The Hierophant Tarot Card Meaning

Pope Tarot Card Keywords

Good advice, conformity, orthodoxy, formal learning, traditional values.

Pope Tarot Card Description

Two men appear with their backs to us, they face The Pope, who is much larger than they are. The Pope (who is a seated man of mature years), doesn’t look at them, but gazes to a staff in his left hand, his right hand is raised in blessing.

Upright Meaning

The Pope represents accepted teaching and knowledge. He is the sort of chap who thinks in a logical manner and is perhaps a little unimaginative, dare we say - dull. He is a conservative soul who likes things done the traditional way, and when he appears in your life, its best to play by the accepted rules. It may help to imagine him as a fussy old chap in a Savile Row suit who haunts Pall Mall clubs in London - pontificating happily from his leather Chesterfield chair regarding his support for the status quo and the need for tradition, whilst getting red-faced and flustered when confronted with new ideas and ways. Whether you are worried about a relationship, bothered about business or fussed over a family issue, The Pope suggests that the best way forward is by following the norms of your society. Furthermore, he encourages you to work as part of a team rather than breaking away from your peers in an act of defiant individualism. His appearance may also suggest you need to get some professional advice. You could also benefit from the reappearance of an old friend in your life who can offer you some wise insights. It may be, of course, that it is you who is asked for your opinion on a subject. If so, base you counsel on the facts and a pragmatic approach, rather than offering solutions based on emotion or radical new theories. The Pope reminds you that you may need to stick determinedly to your own values and beliefs but, equally, to remember that you should accept that other folks have the right to disagree with you.

Reversed Meaning

As a rough guide (and I do mean a rough guide, as this does not always hold true), a reversed card tends to take on the opposite meaning of its upright values. So it’s no surprise that if the upright Pope is a card of conformity, in its reversed aspect the card has a more bohemian flavour. When upright, The Pope is telling you to don a sombre suit and a serious expression, however, reversed, he is asking you to nab your tie-dyed T-shirt, grab a kaftan and go boho for the time being at least. When he is reversed, The Pope suggests you (or someone around you), is too stuck in their ways and that there is a need to accept that different people have equally valid, but different approaches to life. He also warns us not to view the past as some kind of golden age when things were better, but to embrace the here and now. The appearance of The Pope in a reversed position, tells us that we need to look for radical, new and even off-the-wall solutions to problems - be they in education, business or romance. He also warns you to take any advice with a pinch of salt, as it may be untrustworthy or ill-suited to your needs.