A Day in the Life of the Hermit...

So I was looking at the Hermit cards from the Marseille, Thoth, and RWS decks side by side, and I had some thoughts that I'd like to share.

First off, let me just say that I'm aware that everything that follows was never intended by the designers of any of the decks. Just my own little musings.

Welp, here goes...

When the three Hermits are side by side, Marseille to Thoth to RWS, they could be seen as showing the beginning, middle, and end of the Hermit's night abroad. In the TdM, the Hermit has just left his little hovel to begin a night of exploring both the world around him, and the inner machinations of his psyche. His hood is down, his cloak is open, showing his red robes underneath, he walks on flat ground, and his eyes are wide and eagerly taking in the scenery. In my deck, the background is shaded such that it looks as though the sun is only just below the horizon.

He continues on through fields and fields of grain, and having gotten familiar with his surroundings, his thoughts turn inwards. We are now on to the Thoth. Everything is abstracted now, representing his subconscious. His lantern still guides his way, but rather than looking around him at what it lights in the physical realm, he contemplates the lantern of his soul and what it shows him, as well as what lurks just beyond his line of sight.

In the RWS, the dawn draws near. It is still dark, but won't be for much longer. He is no longer in the fields, having climbed a mountain while he pondered the meaning of his existence. The Hermit now stands at the summit. His hood is drawn and his cloak is closed against the cold, hiding his red robes. He looks tired, yet serene as a result of his meditations. He holds his lantern aloft, gazing down at the sleeping world below one last time before he begins his descent. He almost doesn't want to go back, because up there everything seems simpler, more unified. He is on the outside looking in, and it reminds him of his thoughts in the fields (from the Thoth), particularly that which was represented by the snake and the egg that, no matter how he tried, he just could not quite shine his light on. Here, for a brief moment at least, it is all clear to him.

But go back he must, otherwise he could not replenish his energy to make a similar journey the following night, perhaps up one of those other mountains he sees off in the distance.

...

Most of the Trumps that picture characters can be viewed this way if you think about it, but I like the Hermit best, so I used him as my example.

I love discovering new ways to view and study the cards, so thank you very much for sharing your ideas, Herodotus. I will have to pull out my RWS/Thoth/Marseille decks and see what kind of meanings and stories I can come up with.

Very nice! I like that.
Looking at the RWS-Hermit, I see him a bit different: he doesn't shine his light for himself anymore. He has already reached the peak - there is no way that could be illuminated by his lantern.

I see his lantern as a guiding light for all other beings, a beacon, saying "you could be where I am now". And I'm not sure if he will ever return, or rather stay there, guiding our way to epiphany, a bit like a Bodhisattva in Buddhism, to help others before he leaves himself.

What excellent musings Herodotus!
A new exercise for me to explore. Thank you.

Farzon said:

Very nice! I like that.
Looking at the RWS-Hermit, I see him a bit different: he doesn't shine his light for himself anymore. He has already reached the peak - there is no way that could be illuminated by his lantern.

I see his lantern as a guiding light for all other beings, a beacon, saying "you could be where I am now". And I'm not sure if he will ever return, or rather stay there, guiding our way to epiphany, a bit like a Bodhisattva in Buddhism, to help others before he leaves himself.

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I see what you're saying here, and on some levels I agree. However, I've personally always thought of the Hermit as being a lone wolf, so to speak. The lantern is always for him, as far as he's concerned. If it can illuminate for someone else willing to follow him, all the better, but that's not necessarily what he's going for. But that's just my opinion.

Your way does make more sense about why he'd be holding it like that on the top of the mountain, though. Because you're right: what could he really be illuminating from all the way up there?

RiverRunsDeep said:

I love discovering new ways to view and study the cards, so thank you very much for sharing your ideas, Herodotus. I will have to pull out my RWS/Thoth/Marseille decks and see what kind of meanings and stories I can come up with.

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Besides the Hermit, I also really like the Magician. He goes from a lowly juggler playing with powers that are perhaps a bit beyond his comprehension, has a reality-melting epiphany, and then returns to his table, enlightened. He still retains his trickster personality through all three, though. It's just who he is.

Sometimes I imagine he's the Magician by day, and the Hermit at night. I don't know when he'd sleep, but perhaps he doesn't need it. But I think of them as two aspects of the same character, and that character would be very much like Odin from Scandinavian myth. After all, Odin possesses characteristics of the trickster, is associated with the creation of writing and travels often from the world of the living to that of the dead. For these reasons, he's associated with Thoth and Mercury. But when he's not being a magician-esque character, he's obsessively searching for wisdom, often disguised as a hooded, bearded figure. Very Hermit-like. And his position as the All-father aligns nicely with the idea of the Hermit as god in the Thoth deck.

Of course, there are other characteristics of Odin that are better described in other cards, such as the Emperor, but I'll digress before I lose myself further in this tangent.