking your mortal story with the immortal Self watching through your eyes.

The Arcane Tarot — Key 5: The Hierophant

The Magus of the Eternal in the Garb of Tradition

The Arcane Tarot’s Hierophant stands in his ancient function: a spiritual interpreter, a guardian of Mystery, and a transmitter of the sacred lineage. He appears in pope-like vestments, surrounded by relics of ritual and doctrine, offering instruction to followers who seek clarity, grounding, and continuity with the great Mysteries of the past.

Where the High Priestess receives the divine through the lunar intuition of Gimel, the Hierophant channels it through the solar-intellectual pathway of Vav—study, system, initiation, and the lawful transmission of knowledge. Both are keepers of Mystery, yet each guards a different gate:

• She is the silent womb of knowing.

• He is the structured articulation of that knowing into form.

This dual authority reflects their ancient roles in the Eleusinian Mysteries: the Hierophant (ἱεροφάντης) as the chief revealer of the sacred rites, and the High Priestess as co-equal officiant whose presence ensured the mysteries of Kore and Demeter remained balanced between masculine Logos and feminine Sophia.

Thus, even in the Arcane Tarot’s more traditional imagery, the Hierophant remains what the Qabalists call the Eternal Intelligence—the one who nails timeless truth into the world of form.

Upright Meaning

“There is always something new to be learned.”

The Hierophant upright indicates that a new layer of understanding is ready to be revealed. This may be through:

• study

• mentorship

• tradition

• or a return to foundational teachings you once outgrew

This card encourages you to anchor yourself in lineage—spiritual, academic, cultural, or magical—and to allow the wisdom of those who came before to guide your next steps. It is the moment to become a student again, even if you are a teacher.

Honor age-old traditions, for they are eternal rivers carrying truths worth rediscovering.

Relationships

The Hierophant in relationships often points to structure, definition, or commitment. It may represent:

• adopting traditional roles

• clarifying expectations

• creating shared values or spiritual practices

• formalizing a partnership through ritual or agreement

In a deeper Hermetic sense, it can signify the couple stepping into a more conscious pattern—recognizing themselves as two emanations building a shared temple of life.

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Career

In career readings, the Hierophant emphasizes:

• professional ethics

• continuing education

• mastery of foundational knowledge

• mentorship—either receiving it or becoming it

This is a card of being in harmony with your “lineage of skill,” staying aligned with standards, certifications, traditions, or proven methods that strengthen your work. It also signals a moment where the wisdom of your field is ready to open a new door for you.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, the Hierophant represents a break from tradition, or a challenge to the established order.
It indicates:

• refusal to learn

• resistance to guidance

• rejecting community or structure

• or questioning whether inherited beliefs still serve your growth

The reversed Hierophant is the rebel priest refusing to perform rote rituals. It is the moment you examine the teachings you’ve accepted without question—and possibly outgrow them.

The Astrological sign, Taurus, is also ruled by Venus, referring us to the Empress, the Path of Daleth, between Chokmah and Binah. THE EMPRESS is Mother Nature, and/or the fertilized Universal Consciousness that is the foundation of the HIEROPHANT'S teaching. The Militant Venus of the Age of Horus (The Priestess), and the embodiment of the Heavenly Venus that rules Taurus, is shown as the Sword bearing Scarlet Woman figure and/or Dark Isis that supports the Hierophant. She is also referred to as Lilith. This militant Venus/Lilith imagery has very deep meanings in the Western Hermetic philosophy.

The story of Lilith as the first wife of Adam originates from Jewish mythology and folklore, rather than the canonical text of Genesis itself. In Genesis, there's a brief mention of the creation of humanity, where it states that God created man and woman in His image. However, the specifics of Lilith being Adam's first wife come from later interpretations and texts.

According to some Jewish folklore, Lilith was created alongside Adam, rather than from Adam's rib like Eve.

The concept of Lilith as Adam's first wife primarily appears in non-canonical Jewish texts and folklore, such as the Alphabet of Ben-Sira and the Babylonian Talmud. These texts provide narratives and interpretations that supplement the brief account of creation found in Genesis. In these alternative stories, Lilith is often depicted as a rebellious figure who refuses to submit to Adam's authority and is subsequently banished from the Garden of Eden. This story depicts the beginning of the Patriarchies creation of misogynist religions.

So, while Lilith is not a character in the canonical Genesis text, she has become a prominent figure in Jewish folklore and later interpretations of the creation story.

This version suggests that Lilith refused to submit to Adam's authority over her sexuality, asserting her own independence and equality. This refusal led to her leaving the Garden of Eden. Subsequently, Eve was created from Adam's rib to be a more compliant companion and due to compliance, the world is now seen falsely as male property as a Military Industrial Empire and dying as her wisdom will become apparent in the Homo Luminous who receives her as the foundation of Life rather than trying to dominate it for fear of dying.

The new age idea being that in the age of Horus Lilith (Priestess) will restore the planet to its fertile, and fecund glory...for as we all know, it is the Womb that is in charge of Life! Lilith is a Hebrew name, earlier in history she was known in Sumeria as Ereshkigal, the goddess sister of Inanna.

Due to Patriarchal propaganda Lilith's character has been reinterpreted in various ways over time, sometimes as a demon (Christian/Jewish Propaganda) or a symbol of female empowerment (the Priestess). She has appeared in various forms in literature, art, and contemporary culture, often representing themes of rebellion, independence, and sexuality.

The Patriarchy's brutal campaign to wrestle life away from woman's control of sexual penetration, even her right to bear only the children she wanted to give birth to, has painted her as a dark demonist who is a nymphomaniac that mates with demons.

Who of any intelligence could possibly believe that a woman has no right to her own body?

Besides, the egregore profaned dogma human being is the greatest demonic presence the earth has ever seen! The enlighten human. Homo Luminous is also the greatest angelic presence.

Traditionally the teaching of the Hierophant opens our minds to the exoteric (public egregore) genesis of the imitation of the great work that fundamental religion supposedly represents. The Hierophantic Priestess brings back te esoteric (private) peace, wisdom, counsel, and the ability to learn and understand; thereby allowing us to realize the highest projects. There is no domination in her only faith in one's divinity. Hence, the Thoth Tarot also illustrates a Priestess as Key 2. Think of the key-5 Hierophant as a dogmatic authority and the Priestess illustrates a more personal and intuitive approach.

However, only excessive blind (fear based) faith of an indoctrinated zealot can turn these esoteric teachings into exoteric fanaticism, intolerance, dogma, egoic self-righteousness, and backstabbing, until it completely blocks our reason in the realm of Malkuth/the material realm. That is not the real purpose of the Hierophant. Therefore, it behooves us to analyze everything we learn from the Hierophant...one of intelligence never believes everything they think nor falls to emotional manipulation.

When the HIEROPHANT 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.
• 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.
• Life is the teacher here, as the querent experiences growth through a meditative process of Buddha like philosophy that views every experience as a lesson-learning opportunity.
• Search for the Truth.
• Tradition, community, and teachings.
• Conformity.
• Marriage, or any social commitment.
• Teaching by way of discovery. 
• Connecting to your divine source.

If ill defined by the surrounding cards of the layout:

• Intolerance.
• Presumption.
• Esoteric arrogance.
• Social pressure.
• Doctrines or ideas that have lost meaning.
• Gullibility.

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