The Hermit

The Hermit is Major Arcanum IX of the tarot, numbered VIIII in the Tarot de Marseille. It shows a hooded old man leaning on a staff and raising a lantern half hidden by his cloak. Upright, it evokes wisdom, inner searching, prudence, perspective and the maturity that lights the way. Reversed, the tradition reads in it unwanted isolation, mistrust, fear of change or slowness that turns into stagnation.