The Hermit Tarot Quotes

The Hermit is an important tarot card with much to tell us, but he tends not to be so welcome around the bonfire.

Even though it is not pictured in the Death card, our snake-wrapped Orphic egg—the latent seed of life that we first saw in the Magus card, whose elements were married in the Lovers, and which then was fertilized by the Hermit—is now entering the last stage of development before hatching into new life.

The World card shows the fully balanced and integrated human as the Wiseone pictured in the Hermit card. Wiseones are those human beings who have married their Selves and become fully unified, living, flesh-and-blood manifestations of the Divine presence, described in the Qabalah as the Shekinah, derived from the Hebrew verb shakhan, “to dwell.” Persons of this stature live on Earth, yet are validated by and depend upon the greater world (the universe) alone, shown by the fact that they are supported by and dance on air (another reference to the Fool and Spirit). They continually turn inward and upward to their God/dess Self and the Source, while turning outward and downward to the work of the everyday world at hand. Wiseones embody the concept “Trust in the universe and it will support you!

Weakness   The Lovers Upright Romance, Love, Honor, Optimism, a Harmonious Partnership Reverse Separation, Untrustworthy, Fickleness, Unreliability   The Chariot Upright Perseverance, Seeking Justice, Strong in the face of Adversity Reverse Defeat, Failure, Unproductive   Justice Upright Righteousness, Equality, Integrity, Honor, Fairness Reverse Unfairness, Falsely Accused, Mistreatment, Biased   The Hermit Upright Withdrawal, Independent, Inner Strength, Carefulness, Observant Reverse Impulsiveness, Immaturity, Recklessness, Stupidity           Wheel of Fortune Upright Unexpected Surprises, Progress, Fate, Fortune

Illumination is the essence while darkness is the matrix.

Let’s talk about the Hermit’s lantern, which is super-important, especially for those social animals who, like myself, cringe whenever this card comes into their lives. The lantern is what allows the Hermit to walk this nighttime landscape alone. Night in the Tarot always represents the unknown, the uncertain, the problem that must be solved. When the Hermit arrives, some type of soul-searching is in order, and the lantern represents your inner compass, your inner light, that thing that will guide you through this night and help you solve your current puzzle. You have everything you need to achieve the breakthrough you need.

The Hermit: Doctor Strange from Marvel Comics - Doctor Strange’s journey from surgeon to Sorcerer Supreme, including his retreat into the study of the mystic arts, captures The Hermit’s search for deeper knowledge and the use of that knowledge for the greater good.

Last to burst forth in a riot of primary, secondary, and intermediate colors (scarlet, orange-red, orange, amber, yellowish-green, emerald green, greenish-yellow, green-blue, blue, indigo, violet, and crimson ultraviolet) are the Emperor, the Hierophant, the Lovers, the Chariot, Lust, the Hermit, Adjustment, Death, Art, the Devil, the Star, and the Moon. These trumps personify the powers and qualities of the twelve simple letters of the Hebrew alphabet and the twelve signs of the zodiac: Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces. Figure 12. Twelve petals of the zodiacal trumps.

Other trumps also have alchemical significance. The Art card is identified with vitriol, and the Lovers, the Hermit, Death, and the Devil all have vital roles to play in the alchemy of the tarot. There is also one more extremely important alchemical symbol we will see often when we examine the trumps. It is called the Orphic egg. “This egg represents the essence of all life that comes under the formula of male and female.”74 THE

Hermit is every desire to bring inner wisdom and experience into outer reality and shine one’s light for others to see.