Wasteland

"Hermit Solitude. Wisdom through self-analysis. Waiting. More internal activity than outer. Loneliness that leads to a deeper understanding. Sharing your experiences with others.

One of the more mysterious cards in the Tarot deck is The Hermit. Alone on a hill, looking down into the space below, a white-bearded, hooded figure holds a lamp from which a star spills out bright light. This simple enough illustration indicates a complex situation no matter where it lands in your Tarot reading.
The Hermit card is numbered IX or 9 in the deck. Various tarot decks illustrate the star in the lantern as the six-pointed star of David. Some decks add sparse vegetation to the hillside upon which The Hermit stands, other Tarot artists render it as rocky netherworld. But one thing is consistent, and most important about this card: The Hermit is always alone. This card indicates solitude. The reasons for this solitude may be good or bad, productive or not and the isolation may be caused by outside forces or one's own choices. Just be assured that when The Hermit card appears in your reading, the subject of solitude will be front and center.

When The Hermit appears in the present it indicates that you are alone. If you are in a relationship, you must ask yourself if you are fooling yourself as to the reality of the situation. If you are secure in your relationship, The Hermit could mean there is an abandoned person looking for you.
Understanding who is represented when The Hermit card is drawn is a subtler art that a good Tarot card reader will interpret for you. The best way to determine the identity of The Hermit in your reading is to understand the cards around it. There are classic combinations that can catch a cheating spouse or identify who in your life would make a true soulmate. The power of The Hermit card is that through the ritual of isolation, the lantern's light can find a deeper truth about one's own situation.

The Hermit appearing near some Cups cards will indicate that your emotional longing for someone has reached a point where it is alienating possible future love contacts. 

• Introspection ----- Silence ----- Guidance ----- Reflection
• Solitude ----- Looking inward ----- Reclusion ----- Being quiet
• Inner search ----- Deep understanding ----- Isolation
• Distance ----- Retreat ----- Philosophical attitude

The Waite version of the card shows an old man carrying a staff in one hand and a lit lantern in the other. In the background is a wasteland. Just beyond the wasteland is a mountain range.

The Hermit has internalized the lessons of life to the point that he is the lesson. The Hermit, as a kind of shamanistic hero, has made the complete journey – both the withdrawal and the return. As Joseph Campbell said, “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (The Hero with a Thousand Faces)

There are two possible ways this card can be interpreted:

• First, the need to withdraw from society to become comfortable with himself.
• Second, the return from isolation to share his knowledge with others.

An old hermit walked around the village and the area day and night, and even in daylight still carried a lit lantern. One day the villagers had enough curiosity to ask him "Sir, why do you carry your lantern lit in daylight?" He said, "Because I'm searching for an honest man.""