Tarot Deep Dive: The Meaning Behind The Hermit

You ever just need to disappear for a minute — not to run away, but to figure your sh*t out? That’s The Hermit. Card number nine in the Major Arcana, The Hermit shows up when it’s time to pull back, quiet the noise, and actually listen to yourself. Not your feed, not your group chat — you. This isn’t isolation for the sake of drama. It’s a reflection with a purpose. You’re not lost. You’re searching. And honestly? That’s where the real clarity starts.

Symbolism and Meaning of The Hermit

The Hermit isn’t here to light up the whole path — just the next step. In most decks, he’s shown alone on a mountaintop, holding a lantern and a staff. He’s not lost. He climbed up there on purpose. This is about choosing solitude — not because you’re avoiding life, but because you’re trying to understand it.

Let’s break it down:

• The lantern only lights a small circle. That’s the whole point. You don’t need all the answers right now. Just enough to keep moving.

• The staff shows wisdom and support — the kind you only earn by walking through the dark and not rushing the lesson.

• The mountain? He didn’t just wander up there. It took effort. This kind of reflection isn’t easy — it’s work.

Upright, The Hermit is about introspection, clarity, and the kind of alone time that actually heals. It’s not a retreat. It’s a reset. Time to turn inward, sift through the noise, and listen to what’s really been trying to get your attention.

Reversed, though? That’s when alone turns into lonely. Maybe you’ve isolated too much. Maybe you’re hiding instead of healing. Or maybe you’re avoiding the very truth you need to face. The key difference? Intention.

The Hermit doesn’t ghost the world — he steps back from it on purpose. To remember who he is, and what actually matters.

The Hermit in Readings

When The Hermit shows up in a reading, it’s not about drama. It’s about space. Real, intentional space — the kind you take when you know something inside you needs your full attention. This card isn’t saying “pull away forever.” It’s saying, “You’ve got something to figure out, and you won’t find the answer in the noise.” It’s a pause, not a full stop. A recalibration.

Love and Relationships

In love readings, The Hermit can feel like a cooling-off period. If you’re in a relationship, it might be time to step back and check in with yourself. Are you showing up fully, or just going through the motions? Are you losing yourself in the “we,” or finding your truth inside it?

If you’re single, this card isn’t saying never date again. It’s saying to get clear on what you want before you go looking for it. There’s no rush. Sometimes solitude is exactly what your heart needs to reset.

Career and Money

Work-wise, The Hermit is the call to unplug and regroup. If you’re feeling burned out or unsure of your path, this card says to step back — even briefly — and get perspective. It’s not about quitting everything. It’s about checking your alignment. Are you chasing a goal that still feels right to you?

Reversed, The Hermit can point to isolation that’s gone too far — hiding out, avoiding decisions, or overthinking everything until you’re stuck. If that’s the case, it might be time to talk it out or let someone in. Reflection is only helpful if it leads you somewhere.

Personal or Spiritual Growth

This is where The Hermit shines. Spiritually, this card is a straight-up invitation to get quiet, slow down, and look inward. Not because you’re broken — but because you’re growing. It’s the part of the journey where you pause, look around, and ask, what’s real for me now?

Sometimes that means journaling. Sometimes it means walking in silence. Sometimes it just means saying “no” to everything for a bit so you can remember what “yes” even feels like. The Hermit’s not here to fix you. He’s here to hold the light while you do the work.

Mythology, History, and Cultural References

The Hermit’s been around since the earliest tarot decks, and he’s always been the lone figure, lantern in hand, standing apart from the noise. In the 15th-century Visconti-Sforza deck, he was shown as an old man with an hourglass — not because he was obsessed with time, but because he understood the value of it. Wisdom takes time. Solitude takes guts.

This card’s not about being lost in the woods. It’s about stepping out of the chaos to find what actually matters — even if that means walking the path alone for a while.

In mythology, think of Philoctetes — the Greek warrior who was exiled to an island, left to suffer, and ended up carrying the weapon that would win the Trojan War. Pain gave him clarity. The distance gave him power. Or Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess who withdrew into a cave, shutting the world in darkness — and had to be coaxed back out. Sometimes retreat is part of the cycle. Sometimes it’s survival.

Pop culture has plenty of Hermit energy — not the “grumpy old man in a hut” version, but the characters who step away to get clear and come back sharper:

• Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi — washed up, withdrawn, but still holding the truth everyone else was too loud to hear.

• Tom Hanks in Cast Away — stripped down to the core, learning who he is when there’s no one else around.

• Frank Ocean — not a character, but come on. Drops brilliance, disappears, and doesn’t explain himself. Pure Hermit.

• Baba Voss in See — quiet, intentional, moving through the world with more wisdom than words.

The Hermit doesn’t crave attention. He’s not trying to teach from a stage. He teaches by living it. Alone, if he has to. And when he speaks — if he speaks — you listen.

Final Thoughts on The Hermit

The Hermit isn’t about hiding. He’s about hearing yourself when the world won’t shut up. When this card shows up, it’s not asking you to run — it’s asking you to return. To yourself. Your truth. The stuff that actually matters when everything else fades out.

This is sacred quiet. The kind that helps you remember who you are without all the noise. So if you’re feeling the pull to unplug, disappear, or just breathe — don’t fight it. That stillness? That’s where the real answers live.