Cosmic Tribe Tarot

IX - HERMIT

Who is the strange man walking as light in the darkness?

He is the Hermit. Friend to solitude.
Poet and wanderer. With his lantern he searches for truth in the darkness and finds it everywhere. The wise go inside themselves to encounter him. It is said he can turn stones into gold and yet see how little he has. Look quick, there he goes, behind the old stone wall.

The Hermit is an elusive figure. He travels mostly alone yet he can appear in our lives at any time. He has explored human society and has rejected the trinkets of approval exchanged for the inner lights. In the process the Hermit has learned that contemplation holds the world together. But he doesn't sermonize. He offers us only the simple poetry of his present experience. Often we are too mired in our daily grinds to see that his gifts are worth more than the gold we so often seek.

The Hermit holds a shining miner's lantern that represents the light we can find in the dark center of our souls. He stands at the threshold of a doorway between conventional reality and the underworld. On the conventional side; his arm holds the lantern to light the way for those who would follow. Beyond the doorway lies the underworld of night and the unknown. In that realm the Hermit glows with the power of a beautiful day. 'The tree of' life' sprouts from his grounded center and throws branches toward his heart, revealing the source of his wisdom. This inner light is all he needs to see in the darkness. Cerberus. the three-headed guardian of 'the doorway to the underworld. accompanies the Hermit on his travels into the void. While two of her heads look forward, keeping distracting thoughts of the future at bay, a third looks behind to keep ghosts from past situations from interfering. The fearsome dog and the stone eye on the lintel of the entryway warn those with superficial attitudes that the underworld is to be taken seriously because it is where truth dwells and where creativity is born. The nine stars around the eye reflect the Hermit's position in the Cosmic Tribe.

Divinatory Meaning

Should the Hermit suddenly appear in your reading, approach him with an open mind. He asks that you spend time alone in your favorite place and ask yourself difficult questions. Are you quiet enough to hear the subtle messages the universe is sending you? How are you alone with yourself? What do you do? Where do you go? Conversely, when you are with people are you overly concerned with their approval? See that you are your fears and within them lies the secret to your power. But be gentle with yourself and don't be afraid to ask for guidance. Is there someone wise in your life who can help you go deeper and listen? Sometimes, however, we can take solitude and silence the wrong way. Is your Hermit silent and alone in order to punish the world or deprive friends and family of your love? The Hermit does not fear solitude or darkness, nor does he completely abandon the community that needs him to light the way to their own souls.