“Solitude is where I place my chaos to rest and awaken my inner peace.” – Nikki Rowe
In this part of the journey, the Hermit card asks us to pause, reflect and integrate what we've learned on the journey so far.
The Hermit in Tarot: A Card of Going Within and Mastering The Art of Slowing Down
In the last post, we saw Strength, who challenged us to cultivate courage and stay the course despite increasing pressure.
Now the Hermit challenges us in a new way: to integrate what we have learned by taking time to withdraw and reflect, so we can eventually apply those lessons later in the journey.
If Strength represents the cultivation of patience and perseverance, The Hermit shows us that now it’s time to take those skills and put them into practice: to use our patience to slow down, pause, and go within.
Symbolism of The Hermit in the Rider-Waite-Smith Deck
In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, The Hermit is card number nine, the last single-digit card in the Major Arcana. Nine is associated with completion, and a final phase of reflection before the end of a cycle – often on a spiritual or internal level.
It also calls us to go to the proverbial cave and breathe. To create space in which we can better-listen to our inner voice and gather insight. This can mean a literal retreat, but it can also be as simple as taking time at the end of the day to pause and reflect on what you’ve experienced and learned.
The Hermit’s symbols speak directly to this phase of the journey.
The white beard is archetypal, representing wisdom, age, and lived experience. In earlier traditions, the Hermit was sometimes associated with Time itself.
The lantern illuminates truth and lights the path ahead. It gives us the vision to seek deeper understanding. Some interpretations suggest the lantern evolved from the image of an hourglass, shifting from the passage of time to the illumination of insight.
The blue cape symbolizes spiritual awareness and the vastness of the inner world. It reflects mystery, depth, and the unknown, pointing us inward.
The star on the lantern echoes the Star card, offering hope in the darkness. It is a six-pointed star, formed by two triangles. One points upward, the other downward, symbolizing the union of heaven and earth.
The staff represents wisdom, support, and self-mastery. It reflects both physical grounding and spiritual authority.
The Hermit gently urges us to seek periods of solitude. Time away from routine allows us to calm the nervous system, regulate ourselves, and move beyond ordinary thinking. In this space, we may enter a more intuitive or mystical state: one that allows for deeper connection with Source or a Higher Power, and clearer insight into our path.
The Hermit in a Tarot Reading
If The Hermit appears in a reading, it often signals a need to step back. In doing so, it opens the heart and mind, allowing for the synthesis of learning.
It creates space for the assimilation of ideas and experiences, while allowing the intuitive self to fully embody them in preparation for the next phase of the journey.
In many ways, it acts like a kind of “spiritual sleep.” Just as regular sleep helps us process, heal, and integrate the events of the day, this spiritual pause allows us to metabolize our experiences and return with greater clarity.
It’s not about stopping the journey: it’s about stepping aside long enough to understand it.
The Hermit invites us to retreat from normal routines and allow the subconscious the time and space to do its work.
My Personal Journey with The Hermit
One powerful way to deepen your understanding of the Tarot is to apply each card to real moments in your own life. I integrate my lived experience and map it onto the archetype. When I do that, the archetype imprints onto me, too.
My story of illustrating The Hermit unfolds on both a macro and micro level.
On a macro level, I feel I am in a Hermit phase of my life. If I compare my lifespan to the hero’s journey, I find myself here.
While I’ve traveled extensively in the past, in recent years I am compelled to stay closer to home.
With an elderly cat, another young cat who is incontinent, aging parents, and the process of building a business, my world has naturally become smaller, more contained, so I can be present for what’s needed.
On a micro level, while working on this archetype, I felt a strong pull to schedule a personal spiritual retreat. I reserved a yurt in the wilderness, and I’ll be going early this summer.
Travel isn’t easy right now. The last time I left, my cat Emma became very ill. We are deeply bonded, and even a short separation disrupted her nervous system. She developed urinary tract issues that required multiple emergency vet visits.
So this time, she’ll come with me. I’ll spend some time before preparing her for the trip.
Already on this archetype journey, I’ve already learned so much.
Soon I will step away from the world…to go into nature…to meditate, create art, use my singing bowls, chant, practice energy healing, hike, read, and journal…it is a deeply intentional space for integration.
Chakra Connection
The Hermit connects strongly with the Alta Major chakra, sometimes referred to as the 12th chakra. It is located at the base of the skull, near where the vagus nerve passes, acting as a bridge between higher spiritual awareness and the physical body.
This center supports nervous system regulation and deeper states of awareness. When balanced, it can enhance our sense of purpose and connection to why we are here.
It plays a role in integrating spiritual insight with grounded, lived experience: supporting wisdom, presence, and inner knowing.
Your Story + Invitation
The Hermit represents the integration of lived experience, the assimilation of life lessons, and the embodiment of earned wisdom.
To support your tarot journey, I’ve created a simple Tarot Cheat Sheet with key meanings for every card. You’ll find the link below.
And if you’re standing at your own threshold – ready to leap – a personal tarot reading can bring clarity. Book a 1:1 tarot reading with me, and we can explore the cards as they show up for you in the past, present, and future.
When has The Hermit shown up for you?
“Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.” — Carl Jung
