The Hermit

UPRIGHT

The Hermit stands alone on the snowy peak, lantern raised, the six-pointed star of wisdom enclosed in its glass. He has climbed away from the world not to abandon it but to see it clearly, and to bring back what only solitude can teach. The card honors withdrawal as discipline — the season of being one's own only company.

REVERSED

Reversed, the Hermit is isolation curdled into loneliness, or solitude refused when the soul most needed it. The card can mark the recluse who has forgotten there is a village to return to, or the social creature who has not yet learned to be alone with themselves. The lantern, either way, has been set down too soon or never lit.

Return to the full deck, or draw the cards and see The Hermit in context.