Tarot · The Major Arcana
The Hermit
- Retreat
- reflection
- inner light
The picture
An old man in a grey hooded cloak stands on a snowy peak, holding a lantern with a six-pointed star in one hand and a staff in the other.
The meaning
The Hermit stands alone on the mountain and lights his own way. The tradition reads him as a time of reflection and turning inward. He stands for wisdom found in silence, and for the question of what you are really looking for. His light reaches only as far as the next step, and that is enough.
Reversed
Reversed, he is read as a retreat that lasts too long, or loneliness you did not choose.
In love
In love he is read as a time of coming back to yourself, or a need for space.
At work
At work he stands for focused work, research and distance from the bustle.
As your card of the day
Today can be quieter. An hour on your own may clear up more than many conversations.
The Hermit lights only the next step. You do not need to see further than that today.
The Major Arcana are the 22 trump cards, from the Fool at zero to the World at twenty-one. The tradition reads them as stations on a life's journey: large themes that touch everyone at some point.
Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, 1909, public domain (Wikimedia Commons).