Tarot Working, The Hierophant

So far the Hierophant has not turned out to be what I expected. I’m not done working with him certainly but at the moment I’m confused.

I tried to start the week normally with putting down the Emperor and picking up the Hierophant but due to some missteps on my part I still had the Emperor popping up well into Friday. At any rate, I had some informal input from the Hierophant over the weekend. We talked about my practice and my need to take ownership of some things. He gave me some pointers on modifying my method of prayer. So far things were moving as I expected.

Then, yesterday, I sat down to do a more formal scrying session with the card.

As usual I set up a candle and my notebook and pen with the card propped up in front of me. I called to the Hierophant saying “come to me, speak to me, share with me your wisdom, show me your forms.” Soon the hair on the back of my neck stood on end and I developed a flutter in the eyelid of my left eye. I took these as signs the Hierophant was with me.

I asked “what is your message to me?”
He appears to inspect something in his hand and he says “examine details closely.” Then he looks directly at me and he is cross eyed! He rests his chin in his hand and he starts giggling. I was quite taken aback. This is not the behavior I had expected.  He is acting more foolishly than the Fool did. I decide to keep going and see where this takes us. I ask, “are you not solemn?” He nods vigorously with a blank and vacant look on his face. Then he does a weird kind of inverting, imploding kind of thing in which his face seems to swirl back into itself, concentrate, and then shoot as energy out of his eyes. I ask “how can I ascend to the next level?” He shrugs and giggles again.  I’m starting to get disappointed. I’m not sure what to make of this Hierophant I’ve called. He doesn’t seem to take any of this seriously.
I ask “who are your two acolytes?” He tells me they are Soul and Spirit. Then the two acolytes grasp the hem of the Hierophant’s robe and pull it open. Behind is revealed a landscape at night with a path that runs to the horizon. It reminds me of the Moon card but I know it is a different landscape. Ok, this is progress. A little more mystery and a lot less giggling.
I ask “how can I use your energy in my life?” Before he can answer a large fly starts buzzing around the room, distracting us both. Then he points to his mantle and says “authority”. This strikes me as a little odd given his irreverent behavior.
I ask him to be a presence in my life. I ask him “what are the lessons you can teach me?” He gets an intense look in his eyes and tells me “strategy to strike at your enemies" [this too strikes me as odd], "the uses of madness, knowledge of hidden spirits”. At this I see the face of a spirit resolve just behind him composed of his hair and details from his chair. Then the Hierophant starts blessing me- bless you, bless you, bless you- as if I sneezed several times. He says it in a rather sarcastic way. It is not solemn, it is not holy, it is not reverent. I see a doorway open behind the Hierophant. The spirit in his hair looks worried. I see a worm, like a grub, curled up in his beard.
“That!” he says emphatically, “is the reason I’m so crazy".
He smiles at the spirit and the spirit smiles back at him. Then, not looking in my direction, the Hierophant waves me away, still smiling at the spirit. I thank him for his time and tell him to be at peace as a license to depart and end the session.
I don’t know what to make of it. I’m confused. I will definitely need to do another scrying session before Friday.