EP 140.5: Tarot Analysis: The Hermit | Major Arcana | Loneliness and Soul-Searching

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Summary:

Hi everyone! This week, we’ll look at The Hermit in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

I chose teenage Joel Farber from my Tapas graphic novel, “The Book of Joel,” as The Hermit.

The Hermit stands by himself at the top of a mountain. His loneliness and the fact that he’s at a literal peak symbolize his spiritual growth and accomplishment. By choosing to look deep within himself, he’s reached some kind of enlightenment.

Like the Hermit, Joel is on a soul-searching journey. An argumentative know-it-all who talks faster than a machine gun to "make up" (as he sees it) for his shyness and lack of self-esteem, teenaged Joel, like the Hermit in the tarot deck, knows that he needs to look deep within himself.

Transcript:

Hi everyone! This week, we’ll look at The Hermit in my tarot deck, the Fortunus Games tarot deck.

I chose teenage Joel Farber from my Tapas graphic novel, “The Book of Joel,” as The Hermit.

The Hermit stands by himself at the top of a mountain. His loneliness and the fact that he’s at a literal peak symbolize his spiritual growth and accomplishment. By choosing to look deep within himself, he’s reached some kind of enlightenment.

Like the Hermit, Joel is on a soul-searching journey. An argumentative know-it-all who talks faster than a machine gun to "make up" (as he sees it) for his shyness and lack of self-esteem, teenaged Joel, like the Hermit in the tarot deck, knows that he needs to look deep within himself.

This is a journey he must undertake on his own. Even though Joel is technically surrounded by many people, like Sam, Frankie, Malka, and other high school friends, he needs to discover who he really is and who he wants to be by himself.

The Hermit reversed signifies loneliness and withdrawal, which also fits teenaged Joel. Although he's outspoken and seemingly hot-headed, he's using it to hide his loneliness and lack of genuine connection. More than anything, Joel wants to love and be loved, but he doesn't know if he has the gumption to allow himself to feel these things. At this point in his life, he doesn't want to be vulnerable and would rather be seen as an irritating person than a "weak" person who needs to rely on others.

He’s also holding a lantern with a six-pointed star inside, which is the Seal of Solomon, representing wisdom. Joel seeks wisdom, but he doesn’t know where to find it, so he dives deep into his books about speeches and politics. A lot of things he reads ring hollow for him, but he reckons that he needs to dig deeper and learn more about the world (and himself) before he can decide for himself what is actually useful and what is extraneous in his life.

Notice that the lamp only lights up the next few steps rather than his entire journey. Like the Hermit, Joel must move towards the future one step at a time. There’s no way for him to know everything at once, although he wants that instant gratification.