Wendywu
This card feels warm, compassionate and understanding. I don’t care that I can’t see her face, and that her back is to me – she is beckoning me to follow her down that lonely path. I do like that she has marked it was a very tower like cairn of stones. From that I understand that following her could well not be the easy path that one might like – there’s a tower there and I bet that as soon as I reach it the damn thing will fall down ….. Or, looked at from another viewpoint and perspective, it’s a stone path laid for me to follow.
I love the eyes in the walls that look on – watching, waiting. Some of them are creatures, some simply eyes drawn on the wall. They remind me of the people who watch, unspeaking as one passes. Sometimes they know you’re headed into difficult situations but they say nothing – just watch. On the left hand bank of stones the eyes are different to those on the right where the faces are like smileys, and there is one panda (with strange antennae). What they look like most in the world is caterpillars seen from the very front. It occurs to me that we usually see caterpillars from the perspective where we look down on them, and occasionally we look at them from side on. On the wall in the card we see each other face to face, as the equals we are. I realise that some of the eyes and faces are drawn to show that actually, the stones are alive. They have voices and awareness – it is just that we are not usually all that conscious of them! But the Stones are part of the Web too; the deep slow voice of the earth itself. Slower, older and deeper even than the trees.
I get the idea of the little mouths whispering as the Hermit passes – tiny voices making comments that both help and hinder – up to the Hermit to decide which does what. All that advice we get from talking heads as our lives go on…. In a reading the eyes and faces could take us off in all sorts of directions. The furthermost boulders on each side of the path have large paintings that are different to the others. I will have to spend a while thinking about those.
The path where the Hermit’s feet have passed is a trail that forms a continuation of her cloak. This interests me. We continue to influence that which we have been involved in? As we pass, our surroundings are affected by us. We are forever everywhere.. But the Hermit doesn’t look back. She has her eyes firmly fixed on the path ahead of her. Now in part I see that as a mistake – I don’t want to think about the past; I don’t want to think about the future. I want to live in the now. But saying that is all very well – I think I need a healthy regard for the lessons learned by past experience, and an anticipation (and some preparation) for what is to come. I think the card does emphasise that one must not live in the past though. Having been through an experience – and left your trail through it – move on, let it go.
When I was a teenager there was a Robert Heinlein book I read (amongst many of his) that said that wrangles and arguments should be left in the water they were flung in. That’s very garbled but the essence was that if you have an argument – argue it and let it go. I was enormously struck by that and vowed on the spot to live life like that. It has worked very well – never ever drag up old arguments and grudges. They are gone. That trail is in the past and has been walked – and you can’t go back… That’s one of the things this Hermit says to me. Also – the old saying, take nothing but images, leave nothing but footprints.
I like the way the Hermit is carrying her medicine bag out in full view so that we all know it is good to keep our memories and treasures to keep our spirits strong. Her memories are of value – whether they be good or bad they are all important, they provide support and strength. Her life’s experiences all combined to teach her and bring her to this point where she follows a difficult path but feels able to shine a light on the way for us. Her lamp shines out to make our way just a little easier and to tell us that it’s OK to find a teacher, find a helper – find someone whose light helps you.
Her hooded cloak is of interest to me. That kind of full body cover is usually an indication of the hidden. And so I think of the fact that there are so many Hermits living amongst us, in the crowds of the cities and towns. They are hidden; covered by their own silence. They walk their paths alone, following the dim light that brightens their path as they in turn hold a lamp for those who follow. Each Hermit moves towards the tunnel as she strives on the spiritual path. Each of us trusts that the rocky path gives way to the tunnel which in turn gives way to the light.
I find great comfort in this card. It feels so hopeful and offers so much. I enjoy the humour in the little bell on the end of the Hermits dangly cap – it reminds me of the innocence and goodness of Noddy (an Enid Blyton children’s story character whom I loved in childhood). The anonymity of the all-encompassing cloak and hood shows me that it could be anyone in there…. Anyone I meet on my daily travels could in fact be a spiritual Hermit. Beware judgements (again!). Years ago I used to think that the Carthusians were an Order I could have lived in quite happily. Somewhat obviously I never got there; it was not meant to be my path – health grounds meant that I couldn’t be acceptable (and they were quite right as it turns out). I often wonder if I had been accepted would I have stayed with them? Was it simply that I was in the wrong Order that caused me to leave? Ah well, It was all for the best but I have always been drawn to a solitary lifestyle.
Going back to the cairn of stones at the base of the card. A cairn is a marker place – either of a place of burial or as a path-marker. What old ideas have I “buried” – I would prefer to think that I had let them go; burial implies that they are still within me somewhere. So many thoughts, ideas and plans I have let go. Now I wonder – what else am I meant to let go of and “bury” so that I am readied to follow this path? What personal desires, what greeds, what little nastinesses that I try to hide from myself? Equally – what good things have I buried? What little lovelinesses have I let go? We used to call this “Self Examination of the Conscience” and it was a weekly exercise. I think it’s one that I could usefully re-adopt. Undoubtedly it is the Hermit who attracts me most and this is the card I find myself drawn to emotionally. This of course means very little – just because I am involved emotionally doesn’t mean that as a card its message is any more important than any other card’s message.
I do like the idea of self-examination but also think how good it would be to meditate and look at myself through the eyes of the rocks, of the caterpillars. From the rocks’ point of view I am such an ephemeral creature – blink and my puny lifespan is over! How difficult to learn anything in such a short span….. Then again – the caterpillar would see me as living for an eternity – I have such a lot of time; how awful that I waste so much of it; I have such opportunities for learning and growth…. The stars shine down. I always have the impression that they are cold and lack any sort of passion. It’s odd because get closer to them and they are raging infernos of fire – a hotter, more passionate thing could not be imagined. Why then do I look at them in cards and see them as cold watchers? Is this again a question of time and scale? The stars are longer lived even than the rocks. Their heat melts rocks! How would the stars themselves view me? That’s a very humbling answer…..
This Hermit with her bell, candle (and book undoubtedly in his medicine bag!) – well, what have we here lol A path being pursued single mindedly – she pays no heed to the distractions along the way – her goal is clearly before her. I do hope she stops to talk with the owners of the eyes; I would not like to think that she thought herself in some way above needing to listen to others. And the Hermit stares out, away from the earth – I’m not sure that out there is the right place to look for answers. Well – not for me, yet. My concerns are much closer to home – the rocks and caterpillars have enough to tell me, I don’t think I can face the hugeness of the stars and what they have to say. I am very small.
But I love the message of the card – search, look, track and keep searching. Both by searching within myself and by watching and listening to those around me. What I do note is that there are no other humans in the card – Hermit is listening to other wisdoms at the moment. Also, this Hermit is about to journey where she will seek answers to other questions. This tells me that periodically, it is good to withdraw from the company of our fellow men, and listen to the inner voice.
I love the eyes in the walls that look on – watching, waiting. Some of them are creatures, some simply eyes drawn on the wall. They remind me of the people who watch, unspeaking as one passes. Sometimes they know you’re headed into difficult situations but they say nothing – just watch. On the left hand bank of stones the eyes are different to those on the right where the faces are like smileys, and there is one panda (with strange antennae). What they look like most in the world is caterpillars seen from the very front. It occurs to me that we usually see caterpillars from the perspective where we look down on them, and occasionally we look at them from side on. On the wall in the card we see each other face to face, as the equals we are. I realise that some of the eyes and faces are drawn to show that actually, the stones are alive. They have voices and awareness – it is just that we are not usually all that conscious of them! But the Stones are part of the Web too; the deep slow voice of the earth itself. Slower, older and deeper even than the trees.
I get the idea of the little mouths whispering as the Hermit passes – tiny voices making comments that both help and hinder – up to the Hermit to decide which does what. All that advice we get from talking heads as our lives go on…. In a reading the eyes and faces could take us off in all sorts of directions. The furthermost boulders on each side of the path have large paintings that are different to the others. I will have to spend a while thinking about those.
The path where the Hermit’s feet have passed is a trail that forms a continuation of her cloak. This interests me. We continue to influence that which we have been involved in? As we pass, our surroundings are affected by us. We are forever everywhere.. But the Hermit doesn’t look back. She has her eyes firmly fixed on the path ahead of her. Now in part I see that as a mistake – I don’t want to think about the past; I don’t want to think about the future. I want to live in the now. But saying that is all very well – I think I need a healthy regard for the lessons learned by past experience, and an anticipation (and some preparation) for what is to come. I think the card does emphasise that one must not live in the past though. Having been through an experience – and left your trail through it – move on, let it go.
When I was a teenager there was a Robert Heinlein book I read (amongst many of his) that said that wrangles and arguments should be left in the water they were flung in. That’s very garbled but the essence was that if you have an argument – argue it and let it go. I was enormously struck by that and vowed on the spot to live life like that. It has worked very well – never ever drag up old arguments and grudges. They are gone. That trail is in the past and has been walked – and you can’t go back… That’s one of the things this Hermit says to me. Also – the old saying, take nothing but images, leave nothing but footprints.
I like the way the Hermit is carrying her medicine bag out in full view so that we all know it is good to keep our memories and treasures to keep our spirits strong. Her memories are of value – whether they be good or bad they are all important, they provide support and strength. Her life’s experiences all combined to teach her and bring her to this point where she follows a difficult path but feels able to shine a light on the way for us. Her lamp shines out to make our way just a little easier and to tell us that it’s OK to find a teacher, find a helper – find someone whose light helps you.
Her hooded cloak is of interest to me. That kind of full body cover is usually an indication of the hidden. And so I think of the fact that there are so many Hermits living amongst us, in the crowds of the cities and towns. They are hidden; covered by their own silence. They walk their paths alone, following the dim light that brightens their path as they in turn hold a lamp for those who follow. Each Hermit moves towards the tunnel as she strives on the spiritual path. Each of us trusts that the rocky path gives way to the tunnel which in turn gives way to the light.
I find great comfort in this card. It feels so hopeful and offers so much. I enjoy the humour in the little bell on the end of the Hermits dangly cap – it reminds me of the innocence and goodness of Noddy (an Enid Blyton children’s story character whom I loved in childhood). The anonymity of the all-encompassing cloak and hood shows me that it could be anyone in there…. Anyone I meet on my daily travels could in fact be a spiritual Hermit. Beware judgements (again!). Years ago I used to think that the Carthusians were an Order I could have lived in quite happily. Somewhat obviously I never got there; it was not meant to be my path – health grounds meant that I couldn’t be acceptable (and they were quite right as it turns out). I often wonder if I had been accepted would I have stayed with them? Was it simply that I was in the wrong Order that caused me to leave? Ah well, It was all for the best but I have always been drawn to a solitary lifestyle.
Going back to the cairn of stones at the base of the card. A cairn is a marker place – either of a place of burial or as a path-marker. What old ideas have I “buried” – I would prefer to think that I had let them go; burial implies that they are still within me somewhere. So many thoughts, ideas and plans I have let go. Now I wonder – what else am I meant to let go of and “bury” so that I am readied to follow this path? What personal desires, what greeds, what little nastinesses that I try to hide from myself? Equally – what good things have I buried? What little lovelinesses have I let go? We used to call this “Self Examination of the Conscience” and it was a weekly exercise. I think it’s one that I could usefully re-adopt. Undoubtedly it is the Hermit who attracts me most and this is the card I find myself drawn to emotionally. This of course means very little – just because I am involved emotionally doesn’t mean that as a card its message is any more important than any other card’s message.
I do like the idea of self-examination but also think how good it would be to meditate and look at myself through the eyes of the rocks, of the caterpillars. From the rocks’ point of view I am such an ephemeral creature – blink and my puny lifespan is over! How difficult to learn anything in such a short span….. Then again – the caterpillar would see me as living for an eternity – I have such a lot of time; how awful that I waste so much of it; I have such opportunities for learning and growth…. The stars shine down. I always have the impression that they are cold and lack any sort of passion. It’s odd because get closer to them and they are raging infernos of fire – a hotter, more passionate thing could not be imagined. Why then do I look at them in cards and see them as cold watchers? Is this again a question of time and scale? The stars are longer lived even than the rocks. Their heat melts rocks! How would the stars themselves view me? That’s a very humbling answer…..
This Hermit with her bell, candle (and book undoubtedly in his medicine bag!) – well, what have we here lol A path being pursued single mindedly – she pays no heed to the distractions along the way – her goal is clearly before her. I do hope she stops to talk with the owners of the eyes; I would not like to think that she thought herself in some way above needing to listen to others. And the Hermit stares out, away from the earth – I’m not sure that out there is the right place to look for answers. Well – not for me, yet. My concerns are much closer to home – the rocks and caterpillars have enough to tell me, I don’t think I can face the hugeness of the stars and what they have to say. I am very small.
But I love the message of the card – search, look, track and keep searching. Both by searching within myself and by watching and listening to those around me. What I do note is that there are no other humans in the card – Hermit is listening to other wisdoms at the moment. Also, this Hermit is about to journey where she will seek answers to other questions. This tells me that periodically, it is good to withdraw from the company of our fellow men, and listen to the inner voice.
