"What You Learn Out There Will Change You..."

This is a card that holds great personal significance for me. It came up as the central card in the very first reading I ever received, when I was fifteen years old; for years afterward I associated its image and meaning with a certain part of myself that I'd previously never really understood. You could say this is the card that taught me what Tarot was capable of.

Sometimes I see this happen to other people when I do readings for them -- one card will come up that encapsulates their situation so perfectly, so personally, that they instantly form a special bond with it. A single card can illustrate a whole chapter in your life story; you can refer back to this portrait again and again to remind yourself of who you are or how far you've traveled. The Court cards and the Trumps are the ones that snag people's attention most often, but every card in the deck has the potential to perfectly capture the truth about you in symbolic shorthand.

As a young, sexually-confused teenager, everything I learned about the Hermit encouraged me and ennobled my painful experiences. In Waite's book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, I read:

"The Hermit is not... a wise man in search of truth and justice; nor is he... an especial example of experience. His beacon intimates that 'where I am, you also may be.'"

These words gave me hope. Despite my miserable isolation, if I did my best to shine and thrive, any kindred spirits out there would be sure to recognize me. Slowly, I began reaching out.

I have long outgrown my original attachment to this card, but I love seeing it pop up in various places. Today I saw it in Shaun Tan's illustrated story Eric, in which a family accepts a very unusual foreign exchange student into their home. He never explains where he's from, and while he seems to like his foster-family, he is mostly absorbed in learning everything he can from the minutiae of their world. He is a stranger, a traveler, and a seeker -- and despite his bizarre behavior, he manages to leave something behind for his hosts that they find very illuminating.

The Hermit card doesn't necessarily prescribe a period of literal isolation (though most people don't allow themselves to experience nearly as much alone-time as they should). Its about the perspective you obtain when you set yourself apart from the status quo. By proving to yourself and to others that you're willing to go it alone, you bend expectations and challenge assumptions. You also open yourself up to thoughts and experiences that are solely your own, to do with whatever you choose. What you learn out there will change you, maybe to the point where you wind up going off somewhere else entirely instead of returning back the way you came -- that's a risk that many people aren't willing to take. For others, it's the only way that makes sense. Consider the lantern a symbol of your noble intentions as you proceed, a clear message to those who might be watching from a distance. It will ward some people off, but others will see it as a beacon and plot their own course accordingly. Who knows -- perhaps at some necessary point your paths will intersect. [Via]

Previously On Arcanalogue: The Hermit