Once again, I love the Cosmic tarot because it is ripe with symbolism. The hermit’s garments include the signs for Jupiter, the Sun, and Virgo. Looking at what these represent can give us a deeper meaning about this card.  The Cosmic Tarot uses the sign for Jupiter repeatedly throughout the deck. Linking cards through symbols is an interesting and informative way to start seeing how cards “go” together. Try going through whatever deck you use and group cards together by repeated uses of colors, symbols, people who look alike, and other commonalities that you might not notice until you start looking for them.

Jupiter signifies tolerance, expansiveness, and insight through knowledge. Jupiter  inspires broader reach, purpose, hope, and possibility. Interestingly, Jupiter is actually considered a “social” planet. I often tell clients when the Hermit comes up, depending on what other cards are present, that they might need to seek knowledge and purpose outside of themselves. Rather than be the Hermit, they might need to seek the Hermit in the form of a mentor or teacher or community.

The Sun represents our self, our way of being in the world. One might associate the Hermit with the mystery of the Moon, but I think the Sun is more appropriate here. The Hermit tries to reveal hidden truths, much like the Sun reveals what is hidden in darkness.The Hermit is an inner light in the midst of our dark night of the soul.

Virgo is known for having attention to detail and desiring to serve others. Virgo works towards the greater good. And Virgo is modest about these qualities. Virgo does not serve for recognition (like Leo or Aries). Most importantly, Virgos are interested in studying things: how do people, things, situations work in great detail? They want to understand. Just like the Hermit wants us to go in and truly understand who we are and what our purpose is.