The Hermit

[Tom]

I have been reading that some people view the Hermit as a negative card denoting isolation, loneliness and withdrawal.  The way I learned it is that it represents a beacon of light for the seeker.   The Hermit is at the mountain top remove himself from the materialistic world and concentrate on the spiritual.  You can count on his wisdom and his lamp can shed nee light on a situation and guide the seeker on their path to a positive end.

 

Since I read with reversals is read the reversed Hermit as being isolated, withdrawn. disconnected and lovely.

 

What do all you think?  How do you read it in a spread? 

Edited January 6, 2024 by Tom
Typos

[akiva]

3 hours ago, Tom said:

The way I learned it is that it represents a beacon of light for the seeker.   The Hermit is at the mountain top remove himself from the materialistic world and concentrate on the spiritual.  You can count on his wisdom and his lamp can shed nee light on a situation and guide the seeker on their path to a positive end.

This is an interesting way to view The Hermit, and it makes a lot of sense. There's definitely a spiritual and wisdom note to the card.

 

3 hours ago, Tom said:

What do ask you think?  How do you read it in a spread? 

I tend to see him as something old, but it depends on the cards around him. Also research and looking deeper into something. Sometimes he also appears as 'time'. Things taking longer than you expect to come to fruition, kind of like an old man hobbling along trying to reach his destination, slowly but surely.

 

I've seen some meanings before that say it can represent things like poverty, detatchment (this kind of fits with your idea of removing himself from the material world), seriousness and misanthropy, but I've yet to have them appear in a reading. 😊

[fire cat pickles]

4 hours ago, Tom said:

I have been reading that some people view the Hermit as a negative card denoting isolation, loneliness and withdrawal. 

I'm curious where you read this.

[Sar]

The Hermit is the Archetype for the people who always are on the search for more knowledge. 

[November]

Hello, of course it always depends on the context of the reading. 

 

Anyway as "negative" I agree The Hermit can represent loneliness/someone feeling alone, but for me it is not a bad card. 

 

There are indeed some situations where you need to stay alone: in a time of soul-searching, when pondering things, when reflecting, when studying or when you simply need to "recharge your batteries". 

 

It can also stand for someone dealing with their job hunting or any other kind of search, for example wisdom, knowledge etc. 

Edited January 6, 2024 by November

[Tom]

I had read the definition in an article about how to deal with "bad"  cards in a reading.  This author was the only one I read as interpreting the Hermit as a negative card to come up in a  spread.

 

It's interesting that no one in the several articles viewed the 10 of Wands as negative.  I wouldn't want that card to come up because the person in the card is having trouble carrying a load or being overburdened.

 

Some people also interpreted the 5 of Cups as a "bad" card to come up in a spread.  Although I see loss there there are still 3 cups full.  So to so ignoring the filled cups is almost like crying over split milk. It's a minor loss with lots of hope still remaining. 

[fire cat pickles]

6 hours ago, Sar said:

The Hermit is the Archetype for the people who always are on the search for more knowledge. 

 Yes, this. It is an archetype. Not a "bad" card per se.

 

26 minutes ago, Tom said:

I had read the definition in an article about how to deal with "bad"  cards in a reading.  This author was the only one I read as interpreting the Hermit as a negative card to come up in a  spread.

 

This is one person, though. I would be wary of anyone who says there is such a thing as any "bad" card. I believe it was Dan Pelletier (Umbrae on AT, although I'm not sure if he was the one who said it first) who said there were no "bad cards" only "bad readers." And ... 

 

5 hours ago, November said:

Hello, of course it always depends on the context of the reading. 

 also this. It is always in context. If the Hermit is reversed, or ill-dignified it may suggest too much isolation, taking meditation or eschewing the material to the extreme. It reminds me of the swami who becomes anorexic in his quest to become one with Nirvana: enlightenment at the expense of good health, for example. 

 

 

Edited January 6, 2024 by fire cat pickles
could I have one post without a typo! OMG

[Misterei]

On 1/5/2024 at 11:55 AM, Tom said:

I have been reading that some people view the Hermit as a negative card denoting isolation, loneliness and withdrawal.  The way I learned it is that it represents a beacon of light for the seeker.   The Hermit is at the mountain top remove himself from the materialistic world and concentrate on the spiritual.  You can count on his wisdom and his lamp can shed nee light on a situation and guide the seeker on their path to a positive end.

All are true ... and several more! Tarots -- ESPECIALLY the Trumps -- have layers of meaning which depends on context, question, other cards, etc.

On 1/6/2024 at 3:31 AM, November said:

Hello, of course it always depends on the context of the reading. 

Anyway as "negative" I agree The Hermit can represent loneliness/someone feeling alone, but for me it is not a bad card. 

There are indeed some situations where you need to stay alone ...

exactly.

On 1/6/2024 at 8:38 AM, Tom said:

I had read the definition in an article about how to deal with "bad"  cards in a reading.  This author was the only one I read as interpreting the Hermit as a negative card to come up in a  spread.

I see cards as having a basic alignment ... like planets in astrology. They can be benefic, malefic, or neutral. Empress feels benefic to most readers. 10 swords feels malefic to most readers. Hermit seems neutral [to me]. It's neither fully benefic nor malefic.

If your client is asking about a new love affair ... Hermit isn't so great. It's NOT a romantic card. Malefic for that question.

If your client is asking about taking a Tarot class ... Hermit is a wonderful card for spiritual study. Benefic for that question.

[Sar]

On 1/6/2024 at 12:31 PM, November said:

Anyway as "negative" I agree The Hermit can represent loneliness/someone feeling alone, but for me it is not a bad card. 

Perhaps, but wouldn't even a lonely Hermit be searching?

[November]

1 hour ago, Sar said:

Perhaps, but wouldn't even a lonely Hermit be searching?

 Yes, probably "negative" only in the sense of misanthrope. 

[Sar]

13 hours ago, November said:

 Yes, probably "negative" only in the sense of misanthrope. 

Yeah, this is a very good one.

[DanielJUK]

The idea of The Hemit is that they withdraw and spend time alone and get really introspective. We can see in this card image and many others that they have this lantern, searching for something, trying to shine light on the unknown, probably our spiritual area. Some cards have books or a library around them. But this isolated time is really about looking for answers within. When we take time to ourselves, away from others and our busy bustling materialistic world, we find these deep answers and work out our journey ahead.

 

In modern western society, taking time out for ourselves isn't really fashionable but an essential thing for us. It's not really about being lonely but being able to spend quiet time with ourselves. People have box sets constantly playing on their TV's and are live-streaming their meditation practices to video social sites. It's a really healthy thing to spend time with ourselves and cut off the world, have a break, put down the phone! It's also connecting with our subconscious and developing our spirituality. This might be meditation or reading quietly or just contemplating life or reading tarot for ourselves. At certain times of our lives, self-examination is really important to work out where to go next or to find answers. Meditation is a skill, being in silence is a skill in these times and just being with ourselves at times can be difficult and seem weird at first. For some people, it's easy to be in your own company, others almost impossible!

 

This is one card that is much easier to read with reversals because the reversed version is a clear sign of the negative elements of it, where as you have to work it out in a reading with only uprights. But the negative side of this card is that someone might desperately need this time out and to go introspective, if they don't they will be this hermit figure constantly walking with the lantern and searching. The other side of this is that the negative side of this card is about you have done enough being a Hermit now. If you isolate yourself too much from the world, you become lonely and withdrawn. This has come up for me in readings in a negative way for people who have become too reclusive. We need time by ourselves but also there is so much scientific research about humans need the company of others and real connections with people. It's always a balance of course between the two.

[Tom]

@DanielJUKI know what you mean.  In my current living situation and with work it's often hard to find time to myself.  I try to scheduled myself alone time, but in my case it doesn't seem quite enough. When I retire in the late spring I'll be able to have more quality time with myself in.  I am definitely not going to be a recluse.