The Hermit (tarot card)

The Hermit (IX) from the Rider–Waite tarot deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith

The Hermit (IX) is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Description

The Rider–Waite version of the card shows an old man, standing on a mountain peak, carrying a staff in one hand and a lit lantern containing a six-pointed star in the other. In the background is a mountain range.

According to Eden Gray, his lantern is the Lamp of Truth, used to guide the unknowing, his patriarch's staff helps him navigate narrow paths as he seeks enlightenment and his cloak is a form of discretion.^[1]

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Hermit card carries several divinatory associations:^[2]

9. THE HERMIT. Prudence, circumspection; also and especially treason, dissimulation, roguery, corruption. Reversed: Concealment, disguise, policy fear, unreasoned caution.

The card is usually thought to connote aspects of healing/recovery, particularly the kind that happens over time. In that regard, The Hermit is sometimes considered the mature and wiser version of The Magician. As such, both cards represent the astrological sign of Virgo. It is the critical factor for the issue at hand. The Hermit is the "withdrawal from events and relationship to introspect and gather strength". Seeking the inner voice or calling upon vision from within. A need of understanding and advice, or a wise person who will offer knowing guidance. A card of personal experience and thoughtful temperance.

Examples

Pierpont Morgan Bergamo (15th century)
Charles VI (or Gringonneur) (15th century)
Jean Dodal Marseilles (1701-1715)
Vandenborre (1780)
Court de Gébelin (1781)
Renault (1820-1830)
Piedmontese (1865)
Oswald Wirth (1889)
Grand Etteilla (1890)
Lequart Marseilles (1890)
Papus (1909)
Tarot ReVisioned (2003)

In other media

A version of Pamela Colman Smith's Hermit designed by Barrington Colby is depicted on the inner jacket sleeve of Led Zeppelin IV.^[3]^[4]
In the X/1999 tarot version made by CLAMP, The Hermit is Satsuki Yatouji.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders uses tarot cards to name character's Stands. Joseph Joestar has the Stand Hermit Purple, with abilities inspired by thoughtography.

References

^ Gray, Eden. Complete Guide to the Tarot. 1970. Crown Publishers, New York.^{[ISBN missing]}^{[page needed]}
^ Waite, Arthur Edward (1979). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. New York: Samuel Weiser. p. 284. ISBN 0-87728-218-8.
^ Untitled (Media notes). Atlantic Records. 1972. K50008.
^ Lewis, Dave (1990). Led Zeppelin : A Celebration. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-2416-1.

[1] Gray, Eden. Complete Guide to the Tarot. 1970. Crown Publishers, New York.^{[ISBN missing]}^{[page needed]}

[2] Waite, Arthur Edward (1979). The Pictorial Key to the Tarot. New York: Samuel Weiser. p. 284. ISBN 0-87728-218-8.

[sleeve-3] Untitled (Media notes). Atlantic Records. 1972. K50008.

[4] Lewis, Dave (1990). Led Zeppelin : A Celebration. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-7119-2416-1.

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