The Hierophant as Intentions: To Make It Official, the Proper Way

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Hierophant as intentions is a plan with a ceremony at the end of it. Here is what I would read in it, upright and reversed.

If you want the short answer, I would read the Hierophant as intentions that are serious, conventional and aimed at formal commitment. In an intentions position the card suggests the person means to do things properly with you: to introduce you, to make it official, to follow the recognised steps toward something sanctioned. The intention is traditional. It is not spontaneous, and it is not quick.

This is the figure between the pillars with the crossed keys. He intends the proper form. He intends you to learn it too.

The Hierophant upright as intentions

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 what someone intends toward you, I read those meanings as the shape of their plan rather than as a promise about what they will do. Feelings and intentions are different questions; the Hierophant as feelings covers the first, and this page covers the second. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Hierophant as a person who intends commitment in its recognised shape: engagement, marriage, family approval, shared beliefs, the right order of things. They are thinking about whether you fit the life they expect, and if they have concluded you do, they intend to make it formal.

What I would not read into it is passion or improvisation. The Hierophant intends to bless. He does not intend to surprise, and the sanction he plans for takes its own time.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person is in love rather than approving, that their idea of commitment matches yours, or that the tradition they belong to has room for who you are. No card lets a reader see another person's plans. What a card can do is describe the kind of intention that fits the person's behaviour, and give you something to check against what they actually do.

The Hierophant reversed as intentions

Reversed, the Hierophant as intentions describes form without belief: a plan to commit because it is expected rather than wanted, intentions shaped by family or pressure rather than by feeling, or someone whose intention toward you conflicts with their tradition and who is resolving that conflict by going through the motions.

In your own question, ask whether the person seems torn between you and what they were raised to want, or whether they do everything correctly with nothing behind it. A reversed card as intentions is a prompt to compare what is said with what is done, not a diagnosis of bad faith.

The Hierophant as an ex's intentions

Asked about an ex, the Hierophant as intentions can suggest they still think of you in terms of what should have been, the proper life, the expected path. That is often regret about the form rather than longing for 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 a new person's intentions

For someone new, this card describes serious, respectful intent from someone already thinking about whether you fit the life they expect. It is not a casual start. If you want something traditional, it is a very good sign. If you do not, say so early.

What their intentions look like in action

Look for propriety and seriousness: introductions to people who matter, future talk in conventional terms, things done in the expected order. A Hierophant intention is formal. If it is all form and you cannot find the feeling, read the reversal.

What to record before drawing again

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

For comparison, the Emperor as intentions and the Lovers as intentions describe different intentions. The the Hierophant card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Hierophant as a person and the Hierophant as a yes or no cover the other questions people most often ask of it. 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.