Unusual Hermits
Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 18 Dec 2004, and now archived in the Forum Library.
| rosyelf |
18 Dec 2004 |
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I suspect I am not alone in loving the Hermit card in Tarot decks. I love seeing that blue-robed, elderly, supremely wise and compassionate man carrying a lantern to light the world. But that's not the only depiction. In Waking the Wild Spirit the Hermit is a woman and a healer, sitting in her kitchen, black cat and healing herbs nearby.
Now, it gets weirder. In rabble's newly published GARDEN PATH (Major Arcana Only) the Hermit is a snail, his path lit not by a lantern but by gorgeous yellow flowers. In dolphingirl's new deck, MOVIE MONSTERS (Major Arcana Only), the Hermit is the Phantom of the Opera, a rather desperate figure rather than the serene one we are accustomed to.
Any more unusual, non-traditional Hermits out there ? I'd love to see them.
love
rosyelf
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| northsea |
18 Dec 2004 |
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the Fantastical Hermit is very different
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| L'Etoile |
18 Dec 2004 |
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The Phantom of the Opera wasn't desperate. Lonely and maniacal, yes. But not desperate.
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| Rusty Neon |
18 Dec 2004 |
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Well, there's Barrington Colby's Hermit illustration for the inside of the record cover for Led Zeppelin's IV album. Apparently, it was Jimmy Page's idea to have an illustration based on the Hermit card of the Tarot.
http://www.led-zeppelin.org/reference/disc-untitled.html
Here's a link giving an image of Colby's Hermit and the RWS Hermit:
http://pyzeppelin.free.fr/symboles.htm
However, ŕ la the Morgan-Greer deck's Hermit card, the Colby illustration shows more of the rock on which the hermit is standing than in the case of the RWS deck's Hermit card.
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| rosyelf |
18 Dec 2004 |
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Thank you, everybody, for your responses. Rusty Neon, I like that Led Zeppelin Hermit very much. L'Etoile-maniacal ? Okay, I agree. Must look at that card again. But aren't maniacal people a wee bit desperate ? Fantastical tarot ? Will look.
love
rosyelf
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| dadsnook2000 |
18 Dec 2004 |
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I would call everyone's attention to the Fey Tarot. This Hermit is walking within a maze of stairways -- stairways going down, up-side down, up, twisted, across. He wears a very tall hat and carries an oversized lamp. Small creatures travel stairs nearby, each going in their own direction. Doorways abound, but few seem appropriate for where the stairs end. A broken ladder spans a gap between one stairway and an upside down door. A closed book lies on the floor/ceiling above the Hermit-Fey -- he doesn't see it but it is visible within the area of light from his lantern.
This qualifies as a very unusual Hermit card. Dave.
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| Moongold |
18 Dec 2004 |
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The art of this deck is kind of sophisticated comic book art and the Hermit is done in this style.
He is a very powerful figure, sitting down against a background of two pyramids. This Hermit has four hands, representing the four elements as tools of manifestation. He holds a crystal in one hand and a staff in another. The crystal is an as above so below hexagram and the staff is Moses's staff, striking water from stone. The deck author regards Moses as one of the great Magicians of history.
There are glorious colours here too - a deep rust, green, purple and yellow
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| TemperanceAngel |
19 Dec 2004 |
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rosyelf I too love the Hermit, we are such good friends :)
Yesterday I received The Housewives Tarot (a 50's style deck...), the Hermit has a woman in a bubble bath enjoying her solitude :D
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| rosyelf |
20 Dec 2004 |
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TemperanceAngel, that woman and I are kindred spirits ! :D
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| Rosanne |
20 Dec 2004 |
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From the Phantasmagoric Theatre Tarot in Rug Rat comic fashion, The Hermit sits on a floating platform, with Himalaylan type mountains in the background. He looks like a Haight-Ashbury escapee in yoga position (with dreadlocks). Floating all around are question marks. Love it. Take a look at the Hermit from the Lars-Kristian Holmsen Tarot. He is a snail type artwork with a clowns hat and light hanging from it. I don't think I have a Hermit Card that I don't like in my collection. Regards Rosanne
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| rosyelf |
20 Dec 2004 |
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Thanks, Rosanne, for these. I especially like the Lars-Kristian Holmsen Hermit-and, incidentally, his Hanged Man. If I didn't actually want to keep my Hermits in their decks, I think I would paste them all up into a collage and get it framed to hang on my wall. Arnell Ando of Transformational Tarot fame-have you seen her website?-has made a Hermit-themed mirror ! Also Strength-the other favourite card of mine!-Lovers and Death. Imagine confronting x number of Death cards whilst combing your hair !
love
rosyelf
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| WhiteRaven |
20 Dec 2004 |
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The version of the "Hermit" in the Daughters of the Moon is a woman/crone riding on a gray horse...of which is depicted as moving in high speed...as opposed to the Hermit in RWS version where you have the old sage at a standstill it seems (there was a poll not long ago I believe on what the Hermit was doing exactly...if he was moving or not)
Attached you will find a picture of what I am describing...
The actual name for this card is "The Wise One - The Crone"
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| Lurea |
20 Dec 2004 |
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In the Halloween Tarot, the Hermit is the Mad Scientist. He's hidden away in a basement, with a book and mortar and pestle, and is holding a test tube. Greenish smoke/light is coming from the test tube. :)
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| rachelcat |
20 Dec 2004 |
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Gotta put in a plug for the Cosmic Tribe hermit. It's the best card of the deck. He is holding his lantern, standing in the doorway to the underworld, with the 3-headed dog nearby. But the cool part is you see only his silhouette, which is filled with a beautiful daylit landscape with a great green tree. Hard to describe but beautiful!
(Sorry, don't really like the Tarot of Sephiroth hermit. He is described as Moses and shown striking water from the rock. I just can't get with Moses as hermit. He seems much more Hierophant to me!)
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| gollog |
22 Dec 2004 |
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Hi,
The tarot Nova has an unusual hermit. A bold man who looks like he is wearing a pyjama, en has a seashelf attached to his left shoulder. Unfortunatly the booklet that comes with it doesn't explain what it stands for.
And the tarot of the witches has a beautiful 'dark' hermit. It's a cloaked man with long beard and hunchback who is sitting on a small island surrounded by water. There is a plate with hot food next to him but he doesn't pay any attention to it. And he's holding a feather to write in one hand and a book in the other.
best, Gollog
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| Flavio |
22 Dec 2004 |
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World Spirit has a woman walking in the night through rocky mountains, maybe the only "unusual" is the gender because she looks like any other Hermit.
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The Unusual Hermits thread was originally posted on 18 Dec 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.
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