T.9 The Hermit
Activity
IX. The Hermit
Name: The Hermit
Hebrew Letter/Meaning: Yod (י) / Hand, Sex-Love
Element/Planet/Zodiac: Virgo / Mercury
Name of Path: Will
Type: Connecting Activating
Connecting Sefirot: Mercy (4) & Beauty (6)
Tidbits: The Hermit is both the lone seeker and the light-bearer. This is the energy of the independent trailblazer who self-sustains on their life journey. Like the Chariot, the Hermit points us to who we are on the inside, inviting us to develop our higher intellect, self-knowledge, and connection to inner wisdom through introspection.
As the Magician/Fool, Lovers/Emperor, and Chariot/Hierophant are connected through opposition, so is Justice with the Hermit.
The Hermit can point to isolation, withdrawal, and a tendency to ignore/suppress guidance (especially our personal, inner truths) when unsupported.
Reference Note:
Spend time with each of the Trumps to generate your “tarot encyclopedia” notecard for each.
Working with the Trumps is slightly different because they represent forces of subjective experience instead of forms and objective structure. The symbolism in the cards is more complex, subtle, and profound. For this reason, we will slow down our pace to only one Trump per day (except today when we do two).
You are encouraged to only engage with one Trump per day. This will hopefully allow you to relax a little, spend more time exploring each trump, and catch up with any minor arcana you had to skip over the last few weeks.
In case it’s still helpful, here is the recommended process.
- Look at the image on the card and examine its details.
- Read the page in the companion book for that card.
- Read the description provided here.
- OPTIONAL: Read other descriptions of that card online or in other books.
- Reflect on the questions posed.
- Write down the details of the image that have meaning to you and the 2 or 3 interpretations (perhaps 1 heavenly, 1 upright earthly, and 1 reversed earthly) that resonate most strongly for you.
- Reflect on whatever correspondences you can find, such as relationships to other cards, astrological associations, and anything else. Include notes on anything specific that stands out.
Feel free to write down your own interpretations based on what comes to you!