V, The Hierophant (in some deck, The Pope), is the one who reveals sacred things. He corresponds to the process of 'projection' in alchemy, and he stands for the intervention of the divine in earhtly life (a higher parallel to the Wheel). He holds the keys of heaven and hell, which signify the knowledge of good and evil. The Hierophant suggests to listen more closely to your inner thoughts and gives your strength to rely on an intuitive understanding of factual analysis.
Five, is a much brighter person altogether. He is restless and jumpy, clever, impatient. He lives on his nerves. The unusual and the bizarre fascinate him. He loves travel, new people, different surroundings. Fives are jacks of all trades and masters of none, attracted by everything but held by nothing. They enjoy gambling, speculation and risks. They make excellent salesman if they believe in the product they sell. They are adventurous, attractive people, quick-tempered, sometimes conceited and sarcastic. They detest responsibilities and avoid it. They hate to be tied down or in a rut, often inconsiderate and self-indulgent, they are resourceful, resilient, many-sided people, hard to analyse or pin down. Fives have interesting but highly unstable love lives and the dark side of their nature may slow itself in excess, debauchery or perversion.
In tradition, this is the number of the planet Mercury, named after the Messenger of Gods, who also conveyed the dead to the banks of the river Styx for the ferryman, Charon, to take them to the underworld. Mercury's mother was Maia, one of the Pleiades, nymphs who were pursued by Orion for five years before being transformed into stars. May, the fifth month, is named after her. The five fingers are linked to Mercury, the little finger being named after him. In early astrology, there were only five planets, together with the Sun and Moon, and the Chinese saw the number five as affecting all aspects of life. Mercury, the messenger was constantly on the move, both physically and mentally, and these attributes are brought in both good and bad measure to those born on the 5th.
Medieval occultists considered human nature to be determined by a combination of four humours - black choler, blood, yellow choler and phlegm - related to the four elements of earth, air, fire and water respectively. To these was added a quinta essentia, meaning fifth humour or element, from which the word quintessence is derived. It was the secret and mysterious fifth essence which gave the spark of life to all the others, without it, man would remain made of clay. Esoterically, 5 is the spirit resurrected from the flesh; a pink or crimson five-pointed star; the voice of God heard in the temple; the new Creation. Five was so important to the Pythagoreans that the five-pointed star, or pentagram, was a secret and sacred symbol of membership of the order. It is also the first number of innovation: in analysis, 5 represents new directions, rethinking, radicalism, curiosity, impulsivity, restlessness.
People of 5 are likely to be of slender build, even wanting to put on weight, made impossible by their high metabolic rate and over-active behaviour. Mercury's colour is yellow, which can be reflected in the complexion, the whites of the eyes or the teeth. A way with words is another Mercury gift, with an especially silvery tongue when it comes to inveigling sexual favours. For five is the number of sexual pleasure.
Cheerful, extrovert qualities can be balanced by anxiety and impatience; getting things done efficiently may be marred by endless prevarication. This is the mind of an innovative inventor, an avant-garde writer or an enfant terrible of the arts. And, remember, genius is but the other side of madness.
