The Hierophant: a 2021 Archetype

There’s something magical about New Year’s Eve: the final moments of the year ticking down before our eyes, the promise of a fresh start completely within reach, the opportunity to be someone new, someone different, someone better… The year ahead glitters like a charm, saying it aloud is an incantation of hope–but how long does this optimism stay? When does the present year become a curse? How does that shining promise become the symbol of everything we loathe, every obstacle that has stood in our way?

When 2019 drew to a close, I was in a fog: I had just gotten married, my head was in the clouds, and while my eyes are always on the stars I was wearing some very rosy glasses–I absolutely knew the Saturn conjunctions between Pluto and later Jupiter would bring widespread change, but I was hesitant to abandon my warm and fuzzy emotions for the potential hail of brimstone that could become. I knew Mars would pull ahead as a major planetary player, making 2020 a year of intense Malefic transits, but it was also a numerological 4, a Year of the Emperor. The Emperor is ruled by Aries, the sign Mars spent nearly 6 months of 2020 marching through, a sign of war and martial action–but the Emperor himself also speaks of rigid structure, of control, the proverbial Iron Fist of rulership. It’s never been my favourite card in the deck, but again I was hesitant to toss aside my optimism. Instead, I…