The HierophantDeck: Ukiyoe
Traditionally known as the Hierophant, this card refers to a Master and the learning of practical lessons from the study of Natural Law. This energy of this card points to some agent or resource that can reveal the secrets of life, the cycles of the moon and tides, the links between human beings and the heavens.
Because monasteries were the only places a person could learn to read and write in the middle ages, a Hierophant was one to whom a student would petition for entry. He was the one to set the curriculum for the neophyte's course of study.
Often pictured with the right hand raised in blessing, the Hierophant is linked with the ancient lineage of Melchezidek, initiator of the Hebrew priestly tradition, the one who passes on the teachings. All shamans of any tradition draw upon this archetype.
"... right hand raised in blessing,". Hmm, right hand man . I was born with a perfectly good right hand. Matter of fact, it is slightly bigger and stronger. Self-Fixing. Still, this makes me think of an old favorite by Joan Osborne. Titled, as you might surmise, Right Hand Man , which always elicits a smile. I smile because I can't help but recall all of the true great lefties I've known. Guess she's right, though. It is a matter of ... the one who can. Even if. The mainstay is my own and all else is the peaking, oops, I mean peeking (or is it petitioning?) into the exhilarating experience of an other's perspective?
There's got to be a classic Good Fuck somewhere in this deck. Next card, please...
Note: For live performances,Osborne changes the original lyric from a boy who can to the one who can. Ambidextrous. Love that.
