The Pope and the Hierophant: Tarot in the New Aeon

That Astrologer, Fairlie Theta
7 min readMay 7, 2021

It’s often said that humans are machines of pattern recognition, inventing meaning in the randomness of chaos. It’s the principle argument of skeptics and detractors of the occult, a chief commandment of atheism. Yet it hasn’t stopped millions of human minds from seeking wisdom in these patterns, many of which predate our written histories. Archetypes and allegories teach us about people, events, and imperatives that contribute to our development as both individuals and members of society at large.

We see this play out in tarot. What began as a simple playing card game became a deeply nuanced system of symbolic language with the addition of the Triumphs (later Trumps). In gameplay, they mimicked the constant domination and submission of characters and events: the Triumph of Love as a parade of brilliance and beauty, the Triumph of Death indiscriminate of status or wealth, the Triumph of Eternity and the inheritance of the heavenly kingdom. But to occultists like Jean-Baptiste Alliette, better known as Etteilla, they were encapsulations of astrological and alchemical imperatives. Etteilla and his School saw larger cosmic patterns in tarot that changed not only their use, but the cards themselves: tarot was no longer simply a plaything or pastime — it would forevermore be a tool of inner wisdom.

“Le Grand Pretre” of Etteilla’s tarot

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That Astrologer, Fairlie Theta
That Astrologer, Fairlie Theta

Written by That Astrologer, Fairlie Theta

Fairlie Theta is a professional astrologer and a lifelong student of esoterica, marrying symbolism, semiotics, and psychology || See more at ThatAstrologer.com

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