Extispex: Tarot and Tarot Readings

Many cartomancers will say that Death is the card most likely to frighten their clients when it turns face up, but I disagree. When Death turns face up on the table, it’s usually accompanied by a clients vaguely uncomfortable disbelief. “Death!” they’ll say, with a bit of nervous laughter, “hehe… I’m not going to die, am I?”

“Eventually”, I’ll say, “but not today.”

But should the Hermit turn his wise and venerable face upward upon the table, the clients panic, “I’m going to be alone?”

Its a rare person who values solitude, quietude. In this society so many people subject themselves to a barrage of constant sensory stimulation - music, television, cellphones; they fear the thoughts that might rise during the quiet lonely moments. They fear their own company.

But the Hermit is only a lonely card for those who fear the solitary moments. At its most spiritual, the Hermit is the inner self, who truly does abide alone, deep within ourselves, and whose light guides us through our darkest moments. The Hermit is the still small voice in the wilderness which can only be heard when we silence the chatter of our lives, and listen quietly for its wisdom.

The Hermit card corresponds to the astrological sign of Virgo, an earthy sign ruled by Mercury. Virgo is the virgin, untouched and therefore separate from others. Independant in thought and body, untethered to another.

The combination of the element of earth and the planet Mercury give Virgo (and by association, the Hermit) an analytical quality, the ability to cut through surfaces, discern motive, causation. Virgo is methodical, but it is an analytical and experimental form of method - one based on independant thinking.

The Hermit is the companion and alter-ego of the Heirophant, another methodical card (ruled by Taurus). But the Hierophant’s methods are based in tradition, that which is passed down from authorities, whether the parents, the ministers, the priests or the gurus. The Hierophant’s methods come from the outside, whereas the Hermit’s methods are determined by the inner-self, trial and error perhaps, or even intuition.

The Hierophant, as Taurus the bull, is stubborn, set in its ways. The bull is a creature of instinct and habit - its ways are passed down through its generations, whereas the Hermit/Virgin is independent in thought and deed, able to create new ways for herself.

Another aspect of the Hermit is the Journey. Hermes - the Greek forerunner of the Roman Mercury - was a diety of the roads, among other things. One of his monikers, Enodios, meant ‘on the road’. So the Hermit is not merely content to sit in his cave and experience solitude. He does interact with the world, goes out into it. He is not so much ‘alone’ as he is ‘independant’. He does things his own way, according to his inner truth.
The Hermit’s journey is a development of the Fool’s journey. The Fool’s journey is taken haphazardly, a leap into the unknown, windswept and wild. But the Hermit’s feet are firmly upon his element, Earth. He knows where he is going, and his journey is taken with great purpose in mind.

In the Thoth deck, the Hermit is accompanied by Cerberus, the three-headed dog who guards the gate to the underworld. This would indicate that the Hermit’s journey is Orphic in nature, a journey to the shadowy depths of the mind to retrieve that which is of great value. Mercury, planetary ruler of the Hermit/Virgo is also psychopomp, the conducter or souls into the netherworld. He is crosser of borders, including the greatest border, the one between this world and the next.

The Mercury element endows the Hermit card with depth. It is a more cthonian card than the Hierophant, which is more concerned with ego and surfaces. The Hermit dives beneath the surface, into the depths of the earth, into the underworld itself. The lamp is his guide, a little light in the darkness.

The lamp as guide is similar to the Star, but where the Star is distant and shines for all, the lamp is one’s own light. You hold it, you are responsible for it, you determine how brightly it shines, making the inner journey of the Hermit one which truly must be taken alone.

When the Hermit arises in a reading, it does not necessarily mean loneliness - though it can for those who aren’t ready for the journey, or who resist it. It does often mean something which can only be undertaken alone, a decision one must make on one’s own, or a task which can only be completed by oneself. At its most mundane, the Hermit can indicate a move to a new place where you’ve never been before, or where you have no friends or relatives. At its most spiritual, the Hermit can be the cthonic journey that reveals one’s deepest truths.

With regards to relationships, the Hermit is often seen as indicating a separation. While it can, this separation is usually the result of deep introspection on the part of the querent, and entered into voluntarily. But the Hermit can also indicate a deepening of one’s understanding of oneself within the context of the present relationship, a development of one’s own wholeness.

The Hermit reversed can indicate a fear of loneliness, or an unwillingness to face one’s inner self. The reversed Hermit sits in darkness, imagining the vast cavernous depths that await him on the journey. If he but lights his lamp, he may find it is not nearly so terrible as he imagines.

-by Che

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