The Hierophant as How Someone Sees You: Proper, Serious and Someone to Introduce

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Hierophant as how someone sees you means they see the figure between the pillars with the keys. Here is what the picture includes, upright and reversed.

If you want the short answer, the Hierophant as how someone sees you means they see you as proper: respectable, serious, principled, the kind of person they could introduce to their family and commit to in the recognised way. It is a weighty picture and a conventional one. The person is measuring you against what is expected, and the upright card means you measure up.

This is you as the figure with the crossed keys and the acolytes kneeling. They see someone who fits the tradition. They may not have asked whether you want to.

The Hierophant upright as how someone sees you

Tina Gong's the Hierophant guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with tradition, conformity, spiritual guidance and institutions. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone sees you, I read those meanings as the image the person holds of you, which is not the same as who you are and not the same as what they feel. the Hierophant as feelings covers what they feel; the Hierophant as intentions covers what they plan. This page covers the picture. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Hierophant as a person who sees you as marriage material in the old sense: trustworthy, respectable, aligned with their values and their people's values. They take you seriously. In the upright card the seriousness is a form of regard, and it may be more about the fit than about you.

What I would not read into it is passion or curiosity about who you are outside the form. The Hierophant is seen for what he represents. The person may be approving of a role you did not know you were playing.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person sees you with desire rather than approval, that their idea of commitment matches yours, or that they would still see you this way if you stepped outside the expected shape. No card lets a reader see inside another person's head. What a card can do is describe the kind of image that fits the person's behaviour toward you, and give you something to check against how they actually treat you.

The Hierophant reversed as how someone sees you

Reversed, the Hierophant as how someone sees you means the picture has gone from proper to disapproving or from respected to rigid: they see you as unconventional in a way they cannot accept, or as someone who follows rules without belief, or as a hypocrite. The fit they valued has broken.

In your own question, ask whether the person has lately seemed uncomfortable with something about your life that does not fit their expectations, or whether they have said anything about what people would think. A reversed card here is a prompt to notice whether the picture the person holds has gone sour or gone wrong, not a verdict on you.

The Hierophant as how an ex sees you

Asked how an ex sees you, the Hierophant suggests they remember you as the proper choice, the one who fitted, and perhaps regret the life that would have looked right. That is regret about the form more than about the person, and the card cannot tell them apart. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Hierophant as how a new person sees you

For someone new, this card means they are already measuring you against what they expect a partner to be, and so far you fit. If you want something traditional, that is good news. If you do not, let them see it early.

How to check the picture against reality

Look at whether the person introduces you to the people who matter and talks about the future in conventional terms. Look at whether they seem interested in the parts of you that do not fit. A Hierophant picture is approving and formal; the way to test it is to show them something unexpected.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, the expectation the person seems to be measuring you against, and whether you want to be measured by it. The third note is the conversation to have.

For comparison, the Emperor as how someone sees you and the King of Pentacles as how someone sees you describe different pictures. The the Hierophant card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Hierophant as a person covers the card when it describes a temperament rather than an image. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.