The Hermit is Here

In the Tarot, the Hermit represents the essence of herméticism.

Hermeticism is founded on the personal synthesis of three methods of knowledge: intelligence, experience, and analogy - represented by the lamp, the staff, and the cloak of the Hermit.

Hermeticism calls us to synthesize each to both the others: so, we have intelligence, then intelligence with experience, then intelligence with analogy. And so on. This makes 9 areas of wisdom. The hermit is number 9 in the major arcana.

The major arcana of the tarot are spiritual exercises.

The Hermit is a spiritual endeavor oriented toward toward the harmony of these three streams of knowledge. The Hermit calls us to go inward to resolve mysteries and neutralize binaries and thereby arrive at a state of mind in which all we know and perceive is harmonized.

We go about this with prudence and not blind faith or rashness. The light the Hermit holds is our luminous point. The staff he holds helps us find our way in the darkness and the cloak he wears represents the whole truth of existence that is always with us. The light enables us to see clearly and the staff allows us to probe problems before advancing. The cloak keeps us warm and safe on the journey.

The hermit is a peacemaker. Solitary contemplation makes no wars. Truth attained through synthesis takes us to empathy. The hermit makes his way from opinion to opinion, belief to belief, taking everything in. He finds the way of peace between them. He finds intense and profound joy in his own self. And when he meets another who has also learned to take responsibility for his own wisdom and happiness, great joy is felt as peace is shared.

At this time, the Hermit is calling us in and inward.

I’m not saying it’s easy or good or a blessing. I’m not saying it’s not those things. That’s up to you. What I am saying is that those of us who are obliged to be cloistered can make like the hermit.