V - The Hierophant

Titles: The Magus of the Eternal
Hebrew letter: ו (Vav = nail = 6) [Single Letter = Zodiacal Trump]
Element: Earth
Astrology: Taurus ♉ - Fixed Earth - The bull (ruler: Venus, exaltation: Moon; detriment: Mars/Pluto, fall: Uranus)
Time: 20 April - 20 May
Path on the Tree of Life: 16th Path (Chokmah ↔ Chesed; 2 ↔ 4)

Symbols/Colours:

this card is referred to the letter Vau, which means a Nail; of this instrument nine appear at the top of the card; they serve to fix the oriel behind the main figure of the picture;
the card is referred to Taurus; therefore the Throne of the Hierophant is surrounded by elephants, which are of the nature of Taurus; and he is actually seated upon a bull;
around him are the four beasts or Kerubs, one in each corner of the card; for these are the guardians of every shrine;
the main reference is to the particular arcanum which is the principal business, the essential, of all magical work; the uniting of the microcosm with the macrocosm; accordingly, the oriel is diaphanous;
before the Manifestor of the Mystery is a hexagram representing the macrocosm;
in the hexagram's centre is a pentagram, representing a dancing male child; this symbolizes the law of the new Aeon of the Child Horus, which has supplanted that Aeon of the "Dying God" which governed the world for two thousand years;
before him is the woman girt with a sword; she represents the Scarlet Woman in the hierarchy of the new Aeon; this symbolism is further carried out in the oriel where, behind the phallic headdress, the rose of five petals is in blossom;
the symbolism of the snake and dove refers to this verse of the Book of the Law, ch. I, verse 57: "there are love and love. There is the dove, and there is the serpent"; this symbol recurs in the trump numbered XVI;
the background of the whole card is the dark blue of the starry night of Nuit, from whose womb all phenomena are born;
Taurus, the sign of the Zodiac represented by this card, is itself the Bull Kerub; that is, Earth in its strongest and most balanced form;
the ruler of this sign is Venus; she is represented by the woman standing before the hierophant; ch. III of the Book of the Law, verse xi, reads: "Let the woman be girt with a sword before me"; this woman represents Venus as she now is in this new aeon; no longer the mere vehicle of her male counterpart, but armed and militant;
in this sign the Moon is exalted; her influence is represented not only by the woman, but by the nine nails;
symbolism of the Wand is peculiar; the three interlaced rings which crown it may be taken as representative of the three Aeons of Isis, Osiris and Horus with their interlocking magical formulae; the upper ring is marked with scarlet for Horus; the two lower rings with green for Isis, and pale yellow for Osiris, respectively.