V: The Hierophant - The Regurgitator

This is is a difficult card.  I wonder why?  It has a negative connotation in so many tarot  interpretations.  Perhaps that is due to the Hierophant standing as the unyielding school master.  The cruel keeper of so many wonderful secrets.  He seems to have the power, but does he use it for Good? Or does he fulfill his own motives?

Looking at this card, I see the goddess as the source of the illumination, which is then dispensed by the Hierophant.   I see the bull - Taurus - always a force to be reckoned with.  He sits on the bull - does that mean he is controlling that force?  The lessons learned in life are not always clear.  Where does the knowledge come from? From whom? Is the message being misinterpreted along the way?

This is my "I don't know" card.  On one level, I find that disturbing.  I can spout off the typical Hierophant interpretation and move on.  But it rarely seems enough.  It seems as if it just doesn't cover all the bases.  But on the other hand, it makes sense that this the "I don't know" card.  I DON'T know.  I am not there yet.  I am having to depend on intermediaries at this point to interpret those things I don't understand.  It gives me enough to move forward, but a sense of awareness (thank you Magus and Priestess) ensures that I don't fall into the trap of complacency - of blindly accepting the word of someone else as Truth.