Hierophant
Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIE : Hierophant
The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries.
known Hierophants:
Occultism
Occult and mystic and in Esoteric Christianity teach that in the spiritual worlds Initiation is given into Holy Mysteries, to those prepared, by the Hierophants of the Lesser Mystery Schools, and beyond them there are still schools wherein greater Mysteries are taught.
In Tarot, The Hierophant is one of the twenty-two trump cards comprising the Major Arcana, and represents the guide towards knowledge, insight and wisdom. In a tarot reading it might for example represent a priest, scholar, therapist or teacher.
Popular culture
In the first and second editions of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, hierophant was the highest ranking a druid could achieve. In the third edition, it is a prestige class available to any divine spellcaster (typically druids and clerics); its abilities revolve around improving the spellcaster's abilities, such as manipulation of energy to heal or harm others and affect undead, aiding others by transferring powers to them, and improving spellcasting ability.
Now it is included in the 3.5 version of Dungeons & Dragons. It can be found in the Dungeon Master's Guide of the current edition of the game or on the system reference document as a part of the Open Gaming License.
In the science fiction/fantasy world of Warhammer 40,000, the Hierophant is amongst the largest and most formidable of the Tyranid Bio creatures faced by ground forces. Not much is known about these massive creatures.
The Cenobites in Clive Barker's novella "The Hellbound Heart" (filmed as 'Hellraiser') are often referred to as 'Hierophants'.
A popular fan site dedicated to Marilyn Manson is titled "The Heirophant", named after the first cycle of his album Antichrist Superstar. [link]
In the White Wolf game (New World of Darkness), the Hierophant is the spiritual leader within a given city for the covenant known as the Circle of the Crone.
There is a regular column in Fortean Times published under the pseudonym The Hierophant.
In the Halo sequel novel, the Unyielding Hierophant was a Covenant space station so vastly large its gravity could be manipulated to resemble an Escher painting. It was used as a rendezvous point for Covenant ships in order to amass for the invasion of Earth. It was destroyed by the last remaining spartans. The vast majority of Covenant ships were destroyed as they attempted to move in closer and eliminate a crashed flag ship piloted by Admiral Whitcomb. It is belived that this sacrifice by the Admiral saved Earth from total destruction.
In the popular MUD; Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands, the Hierophant is a type of tarot card which allows the user to issue one mental command to the victim.
In the arcade video game The House of the Dead 2, The Hierophant (Type B 05) is a demon humanoid with gills, and one of the bosses.
In the arcade game Magical Drop III, the Hierophant is a playable character.
In the novel Nuklear Age by Brian Clevinger, one character's (Alex Halo) true identity is the superhero, Hierophant.
In the novel Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed, the Hierophant leads the “Wallflower Order,” a secret society dedicated to the containment of the “Jes Grew” epidemic.
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