The Hermit

The Hermit is the ninth card in the Major Arcana of the tarot and symbolizes introspection, solitude and the search for enlightenment and truth.  He represents the Universal archetype of the teacher, the mentor and guide we may meet along the way in our lives.

In a reading with the Hermit I would ask these questions:

-Is solitude missing from your life?

-Are experiencing too much solitude?  How would you know? What would it look like?

-Is the solitude self-imposed?

-What do you hope to gain by a period of contraction?

-Have you been ignoring your need for solitude?

-Are you searching for guidance or an answer from outside yourself?

-Is there a Life lesson that is eluding you?

-Is there a person from whom you can seek direction?

-Is it time to minimize your life and do away with diversion and distraction which may be deflecting you from you goal?

-Do you find yourself with more and more "things" and possessions but remaining empty inside and dissatisfied with your life?

-Do you have a busy social life but still feel lonely?

The Hermit reminds us that in order to get beyond the obvious e.g., the material world, we need to retreat and reflect and divest ourselves from the day to day trappings we surround and immerse ourselves with. Again, it's a paradox. In order to "see" beyond our physical world we need to renounce it. Strip it away in order to make space for our "inner" world to emerge and ultimately reveal the "truth".

The High Priestess and the Four of Swords would be complimentary cards to The Hermit as they both symbolize the need to look inward and withdraw from the temporal world.