(Tarot Prompts for Writers)
What I See in the Card:
The Hermit is an intriguing card. (And not just because of that Led Zeppelin album my brother had when we were kids.)
The Hermit in my deck, and in most, is an old man with a staff, illuminating the dark night with a lantern he carries. It’s an ominous landscape, suggesting danger. The Hermit has a staff, but he looks perfectly capable of walking without one. It lends to his wizard look — it could be a weapon or a wand. Or just something to lean on if he tires.
Sometimes (as in the Led Zeppelin album) the Hermit stands on a clifftop; sometimes (as in my card) he stands on or near a path. In either case, his position is usually parallel to that deck’s Fool. (If the Fool is about to step off a cliff, the Hermit is watching from a clifftop; if the Fool is about to step off a path, the Hermit walks near a path.) But this guy is no fool; he knows where he’s going (or staying). He has a light that the Fool lacks, and it will show him the way.
It’s night, it’s scary, the unknown awaits. The Hermit’s light is his intuition; he knows it will guide him well. In my card, there is a path, but it’s not clear that he’s walking along it. He might be crossing it. He might be waiting for someone. Maybe you.
The Hermit in most decks, he wears dreary grey robes but in my card, he’s blazing in red from head to heel. His light is also red, so his whole form feels illuminated.
In many decks, the Hermit looks down his mountain or along his path, but in my deck he’s looking right at you. He’s someone you meet along your way. He belongs here. You have nothing to fear from him. (And he’s certainly not afraid of you.)
The Hermit’s journey is an inner journey and he is dedicated to follow it through. The way is dark and scary, and he has only the light of his inner wisdom to guide him. This is the place you’ve come to when you get this card: You have darkness to face alone, but you have wisdom to see you through.
The Hermit is alone, but not tucked away in a hermitude. In my deck, he’s in the world we all pass through. It feels like he’s part of this place. He knows this area. If you need help passing through, he can provide it.
There is something scary about the dark wooded landscape. (Samesies about the rugged cliff some Hermits stand on.) Be brave and you’ll make it through. The way is dark but others have found their way before you. Learn from them.
Proceed with caution.
Read will take you to my notes on how to tell a fortune with The Hermit — traditional interpretations; what the card might mean in different positions; keywords to help memorize meanings; and questions to ponder or ask the querent.
Write will take you to a few prompts for launching from The Hermit into a story. A first line, an object, a fact-into-fiction character prompt — three possible ways to turn the Hermit into fiction.
Tarot will take you to a central Tarot-Prompts page.
Go ahead, trust the light of your intuition.
Images on this page are by the following artists:
Banner (and top box), left to right: Marseilles deck engraved by Nicolas Conver; Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti; Tarot Balbi by Domenico Balbi; Dragon Tarot illustrated by Roger and Linda Garland; Radiant Rider-Waite deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith; Druid Craft deck illustrated by Will Worthington.
Mid-page boxes: Tarot Balbi; the Northern Animal Tarot.
Catherine Austen 