Taurus: The Heirophant

AstrologyTree of Life / QabalahZodiac SignsTarot CorrespondencesTarot Color BreakdownGreat Work BookMajor Arcana / Trumps

Apr 21

Written By M Fortune

*V. The Hierophant from* *The Rider-Waite, Thoth, and Golden Dawn tarot decks.*

The Hierophant, whose esoteric title is “Magus of the Eternal Gods,” is considered the counterpart of the High Priestess. Organizational structures in all forms are suggested, whether religious, business, or relational. Under the influence of Venus, the ruling planet of Taurus, the Hierophant presides over this framework with compassion and patience rather than an iron fist. However, be aware of the Hierophant’s unwavering devotion to the established system.

In this article, we will examine The Hierophant’s connection to astrology and the Tree of Life (Qabalah). This includes information about this card's zodiac, planetary, and elemental attributes, along with color and other magickal correspondences, and how these aspects shape The Hierophant’s unique characteristics and aesthetics.

For those using The Great Work Book to log their tarot studies, this is an excellent opportunity to add details about The Hierophant. Example pages featuring The Hierophant are included at the end of this article.

The Astrology of The Hierophant

The Great Work Book showing journal pages for The Hierophant, the tarot card associated with Taurusi. Cards pictured are from the Rider-Waite, Crowley Thoth, and Golden Dawn tarot decks. — *The Great Work Book* *showing journal pages for The Hierophant, the tarot card associated with Taurus.*

Zodiac Sign: The Lover’s Sign is Taurus.

Element: The Lover’s element is Earth.

Ruling Planet: The Lover’s ruling planet is Venus.

Modality: The Lover’s Modality is Fixed.

Dates: April 21 - May 21

The Hierophant card is associated with the Zodiac sign Taurus. Venus governs this Fixed Earth sign, which rules the heavens from April 21 to May 21. Taurus expresses its Venusian traits through steadfast devotion to loved ones and a strong commitment to achieving goals.

Each zodiac sign is categorized into three modes: Cardinal at the start, Fixed in the middle, and Mutable at the end of a season. Fixed signs—Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius—appear mid-season, suggesting a reliable, steadfast, and dependable nature, but one that is also resistant to change. Taurus signifies mid-spring, a time when nature transforms all around us, with growth being the constant.

As a Fixed sign, Taurus is the most stable among the Earth signs, characterized by a strong will, perseverance in achieving goals, and unwavering devotion to loved ones—traits represented by the benevolent overseer, The Hierophant.

The Minor Cards of Taurus

The Hierophant card from Crowley's Thoth Tarot is pictured with its associated Minor Arcana cards, the 5, 7, and 7 of Disks. — *The Hierophant card from the* *Thoth Tarot* *is pictured with its associated Minor Arcana cards, the 5, 6, and 7 of Disks.*

Each Zodiac sign is split into three sections of about ten days, called Decans. Each Decan is ruled by a different planet, providing additional influence to each Zodiac sign. As a result, a person's Zodiac traits can be expressed in three distinct ways, based on the Decan of their birth.

Each Decan is associated with a Minor or Pip Tarot card, marking the distinct qualities of each ten-day period. Consequently, every Zodiac Trump card has three corresponding numbered cards representing the initial, middle, and final phases of the Sun’s journey through that sign. Taurus, and therefore The Hierophant, has the 5, 6, and 7 of Pentacles as assigned as Minor cards.

Decan 1: Mercury • 5 of Pentacles, Worry

The Five of Pentacles is assigned to the First Decan of Taurus and is ruled by Mercury from April 21 - 30.

Decan 2: The Moon • 6 of Pentacles, Success

The Six of Pentacles is assigned to the Second Decan of Taurus and is ruled by the Moon, May 1 - 10.

Decan 3: Saturn • 7 of Pentacles, Failure

The Seven of Pentacles is assigned to the Third Decan of Taurus and is ruled by Saturn, May 11 - 21.

Taurus on the Tree of Life

The Great Work Book’s Qabalistic Journal featuring Vau, the path associated with Taurus. The Hierophant tarot cards from Rider-Waite, Thoth, and Golden Dawn decks are pictured. — The Great Work Book’s Qabalistic Journal featuring Vau, the path associated with Taurus.

Infographic of the Tree of Life (Qabalah) showing the path Zain and its connecting Sephiroth Binah and Tiphareth. Zain is the path of Taurus and The Hierophant tarot card. — Vau, the path of Taurus, and its connecting Sephiroth, Chokmah and Chesed.

All tarot cards can be mapped to the Tree of Life (Qabalah). Exploring tarot on the Tree of Life offers students new ways to study the connections not only between the cards but also in life itself. The Qabalistic system is an excellent way to learn the underpinnings of divinatory meanings by making associations with astrology, color, and many other correspondences.

On the Tree of Life, the Hierophant is mapped to Path 16, Vau. Vau means “nail” and is located between Sephiroth (spheres) 2 Chokmah and 4 Chesed, Wisdom and Mercy, respectively. Chokmah is known as the sphere of creative force and inspiration, and is home to the Zodiac as a whole. Chesed is known as the Architect of Manifestation and is home to Jupiter. Their connecting path, according to Qabalistic teachings, is titled the “Triumphal or Eternal Intelligence,” which “is the pleasure of the Glory, beyond which is no other Glory like to it, and it is called also the Paradise prepared for the Righteous.”

Looking closely at these three components of the Tree—namely, the path from the Zodiac to Jupiter—it becomes clear that the path of Vau is one where the structures and frameworks of all that is to come are cared for and developed by faithful devotees. This is reflected in the depiction of a benevolent religious leader in The Hierophant tarot card.

The Colors of Taurus

The Hierophant tarot card from the Rider-Waite, Crowley Thoth, and Golden Dawn tarot decks pictured with their qalabistic color palette. — The Hierophant from the Rider-Waite, Thoth, and Golden Dawn Tarot decks, shown with the card's color palette for comparison.

Infographic showing the color palette of The Hierophant tarot card, along with planetary and elemental references. — The color palette of The Hierophant tarot card.

Behind the Tree of Life lies an intricate system of color associations. Developed by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, this system begins by assigning colors to the planets, elements, and zodiac signs and extends to 128 colors that correspond to the spheres and paths of the Tree of Life across its four elemental worlds: Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.

Known as the Color Scales, this system associates specific colors with locations on the Tree of Life and has been used by many tarot artists to create a color palette for each card. Below are the color associations of Taurus and its tarot card, The Hierophant.

Astrological Color of Taurus

ELEMENT: The Element of Taurus is Earth, which is represented by Green, Brown, Black, or Indigo.

ZODIAC: The Hierophant’s sign is Taurus, which is represented by Orange.

PLANET: The ruling planet of Taurus is Venus, which is represented by Green.

The Tree of Life Colors of Taurus

Unlike the Minor Arcana, which are categorized into only one of the elemental worlds based on their suit, the Major Arcana are seen as expressing all four elemental worlds simultaneously and therefore have colors from all four worlds assigned.

FIRE: In the King Scale of Color (Fire, Atziluth), the path of Taurus is colored Red Orange.

WATER: In the Queen Scale of Color (Water, Briah), the path of Taurus is colored Deep Indigo.

AIR: In the Emperor Scale of Color (Air, Yetzirah), the path of Taurus is colored Deep Warm Olive.

EARTH: In the Empress Scale of Color (Earth, Assiah), the path of Taurus is colored Rich Brown.

Summary of Correspondences for The Hierophant

Often described as a filing cabinet for the forces of nature, the Qabalah is a free-association system that encourages individuals to map their own connections to the image known as the Tree of Life. Mapping tarot to the Tree is only one way to use this system. In fact, learning to make other associations on the Tree can improve your tarot studies by forming links to ideas, events, behaviors, and various other concepts related to a card.

Below is a summary of the correspondences covered in this article, along with several notable associations with The Hierophant’s path, Vai. A full list of correspondences can be found in Crowley’s 777 or the Thelemapedia website.

V. The Hierophant	CORRESPONDENCE	COLOR
ASTROLOGY
Zodiac Sign	♊︎ Taurus	● Red Orange
Element	🜃 Earth	● ● ● ● Green, Brown, Black, or Indigo
Ruling Planet	☿︎ Venus	● Green
Modality	Fixed	---
TREE OF LIFE
Tree of Life	Path 17: Zain, Sword	● ● ● ● Red Orange, Deep Indigo, Deep Warm Olive, Rich Brown
Esoteric Title	Magus of the Eternal Gods	---
Golden Dawn Number	Sixty-two	---
Yetziratic Text	The Triumphal or Eternal Intelligence	---
Plants	Mallow	---
Stones	Topaz	---
Perfumes	Storax	---
Gods	Venus, Shiva (sacred bull)	---
Magical Weapons	The Labor of Preparation	---
OTHER ASSOCIATIONS
Sound	C Sharp	---
Alchemical	Fixation	---
DIVINATORY MEANINGS
Organizational structures in all forms are suggested, whether religious, business, or relational. Under the influence of Venus, the ruling planet of Taurus, the Hierophant presides over this framework with compassion and patience rather than an iron fist. However, be aware of the Hierophant's unwavering devotion to the established system.

Taurus in The Great Work Book

Traditional tarot decks such as the Rider-Waite and the Crowley Thoth incorporate astrological and qabalistic symbols, often requiring detailed note-taking to interpret these connections. The Great Work Book helps tarot students track this info efficiently. It begins with exercises for logging a card’s astrology and progresses to activities on the Tree of Life. Additionally, the book includes journaling pages for each Zodiac sign, Tree of Life location, and all cards in a standard 78-card tarot deck. Together, these pages become a personalized, DIY encyclopedia for your tarot journey.

Below are a few examples of the activity and journaling pages in The Great Work Book, featuring those related to Taurus and The Hierophant tarot card.