The Hermit Card
The Hermit card will always remind me of my best friend because of the Led Zeppelin IV album gatefold art that she proudly displayed in her teenage bedroom. We met not long before I started reading tarot and so that card has always been associated with her in my mind and it’s doubly significant of her as a Virgo. Yes, she would serenade me with Stairway to Heaven and I will never hate that song even though it is forever associated with male entitlement in guitar stores. (Wayne’s World was one of our favourite movies to watch together!)
The front cover of Led Zeppelin’s album “IV”
As an aside, the cover of Led Zeppelin IV is a photo of a man carrying a load of branches on his back just like the 10 of Wands. It makes me think of our paths in life and the burdens of living up to our expectations of our creative selves as we age. Being a teenager is the worst but it’s also a time filled with so much possibility. I think teenage us would be pretty impressed with where we are now.
Back to the Hermit! The Hermit is the seeker and the guide. In readings, the Hermit card can mean that the querent needs time to be alone to tap into their inner wisdom. Those folks who have the ability and privilege to pursue a spiritual path are often either compelled by their own experiences or by the lineage of their spiritual teachings to share with others. This is how the seeker becomes the guide.
The gatefold art from Led Zeppelin’s IV
Now, I don’t mean evangelical proselytizing. The Hermit is not shouting from a soapbox or actively recruiting followers. The Hermit is holding their lantern high, to shine their light for others to find their own path.
In the book, The Library of Esoterica: Tarot, Jessica Hundley says of the Hermit’s Lamp, “Inside his lamp, a six-pointed star shines, representing the Seal of Solomon. Often a pentagram or hexagram shape, the Seal, attributed to King Solomon in Western occultism, is sometimes referred to as the Star of David in Jewish traditions. When integrated into the Hermit card, these six points represent a revelatory inner vision.”
The inclusion of the Star of David is also a reference to the many symbols of Jewish Mysticism used throughout foundational esoteric tarot decks.
The Hermit card from my well used Smith-Waite deck.
The Hermit’s star is also two arrows pointing in different directions: one inward & one outward. This brings us back to the Hermit as both seeker & guide. In contrast to the High Priestess, whose wisdom is hidden beyond the veil and rolled tightly in her scroll, or the Hierophant, who disseminates information from his open book; the Hermit represents a wisdom that is available to everyone who is willing to seek within themselves.
For the front of the pendant design I decided to highlight the Hermit’s lantern and the six-pointed star of inner vision. The reverse of the pendant is a variation on the zodiacal glyph of Mercury, the planetary ruler of the sign Virgo, which corresponds with the Hermit. The central orb is filled with the six-pointed Star of David and crowned by a receptive crescent moon. Below the central orb is the cross of Earth or matter, and the glyph for Virgo, an Earth sign by element, intersects the upright line.
Bibliography
Hundley, J. (2020). Library of Esoterica: Tarot. Köln, GmbH: Taschen.
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