Weekly Tarot

April 22-28, 2024
The Hermit

Live in awe. Life is fragile. Be generous with your light.
Richie Norton, bestselling author, speaker, and entrepreneur

For this week of the brilliant pre-Beltane Full Moon that closes the eclipse portal, we have a visit from a pivotal Major Arcana ally and guide. This week, say hello to our friend The Hermit.

As you can see, the Rider-Waite-Smith artwork is not very complex. A grey-cloaked, white-bearded man stands on a snowy mountaintop, with a staff (or wand) in his left hand. With his right, he holds forth a lantern. Is he gazing down, or is he deep in thought with his eyes closed?

Note that the light in his lantern is the Star of David, a symbol of great power.

Ganesha Yantra

The six-pointed hexagram is a very old sigl, and not limited only to being a widely recognized symbol of Judaism. It is also a form common in Hinduism, often depicting the perfect meditative state of balance achieved between Man and God. The example pictured here is the Ganesha Yantra, considered a divine diagram which blesses the devotees of Ganesha, the beloved elephant-headed God.

To the alchemists of Europe, it was also a motif to do with the resolution of life’s dualities and opposites. The upwards pointing triangle (Fire) is conjoined with the downwards pointing triangle (Water) and represents the sacred marriage between the masculine and feminine.

In any case, its appearance this week makes it clear that magic is afoot.

Magic and This Week’s Full Moon

For, as Jill Wintersteen, contributor to Santa Barbara’s always inspiring Paradise Found newsletter writes:

When the Full Moon meets Scorpio, magic is in the air. This is one of the most intense Full Moons of the year. Ruled by water and the planet Pluto, Scorpio asks us to confront our deepest emotions. In doing so, Scorpio reminds us that we are magicians and healers.

We can transform any energy, emotion, or behavior. We can turn darkness into light and tension into relaxation.

We can heal from the most painful wounds, turning them into wisdom, and we can navigate any storm with ease. The key to working with this energy is to be willing to feel.

This Moon asks us to put our logical minds at bay. It reminds us that when we analyze our feelings, we only prolong them. We need to feel to transform, which means slowing down, courageously looking inward, crying, and holding space for any energy to rise from our subconscious.

What a great description of some of The Hermit’s truest spiritual gifts!

And our good friend Elisabeth Grace would agree, also noting that the planetary aspects are unusually quiet this week, until Mars conjunct Neptune next Monday..

“ but we’ll be feeling its potential focus on all things sexy and scandalous; mystical magical and fanatical as we roll into the weekend…”

Sexy and scandalous? Sounds a lot like what landed TFG in his current criminal trial, doesn’t it?

But as the grim circus around that momentous event gets wilder, The Hermit’s magical symbol in his lantern offers steady guidance for us at this time.

Elisabeth also notes that –

After weeks of intense planetary activity, we have a fairly rare week of no exact aspects among the planets, except to the Moon. Look to the Moon to drive the action all week — and let the chips fall where they may. Experience has shown that these weeks of no exact contact (except to the Moon) can reflect events as sudden and impactful as a ginormous shelf of ice crumbling into the sea.

However, keep in mind that, as Lorna Bevan explains in her new Substack post (available weekly to subscribers):

On April 23^rd, the Full Moon at 4° Scorpio re-activates the sensitive degrees of October 28 2023 lunar eclipse. Think back to issues you were dealing with 6 months ago — they need resolving.

The Sun and Moon make a tight T Square to Pluto in Aquarius. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto so this is a double whammy of transform-or-die energy. Moon in Scorpio keeps feelings hidden and emotions will be experienced somatically.

Sowing yet more chaos and confusion, trickster Mercury is stationing to turn direct on April 25^th at 15 Aries conjunct the karmic Node of Fate.

There is no old familiar solid ground under our feet now because — in this perfect storm of Chaos Nodes — we are in transition in multiple ways on multiple levels and our bodies are doing their best to keep us head up, feet down.

With your head up and feet firmly down, perhaps you might want to step away from the churning craziness and shine your light on the bigger context. Just like The Hermit.

Who Is The Hermit?

A hermit (or hermitess) is a person who lives apart from ordinary society, usually for religious reasons. Hermits have played a long, important role in Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism. Taoism also has a long history of ascetic and eremitical figures.

Hermits are also very important characters in legends and stories the world over. They often appear at pivotal moments, when all seems lost for the protagonist. They are the giver of shelter, healing, advice, or magical gifts to questing knights, missing kings, lost children, and other seekers.

For instance, glaringly absent from the films but vital in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, the character of Tom Bombadil is a beautiful example of the hermit persona.

He is not comic relief, nor an expendable, unnecessary plot departure. He plays a vital and ancient role that Tolkien would have known well. Bombadil offers the hobbits safe haven and support in the midst of grim danger, as well as the reminder that alignment with the natural world brings restoration both practical and spiritual.

In Europe, the hermit appears as Merlin Sylvestris, from the period when the famed wizard went mad after the Battle of Arfderydd and fled to live in the wilds of the Caledonian Forest.

And The Hermit card is clearly a nod to the historic ancient Greek hermit, Diogenes.

Diogenes of Sinope rejected all worldly possessions, relished insulting Plato, lived in a wine cask (or possibly it was a bathtub), and was famed for searching both day and night with a lantern, looking for an honest man in a world of fools.

Henry David Thoreau was, arguably, one of America’s more noted hermits, if only a temporary one. As you probably know, he built a small cabin and for two years, lived at Walden Pond, Massachusetts to explore a life of self-reliance, solitude, and contemplation.

In Asia, the hermit is well-known as the yogi ascetic or the Zen master, living alone, far from towns and cities, but who may occasionally welcome an apprentice. Hermits may live on simple plots of land away from society, or they may live on the streets, dependent upon the good consciences and money of passersby.

In such a life-choice, the hermit may seek to separate him- or herself from society’s distractions in order to focus on self-development, simplicity, prayer, penance, closeness with Nature, contemplation, and/or communication with the Divine One(s).

Note that the Waite-Smith Hermit is not in beggars’ rags, nor do we see him in a hut, cave, or tub. Instead, he wears the robes of a monk, and carries the (possibly magical) staff of a traveler.

In the Tarot, he is the spiritual solitary, and a teacher or guide, especially for those who may have lost their direction.

Finding Your Own Way

The Hermit embodies impeccable integrity. He takes the high road in all dealings, and lives with quiet simplicity. Who in your life offers this? How are you being called to cultivate these qualities in yourself?

Does this visit have an urgent message about your need for quiet, reflection, and vision journeys? I am sure he would advise us to disconnect more often from the constant harangue of media, commerce, opinions, and news.

As our rampant consumer culture becomes ever more sophisticated and targeted, The Hermit would counsel us to rise above it, and breathe the clear, cold air of wisdom.

Whose beacon is a steady light and inspiration in your life? How are you the inspiration and the truth-teller in your own circles?

The Hermit is a natural teacher, meaning that on every step of his path, he is learning and sharing. But he also learns best from his experiences in the natural world, which would be a good way to celebrate this Earth Day. His life’s journey is a sacred pilgrimage into the Mystery.

What studies might you begin, or deepen, as Beltane approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, and Samhaintide draws near in the lands below the equator? What esoteric knowledge do you quest for? Or perhaps you offer this, shining, for others to discover.

What hero’s journey are you embarked upon? Who might your unexpected magical helper be? What pause on the mountaintop do you need, the better to see the wider landscape?

Allow yourself a peaceful break from the noise, which is only bound to get crazier as this turning time unfolds. Seek equanimity and order in your inner sanctuary.

Hold your lantern high, and understand that you are both the seeker and the radiance within. And please, by all that is holy, be generous with your light.

My card of the week is always a labor of love, but if you’d like to make a donation, I would be most grateful.