The Pope also became associated with the Hebrew letter He or “the breath that animates life”. The two disciples became representations of the two different ways one could receive spiritual knowledge – theology and piety – and this is where Wirth makes the stylistic choice to portray them wearing opposing colors to emphasize this contrast. The triple cross became a lingam piercing through the three levels of reality. The pillared throne takes on new significance as the pillars of Hermes and Solomon, with their green coloration representing the practice of a “living” tradition. The Oswald Wirth Tarot, which we’ve established in other articles as being one of the first tarot decks that was designed explicitly for divinatory use, took very few liberties with its depiction of the card, opting to appropriate the details from the Marseille depiction wholesale while ascribing new meaning to said symbols based on the writings of occultist Eliphas Levi. ( Pictured top to bottom: German Besancon Tarot, French Vandenborre Tarot, Bologna Tarrochino) Tarrochino decks published today still feature these cards. In one of the most lasting examples, the country of Bologna’s 62-card version of the tarot known as the tarrochino replaced the Empress, Emperor, the High Priestess (then known as the Papess), and the Pope with four Moorish kings referred to collectively as the Moors. In Belgium and Northern France, Bacchus, the god of wine, was used as their substitution for the Pope. German-speaking Protestant areas have historically used Jupiter, the highest-ranking German god, as their replacement. In these cases the Pope is often replaced by a different figure denoting religious authority. ![]() There are also some Catholic communities which may see the depiction of the Pope in a tarot deck as being a sacrilege. It’s worth noting that in many areas where tarot games are played, Catholic imagery may not be desirable based on its incompatibility with the dominant spiritual beliefs of that region. ( Pictured: Claude Burdel’s Tarot Marseille) Additionally he is wearing the triple-tiered crown and holding a triple crossed staff and we also see the introduction of two disciples who are looking up to him in the bottom of the image, one on either side of the Pope. Some artists have re-interpreted the throne as being a pair of pillars. When Tarot Marseille-style decks became more prominent, they standardized a depiction of a bearded pope seated on a throne, looking off to the right. ![]() In this image we see Felix seated on a throne wrapped in an ornate cape, along with early portrayals of what have now become iconic Hierophant tropes: the three-tiered crown, the staff topped by a cross, and the left hand making a blessing. Antipopes were individuals who attempted to oppose the power of the legitimately elected pope. In the case of the Pope, the person cast in the role was Pope Felix V, the last of what were referred to as the antipopes. The oldest surviving tarot deck, the Visconti-Sforza, took its inspiration for the appearance of its characters from real life figures living during that time. ![]() There is a reason for the name change which we will get into later. The earliest depictions of the Hierophant refer to him as the “Pope”. ![]() In our next post, we’re going to go over the history of the Hierophant, the tarot’s embodiment of religious authority figures.
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