The Hermit
Card Number 9 in the Traditional Tarot
Photo taken by Linda on a trip to Delphi, Greece in October 2006
(Click image to enlarge)
Most typically, card number 9 in the Major Arcana is a picture of The Hermit. He is a solitary traveler holding up a bright lantern to light his way in the darkness before him.
This is a glyph of one who has traveled long and far and accumulated much wisdom on the sacred path of life. He is a wayfarer positioned between card number 8, Justice/Balance, and card number 10, The Wheel of Fortune.
Before moving forward to take our chances on The Great Wheel, the position of card number 9 represents knowledge gleaned through the stages which have preceded. We now find a seeker who holds high the light. With the light he has come to internalize (represented by the lantern he carries), and casting this light before himself…he will soon move forward onto the wheel of life to meet his fortune.
While The Hermit symbolizes one who is solitary on the path, this is a stage we all must move through (as are all the “characters” of the Major Arcana) on our evolutionary paths. While knowledge can be acquired in many arenas in life (stations of The Tarot), the wisdom of The Hermit has come from ascending the dark passage ways that have led him to this alone, but necessarily lonely, place. He is stepping forth into a new place guided by the light he raises before himself… the inner light he has developed and now shines to illuminate the apparent darkness which will soon dissolve into the light of his wisdom and lead the way for him to move forward.
This is a glyph of one who has traveled long and far and accumulated much wisdom on the sacred path of life. He is a wayfarer positioned between card number 8, Justice/Balance, and card number 10, The Wheel of Fortune.
Before moving forward to take our chances on The Great Wheel, the position of card number 9 represents knowledge gleaned through the stages which have preceded. We now find a seeker who holds high the light. With the light he has come to internalize (represented by the lantern he carries), and casting this light before himself…he will soon move forward onto the wheel of life to meet his fortune.
While The Hermit symbolizes one who is solitary on the path, this is a stage we all must move through (as are all the “characters” of the Major Arcana) on our evolutionary paths. While knowledge can be acquired in many arenas in life (stations of The Tarot), the wisdom of The Hermit has come from ascending the dark passage ways that have led him to this alone, but necessarily lonely, place. He is stepping forth into a new place guided by the light he raises before himself… the inner light he has developed and now shines to illuminate the apparent darkness which will soon dissolve into the light of his wisdom and lead the way for him to move forward.
posted by Linda Cohen @ 9:35 PM
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