“The winner’s sword is forged alone”

Highlights:

Path – from Beauty to Kindness

Virgo

Saturn in Aquarius as the pursuit of wisdom and independence

XII house, constellation

Bootes – September 22, 23, 24

Monk

Pilgrim

Prophet, Diogenes with a lantern

Light of the Veiled One

Way

Time

Occult meaning – IRRANCY

The True Way

The Hermit is one of the deepest cards in a deck.

“Diogenes with a lantern” is a symbol of the search for inner wisdom, and the need for light to achieve a goal.

It is a moment of spiritual perfection, when we need to turn away from temptation and everyday needs and go into the wilderness in search of our own soul

An honest search for truth goes on alone – and carries a divine inspiration. “The spirit brought you into the wilderness, the spirit will lead you out of it.” The lantern symbolizes our own knowledge, which must be used to illuminate the path of a quest.

For a spiritual development, this card is a real treasure.

Hermit appearance may hint that an attitude towards life has become too involved and emotional, and now it takes “healing”, a return to the true path, a little closer to oneself, to once true nature.

The hermit emphasizes the desire to withdraw and the need for introspection, finding inner peace and his own truth, following his own path. Hermit says it’s time to reassess your life, your goals and connections. It’s time to move away from social life, to leave petty worries and entertainment that have become habitual: they interfere with thinking about your soul.

Each person needs a period of solitude (“hermitage”) to finally understand oneself. However, this is not just a timeout, in general, the vibrations of the Hermit are noticeably stronger to the Four of Swords. They herald being in their own center and finding their own light. The main thing that the Hermit dictates is a refusal to be guided by other people’s opinions (but following only your own!); a refusal to do anything in spite of oneself, in spite of one’s inner sense of the truth, for the sake of others or simply in accordance with universal concepts. This is a card of spiritual independence and enormous personal strength, that is enough to walk your own narrow path, despite the lack of fellow travelers (and public approval).

Hermit can predict not only spiritual, but also quite literal journey, traveling, especially in some spiritually significant places.

It is believed that as a significator of the past, Hermit speaks not so much about loneliness as about the desire to draw a line under something, to forget something.

The hermit gives strength and composure in order to concentrate on spiritual achievements and carry them out.

Try to be a Hermit, in order to finally understand yourself and your needs, reflect on your problems. This is necessary in order to learn to see yourself from the outside, to really assess the level of your development and to love yourself. Remember that he who does not love himself is unable to love anyone. Do not count the time spent in inactivity, solitude and contemplation as wasted. Calm analysis and reflection on your plans allows you to avoid mistakes in your further actions.

The hermit card is powerful and important, it really is like a lantern that illuminates a difficult path. However, for esotericists and people who care about their spiritual growth, the Hermit can mean a feeling of loneliness because his former comrades and loved ones ceased to understand him: he went ahead, but people remained where they were.

Personal condition – Serious and independent

You are striving towards the inner world rather than the outer, in a pursuit of exclusively internal goals and having indifference to external achievements. You are not a Charioteer who seeks yourself in the outside world, performing actions, but in a quest of a solitary exploration of the well of your soul.

You follow the path of spiritual independence and your own path. You may be a lonely traveler searching for your own truth (not socially desirable).

The hermit is characterized by the desire to escape from life, to withdraw into himself, not for the sake of fear, but a thirst for knowledge and to find oneself.

This is productive loneliness, immersion in once inner world, isolation from material reality, escape from the vanities and worries of everyday life – the needs of civilization. This is inner composure, but not for worldly life for the search for the imperishable.

On a Deeper Level

Hermit important qualities:

Prudence, discretion, discernment, seriousness of thought, judgment, the ability to time to pull oneself together (especially with the Force), the ability to manage emotions.

Security, independence, and self-sufficiency. Wisdom. Severity, seriousness.

Patience, equanimity. Emphasized invisibility (a person, even having outstanding external achievements, will deliberately do everything to “dampen” the effect).

Hermit keeps the secrets of the origins of life and the future. In fact, Hermit is looking for a goal – what it should be. Cognition leads to action, and for the time being the face of the Hermit is hidden: he is silent until his aura clears up and shines with a new light.

The hermit must first illuminate his own soul with a beauty, before it becomes a torch for others. In complete solitude, he accumulates and concentrates the potential energies to create something great the future.

This Arcanum symbolizes the synthesis of possibilities, “the mystery of real, but hidden birth, in which only spirit and soul can manifest.”

Hermit Manifestations

Absolute loyalty to your life principles and inner knowledge.

Indifference to the opinions and assessments of others, to generally accepted stereotypes of thinking and behavior.

Deep analysis of the situation, comprehension of past experiences, summing up spiritual results.

Hermit is a card of your own truth, temperance and confidence.

The real path of selfhood, being alone, in the 12th house, where there is only the light of inner truth and no one else. Your gaze is turned inward. This may be a time when you should re-evaluate your life, your connections, and your goals.

The 12th house is a house of secrets.

The deepest motive for self-isolation and alienation often lies precisely in the protection of your own secrets. These are not secrets to be shared over a drink – they are the secret of authenticating who you really are. If a Hermit is falling out out in the spread next to a Nine of Wands, the Hermit, like the Priestess, hints that a person has something to hide, that he is not what he seems from the outside.

Hermit indicates caution and detachment from the hustle and bustle of life. It is also a sign of victory over one’s own passions and a desire to comprehend the inner nature of all events that take place.

The hermit hides ancient wisdom from a profane. The wand in his hand is a symbol of knowledge. Sometimes the mystical wand is divided into seven parts by knots – a subtle analogy with the seven sacred centers of the human spine (like in 7 of wands). The hermit follows the path of Initiation, Sacrament and Knowledge.

Hermit is of introversion, when we “close” ourselves from external influences in order to find peace and, most importantly, to find ourselves far from the hustle and bustle of live and people. Thus, the Hermit symbolizes important events that show us who we are, what we strive for and how to achieve it. It combines two poles: the deepest experience and the highest knowledge. Those who are willing to follow the call of the Hermit, will not lose ourselves, but find clarity, strength and ability to get along with yourself.

The Hermit’s closeness to Virgo is also emphasized by Crowley, considering him as a “hidden Persephone”, the queen of Hades, who in autumn leads the soul of the world to the next world, and in spring “hidden Persephone” leads to rebirth (it is no coincidence that the next Arcanum is the “cyclical” Wheel of Fortune).

Professional situation

Hermit, professionally, corresponds to freelancers who are not subordinates to any organization and have a certain dislike for collectives.

Hermit is good for scientific studies, analysis, writing papers and memoirs.

Hermit gives consistency and perseverance, but only when a person sees the purpose and meaning in what he does.

The Hermit helps people whose profession is in one way or another connected with searches and research.

It may be a scientist and an archivist, or it may be a criminal police investigator following the trail with his lantern, highlighting what others have missed or hidden (prosecutors, lawyers any profession related to Justice). It can be a teacher or a consultant.

The Hermit is quite auspicious for training (his lantern symbolizes the light of knowledge) and business trips (the Hermit is usually on the road, and his staff is a traveling staff). According to the Hermit, professional skills are perfectly honed, independently or under the guidance of a senior mentor.