IX - The Hermit
IX - The Hermit
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IX - The Hermit Keywords Wise Elder. Inner Light. Guidance. Withdrawal. Introspection. Meditation. Prayer. Silence. Aloneness. Patience. Acceptance. Being Here-Now. Mystic. Detachment. Self-Reliance. Authenticty. Prudence. Caution. Time. Thriftiness. Austerity. Retirement. Outcast. Loneliness. Themes The Old Wise One no longer can run with the herd. The Old Wise One learns the secrets of the universe and also lights the way for others. Wisdom sought - or wisdom integrated - or wisdom given. Whilst The Hermit may withdraw from humans, they are replaced with communion with new companions! They are found in nature, its animals, invisible spiritual beings. Comparisons Both The Fool and The Hermit go against the herd. The Fool is active with other people, waking them up to their folly - whilst the Hermit is to be found in remote refuges, mountains and nature retreats. The seeker for Truth has found the inner Master, not outside as in The Hierophant. There is a warm and luminous presence, rather than the sermons of The Hierophant. Insight is individual and mystical, not the collective insight of The Hierophant's religion. Nine is a number of completion. Through the previous cards, the individual has reached a certain enlightenment. After nine, a new expanded cycle starts with the need for two digits, a cycle that emphasises the collectivity. Notes & Quotes "Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water." (Zen proverb) "Each of you has a hermitage to go to inside – a place to take refuge and breathe. But this does not mean that you are cutting yourself off from the world. It means that you are getting more in touch with yourself." (Thich Nhat Hanh, A Pebble for Your Pocket) "He does not withdraw into solitude because of a personal need, but because he finds that in such pure and silent atmospheres he has the best conditions to enter into contact with invisible entities of a very high level. He calls for their help to break through and unblock spiritual paths towards the light, towards divine love, brotherhood and peace for all men of all countries." (Unknown source) "In the past, no one knew who the initiates were, except those who were sincerely seeking them and knew how to recognize them. They never said they were initiates; they remained secret, obscure and hidden, like the hermit from the ninth tarot card - an old man holding a lamp, which he holds in the folds of his great cloak, hidden from the eyes of the crowd. This is the image of the true initiate." (O.M. Aïvanhov) "Let others know they can rely upon you." (Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki) "The Hermit must one day move on and up." (Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki) "The lantern, cloak and staff are the three symbols of initiation. The lantern of higher knowledge (or Truth), of Hermes Trismegistus, that opens the souls of people. The cloak of Apollonius, the faculty of the wise man to isolate himself even amidst a noisy crowd, his skill in hiding mysteries while expressing them, his capacity for silence and his power to act in stillness. The staff, his inner authority, his inner power, his self-confidence. He who receives or aspires to these strives to enrich himself with all he can acquire, not for himself, but, like God, to delight in the joy of giving - the giving virtue is the basis of an initiate's life." (Unknown source) "The reward of patience is patience." (Saint Augustine) "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." (Leo Tolstoy) |
Also see:- Major Arcana Tarot Maps of Consciousness articles |
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