The Hermit is often misunderstood. We tend to imagine him as someone who has stepped away from the world entirely, alone on a mountain, detached, and unreachable. But that isn’t quite right. The Hermit does not disappear because he is afraid of life. He withdraws because he wants to hear it more clearly.
This archetype shows up when the noise becomes too loud and the world becomes too much. When the opinions, expectations, and constant movement of society and life start to drown out the connections that live underneath. The Hermit is the moment you realize that clarity does not arrive through more input, more answers, or more striving. It arrives through space.
In Tarot, The Hermit (Card IX) carries a lantern, not a torch. The light he holds is small, deliberate, and personal. It does not illuminate the whole path ahead. It only shows the next step. This is one of the great lessons of the Hermit archetype: you do not need to see the entire future to move forward. You only need enough light to place your foot carefully where you are.
There is something deeply countercultural about this energy, especially in the dark months. We are taught to be visible, productive, and responsive. To keep up, to keep going. The Hermit asks a different question altogether: What happens when you stop performing your life and start listening to it?
Historically and mythically, Hermit figures appear across cultures as wise elders, monks, wanderers, and keepers of hidden knowledge. They are not removed from humanity out of disdain, but devotion. Their solitude is purposeful. It is where wisdom is distilled, not accumulated.
In everyday life, embracing the Hermit archetype does not mean abandoning your responsibilities or retreating forever. It can look much simpler than that. Choosing quiet over commentary and letting a season be reflective rather than ambitious. Turning down the volume on external validation and turning up your internal compass.
The Hermit is especially present in moments of transition. When something has ended, but the next thing has not yet revealed itself. These in-between spaces can feel uncomfortable; we don't like uncertainty. But they are also where insight is born. When you are no longer rushing toward an identity or an outcome, you are finally able to ask honest questions about what you want to carry forward.
There is also a tenderness to this archetype that often goes unnoticed. The Hermit is gentle with himself. He understands that wisdom requires patience and that rest is not a failure of momentum. It is part of the process.
If the Hermit is showing up for you right now, it may be an invitation to trust your own timing. To resist the urge to explain yourself. To allow answers to emerge slowly, rather than forcing them into shape.
The lantern will not go out if you stop moving for a while; it will likely burn more steadily.
The Hermit Tarot Necklace
$32.00
In tarot, the Hermit asks that we step back from our routine, put our worldly responsibilities on hold (at least temporarily) and dive into the deep well of inner knowing. The lone wanderer carrying his sole source of light speaks… read more
