Personal year 5. The Hierophant.

2015 is a personal year 5 for me. In Tarot that translates into Major Arcana 5, known as the Hierophant or The Pope.

In my previous post ( 2015 is a Universal year 8) I explained the difference between Universal year and Personal year.
I also explained how to calculate both.

In the following post ( The year of Strength) I explained a year 8 through the eyes of Tarot.

Here I am going to do the same to explain a year 5.

Each number has a personality.

5 is about instability, curiosity, change. It is dynamic, versatile, adaptable. It likes to try everything, go everywhere. It also likes to live intensely and it can go overboard and indulge.

In a year 5 we will challenge anything that we think we can improve. In a year 5 we will do well if we promote ourselves and our ideas. It is a time to grab opportunities, be flexible and quick.

The Hierophant in The Robin Wood Tarot deck.

Now let’s look at The Hierophant.

At first glance this austere card is almost the opposite of what I have just described.

The Pope is the person, or the institution that holds the keys to knowledge.

The Hierophant usually stands for religious systems, schools, indoctrination, big corporations and the traditional way of doing things.

The Hierophant is also about management and the importance of listening. A good manager, as well as a good teacher knows how to listen. Doing so helps the Pope understand how to reach his staff or his students.

Facing the Pope help us understand if traditions are important to us, if we agree with the beliefs of the religion we have been raised in. Facing the Hierophant we discover if we fit in or not.

In the Gaian Tarot deck the Major Arcana 5 is The Teacher.

The Teacher in The Gaian Tarot deck.

The card is a radical departure from the traditional depiction of the Pope.

It is like we have already faced the Hierophant and decided that we did not fit in and that we could do things differently and better.

The Teacher is approachable, simple, grounded and down to earth. He teaches surrounded and aided by Nature. He teaches to see things differently, as in finding use and value in plants that are normally perceived as invasive weeds.

With the teacher we learn to view challenges as learning opportunities .