Barbara Walker Tarot - 9: The Hermit

Bearing a lantern and a Hermetic caduceus-staff, an old man begins a journey into the dark, in the opposite direction from that of the Fool. He suggests the lone pilgrimage into the mystical realm of the unconscious, recommended by Asian religions. This journey takes place in one’s later life, after the duties of marriage, parenthood, and secular achievement. The Hermit’s staff invokes the Psychopomp, or “Conductor of Souls.” His lantern symbolizes the quest for enlightenment. His card means isolation, meditation, rejection of secular concerns, delving into the unconscious, self-imposed exile or solitude, a process of rehabilitation.