Hermit: Reaching In, Reaching Out

This morning, before rushing off to work, I pulled the Hermit from my Navigators Tarot of the Mystic SEA as my card of the day. I was very pleased for two reasons: 1) I've been wanting to write about this card for a while, and 2) it's very apt for my day, and for my week, really. Maybe even my month!

I love this version of the Hermit and find it fascinating! There is an abundance of symbols and details to focus on and pull from, in addition to a variety of colors and even movement. In the background there appears to be a pink, snow-covered mountain range which calls forth the idea of isolation - not necessarily loneliness, but simply the idea of being alone - solitude.

I think it's very interesting how the Hermit's staff reaches up and intersects with the sky with the staff tip almost seeming to penetrate the sun - this becomes his lantern. His feet are planted in the earth and green, fertile grass, and his arm is outstretched as a hawk either flies in to land, or takes to the air. The hawk symbolizes insights, far-reaching vision, access to higher consciousness.

A particularly intriguing detail in this card is that there is a small keyhole on the Hermit's loincloth/underwear!!! This highlights the root chakra, and suggests that finding ways to ground your thoughts and introspection in tangible ways, and rising above (or tapping into) instinctual reactions, is crucial. This makes sense as the Hermit is ruled by Earth.

Navigators Tarot of the Mystic SEA
J. Turk/US Games Systems

Down below there is a crevasse through which a pyramid can be seen on a stretch of sand reaching out to the ocean. Pyramids call to mind esoteric knowledge, the deep mysteries of life. Meanwhile behind our blue Hermit (blue itself being a symbol of knowledge!) there is a dark cave where we see the outline of a person in the lotus position perched before a burning flame. I like this juxtaposition of  reaching out (arm outstretched toward the sun) and reaching in (cave dweller), which is so fitting for the Hermit. Finally, there is a veiled woman approaching the Hermit from one side of the jagged divide and she means two things to me: 1) the student seeking a mentor, and 2) the fact that in our modern age, the Hermit can take any form, and walk beside us without our ever realizing it. This woman could well be another face of the Hermit.

I've been doing a lot of "reaching within" lately, and the one of the things that has been on my mind a lot is where I want to take my card reading as a business. I love helping people, and find that reading cards for people can be deeply satisfying and rewarding. However I feel like so much is changing in my life at present, and my thoughts and feelings about being available to the world in the form of a card-reading business have not been immune from the great wave rushing through and around me. I've temporarily disabled my "reading request" page as I work through what changes I want to see, and how I want to implement them. One thing that I'm considering is the creation of a questionnaire for potential clients that would be completed prior to a consultation in order to get at the core of their situation, needs, expectations, perceptions about divination, goals, mindset, etc. I'll be taking some Hermit-time to sort through the specifics and logistics of doing that, among other things, which in the end will bring me to a place of deeper satisfaction and clarity of purpose and intent!