9. The Hermit
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Welcome to Soulchology’s worksheets, your starter-kit into an intuitive self-enquiry using tarot and astrology. I write these in my usual dry humour, which reflects the tone of my sessions too, because learning is intense enough without stripping it of humanity. A little wit makes the wisdom easier to digest!
Anyway, while full sessions include numerology, Lenormand, and therapeutic layers, these worksheets are your solo starter kit designed to get you going without frying your nervous system.
Grab your deck, take a breath and don’t overthink it. No altar required. You can read these on your lap, mid-commute, or in bed with questionable lighting. If you know current transits, great, add them in. If not, the cards still work because they’re generous like that.
And, if you shuffle really fast, they love to fling out like you’re live in an episode of Ghosts and Trevor is standing next to you.
Each sheet prompts you to connect the cards with your real life, that is, not your aspirational, one-day-when-I-journal-daily life. Pay attention to the artwork, colours, symbols, and emotional tone because tarot is layered, not linear. Study only what leaps out, don’t go looking for clues.
This isn’t about mystical perfection, it’s about noticing yourself. Your thoughts, your choices, your patterns. If you’re new to tarot and feeling twitchy about it, you might want to read my piece on Substack that gently dismantles the pressure.
My advice is to pull (or fling) your card at the end of the day, not first thing. That way, you’re reflecting and not pre-loading your brain with vague forecasts. It’s a faster way to build intuitive confidence and a more honest way to learn what the cards actually mean to you.
i. The Nutshell
Upright
The Hermit cancels plans without guilt, takes long walks to think about everything and nothing, and somehow always knows the exact book you need to read. The Hermit puts their phone on flight mode to commune with their inner peace and is transparent about that. Contrary to popular belief, The Hermit is not antisocial. This archetype is discerning about their solitude and withdraws without ghosting you to maintain their equilibrium. They’re the sage, the mentor, the teacher and they walk a profoundly spiritual path which is normally life-long. The Hermit is quiet refinement, sacred routines, is kind and reminds you that sometimes your next step needs to be inward - lantern optional.
Keywords: Solitude, introspection, wisdom, guidance, self-inquiry, discernment, teaching, mentoring.
Translation: You’re mid-conversation with yourself so keep going.
Reversed
When The Hermit is reversed, it's less “soulful solitude” and more “accidentally caspered everyone including yourself.” Maybe you’ve retreated so far inward you forgot how to re-emerge, or maybe the silence you’re sitting in has turned from reflective to avoidant. This reversal usually indicates loneliness disguised as independence, and we often picture self-reliance and strength. Independence is not merely the absence of external constraints; it embodies the freedom to choose our paths and define our identities. In this state, we cultivate a sense of autonomy, enabling us to make decisions that align with our selves.
To truly embrace independence, we must first recognise the importance of self-awareness. Understanding our values, desires, and strengths allows us to navigate the complexities of life with confidence. This journey involves setting boundaries and asserting our needs. Let go of spiritual bypassing whilst flicking Monster Munch crumbs off your bath robe.
The Hermit reversed can show up as complete disconnection, or spinning in circles because you’re scared of what your own insight might ask you to change. Its message? Withdrawal is good for considered-while. Avoidance isn’t, so open your cave door.
Keywords: Isolation, avoidance, perfectionism, withdrawal, lost direction, disconnection.
Translation: Solitude can heal unless you’re using it to hide.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The Hermit’s symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck - what's hidden in plain sight?
Lantern with Star – Truth lit from within. Enough to see the next step.
Grey Cloak – Neutral observer. Detached but engaged.
Staff – Wisdom earned supports forward movement.
Snow-Capped Mountains – Isolation at the peak. Perspective comes from solitude.
Downward Gaze – Looking inward but not ahead.
iii. Influences
Planetary: The Hermit is ruled by Mercury, but not the fast-talking, inbox-clearing version. Think Mercury in do-not-disturb mode - contemplative, precise, and brutally honest when necessary. This is Mercury as the internal analyst, discerning signal from noise. It's the part of you that rewrites your own story in the margins of your journal for your eyes only. There’s also a hint of an influence from Saturn being the disciplined mentor here to remind you that wisdom doesn’t arrive at a gallop. Together, they say: think deeply, speak less, and let silence do some of the talking.
Natal House(s): The Hermit aligns with the Sixth House, Virgo’s domain, where daily rituals meet deeper purpose. This is the house of practice, and where healing happens through structure, small choices, and learning what’s essential. The Twelfth House lingers quietly in the background, bringing a brush with mysterious dreams and solitary retreats. Together, these houses create a rhythm between definition and integration that are the making of a daily discipline.
Astrological Sign(s): The Hermit walks with Virgo: mutable earth, detailed editor, and the one who questions everything (including their own questioning). Virgo retreats to refine; to pare down the noise until only truth remains. It’s service, but not martyrdom; healing with boundaries. Pisces sits across the table offering surrender, and a reminder that analysis without empathy becomes alienation. Together, they ask: are you seeking insight, or control disguised as that?
Numerologically: Nine is the number of The Hermit; the threshold before completion. It’s the solitary seeker, the integrator, the moment before the cycle closes. Nine doesn’t need applause; it wants understanding. It says, “You’ve seen the world now go and digest what you understand of it before sharing it.” It holds the wisdom gathered from all that came before, and the humility to know it’s not done yet. In the background, Three offers vision, while Six brings reciprocation, but Nine is the distiller. It lets go of the excess and retains what matters. This is the number of purposeful withdrawal.
Element: Earth stabilises, supports, and brings the unseen into reality. It is the calm foundation under The Hermit, allowing you to reflect. Being present leads to productivity, and Earth teaches that understanding often comes gradually, like moss; slowly, when left undisturbed. What truth is quietly developing, waiting for you to pause and notice?
iv. A Day in the Life of The Hermit
Well That Escalated Quickly
You ghost your own needs under the noble guise of “just needing space,” but really you’re dodging every emotion like it's a debt collector. You cancel plans you were never going to show up for anyway, claim you're “processing,” and then spend six hours scrolling and dissociating. You confuse isolation with introspection, and wonder why you're still tired after so much "rest."
Adjusting the Knobs
You retreat, but with a notebook. You light a candle, stare out the window meaningfully, and journal something that’s either deeply profound or just a to-do list in disguise. You’re searching for truth but keep getting distracted by existential dread… and the laundry. You’re trying to be with yourself, but also kind of avoiding the parts of yourself that might talk back.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You turn inward with intention and know that “no” is a complete sentence. You realise solitude can be structured, and that maybe inner work doesn’t always need to feel like emotional jury duty. You take a walk without your phone, and your nervous system briefly remembers what peace feels like.
Writing the TED Talk
You embrace stillness without spiraling. You listen to your own inner wisdom before crowd-sourcing your next move. You hold space for complexity, that is your own and others’, and resist the urge to shush emotions before they’ve finished speaking. You spend time alone and come back clearer. You remember that solitude is a portal and today, you’re choosing to walk through it.
v. Working with these Energies
Re-centering Through Solitude and Self-Honesty
The Hermit hands you a lantern and points toward the cave for you to go and find your answers. This archetype waits for you to quieten down enough to hear what’s underneath the surface noise. When The Hermit shows up, especially reversed, it’s time to ask whether your solitude is nourishing or numbing, and whether your inner compass is still your own, or quietly calibrated to someone else’s.
The Hermit is about truth through conscious retreat, and doesn’t care about looking good. It’s actual reflection; the kind that makes you uncomfortable enough to grow. The Hermit reminds you that depth doesn’t come from disappearing, it comes from daring to meet yourself in the quiet. The question isn’t just why you’re pulling back. It’s what you’re bringing back with you.
1. Clean out the echo chamber
– Where are you retreating to reflect and where are you retreating to hide?
– What insights keep repeating, but you keep avoiding?
– Who’s talking the loudest in your head… and do they pay rent?
2. Make solitude useful
– What truths only show up when you're alone?
– Are your daily habits aligning with your inner values, or just filling time?
– What would it mean to create space as a tool and not to escape?
3. Get honest about your style of avoidance
– What are you avoiding under the label of “processing”?
– Where does stillness become stagnation in your life?
– What conversations with yourself have you been postponing?
4. Let Virgo and Mercury guide the edit
– What are you ready to refine because it’s cluttered?
– Where does discernment serve you better than dramatic change?
– How can you practice presence in the mundane?
5. Don’t confuse isolation with insight
– Who, or what, are you trying to protect yourself from by “going within”?
– Where might careful retreat become overlooked separation?
– What would it look like to return from solitude clearer?
vi. Building Skills
Right Now, It’s Like This
Solitude is a space where truth can be heard. The Hermit doesn't avoid discomfort or seek out clear answers. Instead, he stays still, holding a lantern, and observes what is already present.
Practice the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy acronym, TEAMS by noticing what’s presence:
Thoughts
Emotions
Associations
Memories
Sensations
Then quietly say to yourself: “Right now, it’s like this.”
Observe and describe your experience simply and honestly with no judgment or solution.
This is the Hermit’s wisdom in action: Awareness creates freedom. By naming what is, you stop being ruled by what you’re avoiding. You reclaim the quiet power of witnessing without reacting. The Hermit sees the landscape clearly.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot isn’t just symbolic, it’s somatic. Embodiment is what turns The Hermit from a card into a compass. This archetype asks whether you’ve made enough space inside yourself to hear it. The Hermit lives in the body as the pause that doesn’t panic, the breath that deepens when no one’s watching, the posture of someone not needing to be understood in order to understand. Consider these to embody The Hermit today:
Smell:
If The Hermit had a scent, what would it be? Cool mountain air before sunrise? Old books and candle wax? Something that smells like solitude and just a little bit ancient.
Body:
Where do you hold the tension between withdrawal and avoidance? Is your spine curled inwards or upright and aware? What changes when you retreat with intention, instead of disappearing out of habit?
Soundtrack:
What song feels like a lantern in the dark? One that doesn’t rush, doesn’t demand, but walks with you steadily? What sounds like insight arriving in intermittent echoes?
Action:
What can you do today that’s deliberately quiet but deeply felt? A slow walk without distraction? Leaving a question unanswered on purpose? How might you choose stillness as a practice instead of a break?
Nature cue:
Step outside. What mirrors The Hermit’s essence? The lone bird perched on a branch, surveying everything without needing to be seen? A path half-shaded, inviting but unhurried? Moss growing undisturbed in the cracks?
Notice what settles you:
The goal is integration. Let The Hermit remind you that wisdom waits for you to listen, and the most honest thing you do today might not be shared with anyone else, and that’s the point.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at The Hermit card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to notice without overthinking.
Depending on the illustration, what pulls your eye first, the lantern, the cloak, the path behind, the emptiness ahead? The way the figure is turned away… or waiting?
How does this card register in your body or mood: still, solitary, quietly alert, slightly uncomfortable, like you’ve just been asked a question you can’t Google?
If the Hermit spoke, it’d be asking what part of you wants to speak once the noise is turned down?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to explore what The Hermit means to you as a lived experience. Let it reflect where solitude becomes clarity, where withdrawal is a return, and where your own inner knowing asks to be heard:
When have you stepped back to see more clearly?
Where are you seeking answers externally that might need silence?
What would it look like to trust your timing, even if no one else understands it?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using The Hermit as your anchor:
What am I being called to turn down, or tune out, in order to tune in?
Where is solitude serving me and where might it be slipping into avoidance?
What truth have I known for a while, but haven’t yet made room to follow?
Pull or shuffle-fling your cards. Notice where you lean in, where you resist, and what emerges in the quiet after the question.
Write your own Keywords
Write three you words that echo your lived experience of The Hermit:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.