Generally, a hermit is a person who lives in solitude or isolation from society, usually for some religious reasons.
Table of Contents
Description
The Hermit is the 9th Major Arcana card among all the 22 Major Arcana cards of Rider-Waite Deck. On this card, the Hermit wears a dark grey coloured cloth and stands alone at the top of the snow-covered mountain which symbolizes his achievements and growth. In his left hand, he holds a long wand to balance himself. Generally, a wand is a symbol of power, authority, command, and control. In his right hand, he holds a lantern to light his path, only up to some steps. In the background, the rest of the mountains are covered with the snow and the sky is completely dark, which means that only the lantern in Hermit’s hand can help him to see the directions.
Keywords
- Isolation
- Introspection
- Soul-searching
- Self-actualization
- Inner-guidance
- Spirituality
- Logical Thinking
- Patience
General Meaning
This card suggests that the person has to go for introspection to understand the realities of life. Usually, this phase is often associated with self-reflection, self-examination, and soul-searching. The person needs to keep patience and think logically to find his path, as things will be revealed in their respective periods. It suggests that the person may take a break from his current situations to recover from it. It symbolizes the time for meeting one’s own needs.
Upright Position
When the Hermit appears in your spread in the upright position, it suggests that there is a high time to take a break from the current situation to regain the lost energies and directions. The break is needed to go for introspection for self-discovery. Impatience, impulsive decisions, and anxiety will only lead to destruction. It also suggests the perfect time to go for solo trips or a trip to some religious places. The right directions will only be revealed if the person goes for introspection. If the person is confused regarding any situation in his life, this card suggests to have patience and putting the right efforts based on logical thinking is the only key to be successful.
Reversed Position
The Hermit card in the reversed position can be defined in two ways, depending upon its placement and other cards in the spread.
It represents that the person has completely ignored himself due to his busy schedule. He is not paying any attention to his health, his decisions, his directions, his goals, and also to his family. It suggests the high time to look for real-life purposes rather than going after the materialistic things.
Alternatively, it also suggests that you are taking a long break from the daily routine and it’s the high time to go back to the work. Introspection is important in life to understand the directions and purposes, but it doesn’t mean that the person starts ignoring the realities of life. It suggests that taking time for personal reflection is important, but it doesn’t mean that you start ignoring your friends and family, as a man is a social animal and can only survive in isolation up to a limited period.
The Hermit in Past Spread
You were very confused. The things in your past were delayed because of the lack of direction. You were not able to understand the real facts and were not taking correct decisions.
The Hermit in Present Spread
You are still confused, however, the introspection, self-actualization, and self-awareness will help you to find the correct paths of life.
The Hermit in Future Spread
It suggests that in the coming days, you may feel a bit upset as you won’t be able to see the corrects path of your life. You may spend time in isolation, but this card suggests that rather than feeling miserable, look for the other side of the situation as life has challenged you with such situation than it means it’s high time for you to use your logical thinking to make the correct decisions of your life.
The Hermit in Love Spread
If you are single, the appearance of the Hermit card in your spread suggests that instead of getting depressed and feeling lonely, it’s high time to change to attitude and start thinking positively as someone new may enter in your life very soon. It also suggests to move on from the bad relationship which you had in the past.
If you are committed, the appearance of the Hermit card in your spread suggests that the couple has to put more effort to have a blissful relationship. It symbolizes that they are busy fulfilling their own needs and are ignoring each other. Such an attitude will only lead to separation. So, to avoid this, the couple has to spend time together, to communicate more to have a better understanding of the relationship.
The Hermit in Career Spread
The appearance of the Hermit card in your career spread suggests that rather than looking for your talents, your self-interests, your passion, you are just following the directions which others are imposing on you. Instead of taking the decisions as per the directions of others, it’s better to introspect and think logically about the different career options you have. It suggests that before taking any major decision, always look for both positive and negative aspects of the various options. Taking the decisions in a hurry will only lead to failure.
The Hermit in Finance Spread
It symbolizes that the person is spending the money recklessly or making the investments without considering the results of the decisions. It suggests that patience is the only key as the decisions taken in a hurry will not be fruitful. Rather than getting attracted by the face value of any investments or money proposal, always consider the real fats, it’s pros and cons before making the final decision.
The Hermit in Health Spread
It symbolizes that the health of the person is not well. It’s high time for the person to go for regular medical checkups, meditate, eat well, and follow a healthy routine to avoid any major health issue. Taking a break from the monotonous life is very important to regain the energies to improve health.
The Hermit in Family Spread
It suggests that with the ever-growing needs of the materialistic things, the person is ignoring the family values. It suggests that taking a break from the busy schedule is very important to understand the needs of the family. It also suggests going on trips with family and friends.
The Hermit in Yes or No Spread
Since the Hermit card has both positive and negative interpretations, so the answer would be ‘maybe’ or the actual answer will be revealed on time.
Other Facts
- Element: Earth
- Astrology/Zodiac Sign: Virgo
- Period: August 23 to September 22
