The Rider - Waite Tarot Deck - Starbridge Centre

ornamented sceptre, ending in a lily, the "Fleur de Lie", once again representing the
creativity of his mind.
The red flower at his right foot, now opened, indicates that THE EMPEROR`S energy is
moving out into physical reality.
The emperor carries the number four, and the letter DALETH.
Oswald Wirth' deck
CARD 5: LE PAUPE, THE HIEROPHANT
Keyword:
Contemplation:
Spiritual teaching comes in whenever there is balance.
SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY.
THE POPE or hierophant is sitting on a throne with the two pillars, the negative-feminine
and the positive-masculine poles, closer to each other and with no veil or curtain between
them, because on the level THE POPE represents there is hardly any tension between the
male and the female powers.
THE POPE has a white beard, he wears white gloves decorated with blue crosses
symbolising his purity, and he holds his right hand raised in the mudra of peace, denoting
his benignness.
In his left hand he holds a golden staff with three horizontal bars on top, representing the
levels of the root chakra, the heart chakra and the pineal chakra. Below these three bars
there is a green sphere on his staff, symbolising the world of mind. THE POPE is pointing
to the green ball with his index finger indicating that his teaching is fertile.
His crown also has three levels or circlets, each ornamented differently, with the highest
level, the causal, carved in only geometrical forms, and ending with a cross on top. His
crown illustrates that he masters the physical-etheric (the lowest circlet), the astral (the
© 2005 Starbridge Centre Ulla and Erik Sandersen
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