The Hermit Tarot Card
The Hermit Meaning
The Hermit is often connected to Mercury, Saturn and the sign of Virgo, as it speaks of messages brought from the underworld, loneliness and celibacy, the darkest of deserts of our Soul. It requires solitude and a quiet ascension towards our goals, until we reach the top of the mountain where we see and understand all, and have found peace with our struggles. Still, there is no point in hiding from its role seen through Pluto, as it is the turning point where we learn to heal, to forgive ourselves, to outgrow the past and our rivers of ancestors. This is a card that shows how much self-care and rest is necessary to make bold steps forwards towards things we wish to accomplish, as well as the signal of constant inner struggle that can only be resolved in solitude and with the presence of God. No other person is seen here, pointing out that our full responsibility for Self allows us to see which steps we must take to embrace all and understand our true position of success in the world. The light carried here is the light of love and the light of our Soul's talents and needs, and might be interpreted as the inner child that we must keep safe from the outer world until we reach the mountain top we are moving towards.
Love
It doesn’t seem promising to see the Hermit in a love reading, a card of isolation and solitude. Still, it won’t necessarily ruin our chance of togetherness and depending on the level of awareness and the entangled roles of souls involved, we can see that it points out the importance of personal space and boundaries in a bond that allow us to understand what we truly want with the person standing in front of us. It is the card of high goals and aspirations that requires one more “hermit” to stand opposed to us, so we can communicate on similar levels of spiritual development or we might be pulled away by emotions that are burdening and really belonged to our ancestors. It is the card of brutal truth needed to connect, and could lead to conception of new life if managed in pure honesty and devotion to each individual's independent growth.
Career
This card is a positive symbol for a career reading, showing dedication to the goal and long-term commitments that we can endure until we reach the status and accomplishments we seek. It reminds us of the value of Self in a team, and shows that we must take our personal responsibility first before connecting to any members of a group or other people in our office. This shows a professional path in touch with nature, cycles of life, of birth and death, and risky solitary efforts that bring incredible results in research and growth of collective consciousness. In a choice of career, this is a card of healer where our wounds serve to heal wounds of others as we learn how to heal ourselves. It is the energetic work of any kind, healing with hands, shamanism and the use of animal guides to show others the way as well.
Health
The power of healing of the Hermit is clearly seen in faith, deeply hidden knowledge and values of our personal underworld. It is the card that shows we need rest and solitude to find answers in meditation or sleep, and the one to point out that interactions with the outer world might distract us from healing. It is also a pointer that solutions to any possible state of physiology will be found in alternate choices, apart from typical medical conclusions and advice. It shows how our energetic body and processes influence our unconscious world of health and points us to fast, slow down, breathe and relax, until we create balance within so our bodies can recover and feel good.
The Hermit Reversed
The reversed position of the Hermit might show that our seemingly divine accomplishments and aspirations are a consequence of unconscious fear. It is a tricky position to have in our reading, for it faces us with true responsibility for the heart when we try to follow rational and concrete approaches to life. It points out the need to get in touch with our emotional world rather than simply chasing for goals that aren’t in tune with our authentic core, and might show that we have spent too much time in other people's battles or hiding from our own darkness and inner shadows. It summons us to commit to the truth in our heart, dive in deep so our mind can actually feel the information reaching it. On the other hand, it can be a pointer that we have given up on joy by letting negative emotions and loneliness define us when it is time to face the world and get out of our shell.
The Hermit Time Line
Past - When set in the reading for our past, the Hermit shows how our time spent in pain, solitude, or even trauma made us strong and led us to new knowledge that we might have felt a bit inexperienced to use. It is a deep transformation of the inner world where we were faced with our demons and dark sides of life to grow, and shows how we had to create boundaries and walls towards others to heal and learn so we can move forwards with a different glow, true to our core of personality.
Present - Showing our current ability to dig out any truth that stands in the way of progress, this card turns our quests inwards and gives us the strength to endure in long-term inner battles until solutions are found. It reminds us to spend enough time alone, in contact with Nature, our Spirits and our God, and gives us feedback on information we can find within if we stop looking for answers in other people and the outer world. The true turning point in life, it speaks of our readiness to find the real truth apart from any other person and influence from the side, while still using each contact to grow.
Future - When connected to the future, the Hermit shows how important our path in the following days, weeks or months is, and how we must attend to it with dedication and focus on Self. To conceive something new and achieve goals we wish to, we will have to move down the solitary path that doesn’t necessarily have to represent our seclusion from physical contact with others, as much as our personal dedication to inner motives that don’t have anything to do with the outer world. It requires holding on to the deepest beliefs in our heart, no matter what anyone might do or say.
The Hermit History
Moving through different roles of the same symbolism, this card has been shown to represent Cronus, the Shaman and an old man who holds the Lamp of truth. Whatever the indication, it always carried a spiritual note that brings contact with Nature in solitude and separation from the world, for religious or spiritual reasons when answers need to be found in other realms of existence than those found in collective human awareness.
