Hierophant

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The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries. A hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles.

known Hierophants:

[edit] Tarot

In Tarot, The Hierophant is one of the twenty-two trump cards comprising the Major Arcana, and represents conformity to social standards, or a deference to the established social moral order. As the guide towards knowledge, insight and wisdom, in a tarot reading it might, for example represent a priest, scholar, therapist or teacher...although these individuals are more definitively represented by the Hermit, or suggested by the traits attributed to the King of Cups. As in all readings, of course, the identity, positions and orientations of the other cards in the layout (as translated by the reader's intuition and unconscious insight) best determine how to interpret the appearance of the Hierophant.

[edit] Popular culture

Many games, particularly traditional role-playing games and computer role-playing games, feature entities called Hierophants, whether as a character class or enemy within the game. One example is Dungeons & Dragons, which has featured several rankings termed Hierophant for spellcasters in its various editions. Another example is The House of the Dead 2, in which an enemy called The Hierophant serves as a boss. These depictions do not always resemble their Tarot card inspirations. World of Warcraft features several outfits and items (mainly for the Priest class) which are dubbed "Of the Hierophant". In Lineage II, the Prophet class becomes a Hierophant. In Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, the Hierophant is a Persona arcana, generally associated with knowledge and spellcasting Persona.

Guitarist Steve Hackett's album Voyage of the Acolyte is all inspired by Tarot cards - the last song is called Shadow of the Hierophant.

The Cenobites in Clive Barker's novella "The Hellbound Heart" (filmed as Hellraiser) are often referred to as "Hierophants" and specifically as "Hierophants of the Order of the Gash"

In the novel Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed, the Hierophant leads the "Wallflower Order," a secret society dedicated to the containment of the "Jes Grew" epidemic.

The Fortean Times features a monthly column of paranormal gossip written by "The Hierophant".

In the novel "Halo: First Strike" hundreds of covenant ships gather at the Unyielding Hierophant while fueling up for an attack on Earth, which contains the Covenants holy Arc.

On the booklet artwork for Marilyn Manson's album Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) there are photos featuring Manson and the other band members as characters in a tarot card collection. Manson himself is found as The Hierophant as well as several other of the cards. There is also a web fan community for Manson named The Hierophant Council. Also, in his album Antichrist Superstar the first four tracks collectively make up the first part of the album, known as "The Heirophant."

The English band Coil has a track called "The Auto-Asphyxiating Hierophant" on their Autumn Equinox CD EP released in 1998. The track is also available on the compilation Moon's Milk (In Four Phases) from 2002.

In the movie, "Edmond", the protagonist played by William H. Macy who recently sought the services of a Tarot reader, is given a card from a man he meets in a bar (Joe Mantegna) who has offered him advice. At first, he thinks he sees the Hierophant, but the card is actually the name of a strip club.

In the book Nuklear Age, "Hierophant" is the name of a minor hero that has a brief appearance, meant to be a main character in Atomik Age (both by Brian Clevinger).