The Hermit - Meaning of the Hermit Tarot Card - The Prophet

The Title of The Hermit Tarot card is, ‘The Prophet of the Eternal, the Magus of the Voice of Power’. The image seen on the card is that of an ancient walking who is wrapped in a cloak and cowl and is bearing a lamp and a staff. This card actually represents the three stages of initiation. The man wrapped in hood and mantle, and carrying a lantern to illuminate the Path and a staff to support his footsteps. He is the eternal seeker, the Pilgrim soul. His hood and mantle are the brown of earth, and above him is the night sky. But the delicate yellow-greens and bluish greens of spring are about him, and spring is in his heart.

The Hermit is also known as The Prophet. It is believed that wisdom is sough for and obtained from above. It can be related to divine inspiration, but, active as opposed to that of the lovers. Traditionally, the Tarot Hermit is about seclusion, withdrawal from society, as in a Monk or living in a hermitage. In fact the Hermit chooses to live a solitary life, but he is still engaged with society. People come to the Hermit for advice on all kinds of personal problems, and he is able to pronounce based not upon the dogma of the religious establishment he is attached to, but on the practicalities of life.

Any advice that The Hermit gives is for the person in particular and not in general. The Hermit is inner directed, and unless asked, he keeps his counsel to himself. The Hermit works from within, spiritually and magically. The problematical side to the Hermit is seclusion, feeling isolated or unable to interact with other people. There may be an obsession with secrets, or this card points to secrets within the cards around it. The patriarchal prejudices against women and femininity come to mind with this card, for it is associated with Virgo, the sign of the Virgin, but September is the month of harvests and fruitfulness.

The variation from the conventional models in this card is only that the lamp is not enveloped partially in the mantle of its bearer, who blends the idea of the Ancient of Days with the Light of the World. It is a star which shines in the lantern. The Hermit is not a wise man in search of truth and justice, nor is he, as a later explanation proposes, an especial example of experience. The message passed on by The Hermit Tarot card says that everyone can be in the same position at one time or another in their lives.

It is further a card which is understood quite incorrectly when it is connected with the idea of occult isolation, as the protection of personal magnetism against admixture. The Hermit Tarot card can be closely related to prudence, circumspection, treason, dissimulation, roguery and corruption. This card does not refer to the intended concealment of the Instituted Mysteries, much less of their substitutes, but like the card itself, to the truth that the Divine Mysteries secure their own protection from those who are unprepared.