Tarot Major Arcana: IX Hermit 9

IX The Hermit

Tarot Major Arcana

Notes by Michael P. Garofalo, M.S.

Index to Internet Resources, Books, and Articles
Correspondences, Symbolism, History, Meanings, Associations, Magick, Lore
Emphasis on the Marseille, Waite, Thoth, and Voyager Tarot Decks

Major Arcana Blog Home

IX The Hermit

Note: My plan is to complete the first draft of this webpage after February, 2013.

Alternative Names: L'Hermite,

The Hermit - Raven's Tarot Study of the Thoth Deck

The Hermit - Tarot Card Iconography - Trionfi Museum

History of the Hermit Card by Tom Tadfor Little

The Hermit Tarot Card - Wikipedia

Images of The Hermit Tarot Cards - Bing

The Hermit - Taroscopes Divination

The Hermit: Thelemistas QBL, Yod

Hermit - Tarotpedia

Merlin as the Hermit

Tarot, Hermit 9 - Google

The Way of Tarot: The Spiritual Teacher in the Cards. By Alejandro Jodorowsky and Marianne Costa. Translated by John E. Graham. Interpretation of the Marseille Deck. Rochester, New York, Destiny Books, 2009. 536 pages. ISBN: 9781594772634. Discussion and interpretation of the Marseille Tarot, Hermit #9 card, pp. 175-180.

The Voyager Tarot: Way of the Great Oracle Book. By James Wanless, 1989. Book and Deck. Discussion and interpretation of the Voyager Tarot, Hermit #9 card, pp. 95-98.

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. By Rachel Pollack. Revised with a New Preface. San Francisco, California, Weiser Books, 1980, 2007. Index, bibliogrpahy, 354 pages. ISBN: 1578634083. This book uses the Waite-Smith-Rider 1909 Deck for analysis and interpretation. Discussion and interpretation of the Waite-Smith-Rider Tarot, Hermit #9 card, pp. 77-82.

The Crowley Tarot. The Handbook to the Cards by Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris. By Akron (C. F. Frey) and Hajo Banzhaf. Translated from the German by Christine M. Grimm. Stamford, CT, U.S. Games Systems, Inc., 1995. 222 pages. ISBN: 0880797150. I have found this book to be an extremely useful reference tool when doing an analysis of a card. This is my favorite book on the Thoth Tarot. Discussion and interpretation of the Crowley-Harris-Thoth Tarot, Hermit #9 card, pp. 62-65.

Keywords for the Crowley Tarot. by Hajo Banzhaf and Brigitte Theler, 2001.

The Book of Thoth (Egyptian Tarot). Aleister Crowley, 1944, 1977.

The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols. By Angeles Arrien, 1987, 1997.

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot. By Rachel Pollack, 2007.

The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals. By Mark K. Greer, 2002.

Tarot Wisdom: Spiritual Teachings and Deeper Meanings. By Rachel Pollack, 2008.

Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot. By Lon Milo Duquette, 2003.

The Tarot Handbook: Practical Applications of Ancient Visual Symbols. By Angeles Arrien, 1997.

Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey. By Sallie Nichols, 1980.

Learning Ritual Magic. By John Michael Greer, Earl King, Jr., and Clare Vaughn, 2004.

Major Arcana or Trumps of the Tarot
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21

Comments by Mike Garofalo on the Hermit Card:

Diogenes the Cynic, a Greek philosopher, died 323 BCE, was known for his simple lifestyle, disruptive tactics in debates, begging, homelessness, and unusual stunts like walking around with a lamp in the daytime. He is a precursor of the Stoics.

The Hermit card shows an older man carrying a lighted lamp in the daytime. Is he searching for something? Is he a guide, a person revealing the truth to others, a person guiding us out of ignorance or mysteries, a bringer of light, a person guiding those who are lost? The Hermit carries a cane or staff, one of the key Tarot suit symbols.

In the Waite card, the Hermit stands on the top of a mountain range and looks down towards the valley. In the Marseille card, the Hermit walks on flat ground and looks forward. In the Crowley card, the Hermit holds the brilliant lantern in his left hand, which illuminates aspects of the world, and he gazes downward.

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