Major Arcana IX
The Hermit
The Wise One
The card
A solemn and solitary figure wanders a barren landscape before an iridescent moon. Seeking his own counsel, his eyes are wide open and turned inward in search of answers.
The Rodin figure from Les Bourgeois de Calais is rendered here as a witness of wonder on an inner journey rather than a figure of anguish. Naked and alone, finding his own way through his innerworld. The moonlight guides the barefoot traveler past the alpine wilderness (Eiger, Jungrau, and Monch) while the Nisga’a owl (K’utk’unukws) keeps watch over the lax-silida (ocean waters), which represents the “breathing in” or “giving life” to knowledge.
What knowledge are you seeking to give life to? Wander the edges of the universe and sense the next stop on the journey using your intuition as a guide. The answers you find will look nothing like your expectations and you may tend to doubt them. Listen with your whole being as you gain a new perspective of the world born from silence. Learn to walk without a map.
Which answer requires less noise rather than more effort?
Jungian lens
The archetype in motion
Solitude withdraws energy from the crowd so inner authority can be heard. Its shadow is withdrawal that becomes isolation or secret superiority. Integration returns the wisdom of solitude to relationship and ordinary life.