The HERMIT reversed

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 28 Mar 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.

~TheWiSeFooL~	28 Mar 2004
Hmmm...have a think about this If you get this card 'HERMIT reversed' as your daily card spread IS this a REASON for you to SOCIALISE or is this a REASON for you not to? Until such time as THE HERMIT becomes its upright position again, in other words you 'wait' until it is you feel right again? What is your advice?

OakDragon	28 Mar 2004
To me, the Hermit reversed would either generally mean that you should consider coming out of your shell, i.e. take a more active role in social situations and activities or try to act more spontaneously and not overthink things too much.

TemperanceAngel	28 Mar 2004
Hello! I wouldn't see an upright or reversed Hermit really having anything to do with socialising, which doesn't really answer your question... Maybe you should turn your thoughts and wisdom outwards as opposed to inwards? To me The Hermit is not being a 'hermit' in a literal sense, you need to look a bit more into the card. You have wisdom and knowledge inside you, and if you search deep enough you will find it! I also see the Hemit as patience or needing to be patient in the upright, which in the reversed it doesn't mean it has to be the opposite = being impatient :laugh: Where's your 'journey' at today? XTAX

Le_Corsair	28 Mar 2004
The Hermit reversed could also mean ignoring wise counsel, either your own experience or that of someone else. Bob :THERM

~TheWiSeFooL~	28 Mar 2004
originally posted by: TemperanceAngel ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I wouldn't see an upright or reversed Hermit really having anything to do with socialising, which doesn't really answer your question... Maybe you should turn your thoughts and wisdom outwards as opposed to inwards? To me The Hermit is not being a 'hermit' in a literal sense, you need to look a bit more into the card. You have wisdom and knowledge inside you, and if you search deep enough you will find it! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Yeah socialising means getting and knowing other people and generally would be looking out of yourself, extroverted outlook If it is reversed would suggest that like OAKDRAGON said: you should be 'coming out of your shell' a bit more But by the same token if your not looking inwardly enough, through meditation, inner reflection and soul searching for wisdom (HERMIT upright) in order to gain SELF KNOWLEDGE you might not be ready to face others....therefore the HERMIT uprighted 1st rather than REVERSED before actually going out with others and SOCIALISING was my question. Again its one of those questions what comes first the chicken or the egg?

Thirteen	28 Mar 2004
I'm with Le Corsair! In one discussion of reversals there was a comparison of an upright card as a flowing river of meaning. The reversal is like running aground. The important thing about the Hermit isn't just his reclusiveness but his lantern of enlightenment, his ability to illuminate the darkness. A reversal would indicate false enlightenment or a complete failure to illuminate. This is a Hermit whose lantern can't penetrate the dark, who's reclusiveness does not lead to inner clarity, who become more lost, befuddled and deluded by his solitude, rather than gaining self-knowledge or making discoveries. This could also, as Le Corsair points out, indicate either ignoring wise council, or being led deeper into the dark by bad council. It is not, as you think, the "reverse" meaning socialization--if the cards want you to know that, better to give you something like the 3 of Cups. That card would clearly indicate the idea of being social as compared to the more obscure reversed Hermit.

TemperanceAngel	28 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ~TheWiSeFooL~ before actually going out with others and SOCIALISING was my question. Aaaahhhh, well now that changes everything quite considerably and I think if I had known your question then my first post would have been very diiferent..... XTAX

bec	28 Mar 2004
Taken from Anjas Tarot: When The Hermit comes reversed, then it is time to seek out in the world for new inspiration. We always are told that we should take time for our selves and seek with in to get the answer, though here this might not be the best solution in hand. The situation you are trying to deal with here you might need others view on, you having a hard time facing facts and getting second opinions or professional help – you need to seek out and face life in stead of hiding in your mind. Another angle to the reversed Hermit could be the simple fact that you have to much going on, too much noise in your life, parents screaming at you, children screaming at you, living in a big city with lot of noise, the Hermit then could just point out to you, that you are having a hard time hearing your own thoughts.

mingbop	28 Mar 2004
if you are currently trying to learn to meditate/feel spirit/develope psychically............this card is telling you this isnt the time. stop and try later.

Moonbow*	28 Mar 2004
I think you have to consider who you are doing the reading for also - I read that if for an older person, instead of the widom and caution (positive reflection) it could mean isolation, lonliness and impatience. For a younger person it could mean disregarding advise. M*

Thirteen	28 Mar 2004
Quote: Originally posted by ~TheWiSeFooL~ But by the same token if your not looking inwardly enough, through meditation, inner reflection and soul searching for wisdom (HERMIT upright) in order to gain SELF KNOWLEDGE you might not be ready to face others....therefore the HERMIT uprighted 1st rather than REVERSED before actually going out with others and SOCIALISING was my question. If this is the case, then I'm with Mingbop. Going back to that bad illumination, it would seem that this isn't the time for meditation, inner reflection and soul searching--because it's just leading to more confusion. Like going into a candle shop in search of a candle for yourself. Sented, unsented? Which color? Which shape? Which size? Hey, they all light the darkness, but which will do it best for you? There are a lot of books on the shelf that tell us: "Here's enlightenment! Here's peace! Here's happiness!" And we can read book after book, sit cross-legged on the bed meditating, do the yoga and yes, read the Tarot Cards. There are times, however, when we're *thinking too hard*. Searching *too much*. It isn't time yet for us to find *the* answer, whatever that answer is. Maybe it hasn't been invented yet. Or maybe it's somewhere else waiting to be discovered--not in those books or in that meditation--not in that candle store but from a vendor sitting out on some side street. Sometimes, in short, we just have to...vegetate. Sit on the couch and watch tv, play computer games, go to a dumb movie or take a day off from work to play in the park. Sometimes we have to stop concentrating and searching so darn hard, and let what we're searching for come to us--when it's ready--rather than vise versa. And while we're waiting for it, we keep our mind relaxed, open and uncluttered with all those other false lights.

The The HERMIT reversed thread was originally posted on 28 Mar 2004 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.