Major Arcana · Mirror of the Arcana
IX · ArcanumThe Hermit
The Hermit in tarot is a card of solitude, seeking and inner light.
Key meanings
- solitude
- seeking
- inner light
- clarity
- pause
The Hermit upright
Solitude and the search within. Your own light is what shows you the road.
The shadow side
Shutting everyone out and calling the escape a search for yourself.
The Hermit reversed
Isolation that wounds, a loneliness you didn't choose, a retreat from life itself.
The Hermit as the card of the day
Today your soul needs quiet, not a crowd. Step back a little, light your own small lamp within, and in a solitude that doesn't frighten you, clarity will come. Right now you are your own best guide.
The question this card asks
What question would you most want to ask yourself in complete silence?
The Hermit: yes or no?
leaning no
The Hermit carries his lantern away from the crowd. Wait alone for a while.
Arcanum IX reads as leaning no, which tells you where the weight falls before you decide anything.
In a yes-or-no draw one card gives weight, and the weight here comes from solitude. Pull your own card →
Every card is a mirror, not a verdict. Walk the other arcana and listen to what they say together.
✦ See all 22 Major ArcanaFAQ
The Hermit (IX) - a good card or a bad one?
Tarot has no plainly bad cards. It carries solitude and seeking, and whether that reads warm or difficult is decided by your question and by the position. I am not here to frighten you.
Which group holds The Hermit, the majors or the minors?
Major, arcanum IX of twenty-two. The twenty-two majors hold the turning points and the fifty-six minors the daily ones, and IX belongs to the first group.
What are the cards either side of The Hermit?
The order of the twenty-two puts Strength in front of it and Wheel of Fortune behind. Arcanum IX is the step between them, and that is where its direction comes from.
Upright or reversed - how does The Hermit (IX) change?
Upright it puts solitude and seeking in the foreground. Upside down, arcanum IX describes the shadow of the same movement: too much of it, too little, or too late.