When I first saw the Hermit many years ago, my initial thought was that he was holding his lantern aloft as if to light the whole valley below him, and I couldn’t make sense of the imagery and the name of the card. My teacher explained that his body language, downcast or closed eyes and the simple background of the card tell a different story. Imagine holding a lantern bright enough to light everything around you in front of you as the Hermit holds his. The light would be impressive, but you wouldn’t be able to see around it!
His lantern lights only his next few steps. You must make small steps before you see what is next. This lantern is the light of his wisdom, allowing him to see his path step by step.
His head is bowed, eyes closed, in quiet contemplation. The Hermit encourages us to look inward and embrace our inner wisdom. Focus on the steps just ahead and do not be distracted by the outside world. The answer you seek can be found within yourself if you trust your heart and intuition enough to listen.
In his left hand, the side of the subconscious mind, the Hermit holds a long staff (a sign of his power and authority), which he uses to guide and balance him.
-Biddy Tarot
I love that — he trusts the power and authority of his subconscious mind to guide and balance him. He trusts his wisdom to show him his next steps.
As an introvert, I love the Hermit because I fully embrace the idea of turning inward for energy, inspiration and wisdom. I know that when I am in solitude, I am not in stasis. My ideas are germinating. There’s so much working below the surface and I don’t need a lot of input from the rest of the world to see what I need to do. It’s a very spiritual notion – not that you necessarily have all the answers, but that you are in tune enough with yourself that you can tune in to the energy of the universe and see the path you are meant to take.
On the other hand, as a person with anxiety, I find trusting my inner voice to be incredibly difficult. The voice of anxiety can so closely mimic my inner voice I don’t always know who is speaking. I am learning to distinguish the two, and it has been quite a journey to get to where I am now. I have to work to understand if my anxiety is telling me to avoid something or if my inner voice is telling me it won’t serve me. And on the flip side of that, if my intuition is telling me something I don’t want to hear, can I blame it on my anxiety and ignore it? It’s a complicated mental journey and definitely one of my weaker areas.
So today, I’ll mediate on the Hermit and ask for clarity in my thoughts, the confidence to trust myself, and the courage to deal with whatever answers I get.