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| Ok, this probably will not work for the Hermit card--at least for you, that is. |
Today, on this magical Tarot Blog Hop, we are supposed to be talking about our gifts. When I learned of this theme, I said, "Wait a second. I don't have any gifts." Then I realized that was wrong, and perhaps the voice of my broken-down family (because that is just how my family rolls...basically, if you had a gift, the job of the family was to make sure that it was properly crushed before you left the house).
Turns out I do have a gift--call it insanity (wait--that might also be the voice of my family speaking).
To explain, let me illustrate this whole idea with a card...or rather a failed design attempt for a Tarot card. The card is supposed to be the Hermit card. I know--it looks nothing like the traditional Hermit. The very fact that I think that it could be a successful design for a Hermit card (for the Monkey Tarot) just screams that I do not have both oars in the water.
Yet being slightly around the bend does have its advantages. One, I made an attempt to do something different, something untried--insane people are allowed to fail, and fail BIG. Two, my idea of the Hermit--however wrong--is a wider understanding than the traditional Waite/Rider/Smith version...which by the way is only a hundred years old, steals from the Golden Dawn, and is only traditional in the sense that everyone uses it today--insane people can ignore tradition. Three, I am allowed to be wrong...which is a form of mental illness if you went though the public school system (remember you are only allowed to give the correct answer; all wrong answers will get you a bad grade).
So why the different design for the Hermit card?
Well, the old design (which Golden Dawn borrowed from older, more traditional decks...but they only borrowed the designs that reinforced their ideas) represents a form of Hermit that no longer is present today. Honestly, how many true Hermits are there living out in the wild...two? three? four? Can't be more than a million...because a million is a small city's worth.
No, today's hermits live right among us. There is probably one working in a cubicle just down the hall from you. The goal of the hermit was to isolate themselves from humanity. You do not need to live in the wild to do so. I have been completely alone, isolated from the rest of humanity, while surrounded by people. Ignore Facebook, Twitter and network news long enough and people will think that you are a Hermit. Refose to go to parties...and you are a hermit, or maybe a nun.
(Hmmm, a nun might make a good version of the Hermit card...or maybe not. Feel free to weigh in on the idea in the comment section.)
There is also the little fact that the esoteric version of hermits are trail blazers and explorers. Of course, that little fact isolates them from the rest of humanity quite well. Just question why we do certain things in the esoteric sciences; or worse, just come out and say that certain things work differently for you (and not according to the script that everyone else uses)--and you will know true isolation. Stoning may be out of fashion, but society can still make you a pariah. And even if you are right, the masses won't listen to you; they are too busy watching the buzzing of the insects on television and the internet.
Ok, maybe it is not insanity that I suffer from. Maybe I am just a happy little cynic.
Nevertheless, here is a question for you: What type of hermit actually affects society? Answer: The hermit that actually interacts with society. I imagine that most of them have been told that they need meds or therapy, or are just strange, or are cynics.
Hey, my warp sense of reality is a gift, I tell you.
Next up on the Tarot Blog Hop is Vivianne Kacal's post. And remember if there are any broken links, you can always hop over them using the master list for this Blog Hop. Happy hopping!
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12 comments:
An interesting post :) I think I hear your family speaking when you call that card a failure ;)
I always see the Hermit as shining his light for others and being apart from society temporarily - to find his truth and shine it for other people on the path.
Interesting post - as ever. Some old decks have The Hermit as Time.
...and ignore your family. Gift-squashing is only temporary too!
Ali x
Do you know where you can still find true Hermits? In Japan!! I've seen some, and they are true true hermits! Though they dress with traditional Japanese Hermit clothers :) Easier to spot.
Hahaha...I think I can relate to that insanity. At first, I thought that was a wierd card to pick for Litha. I get it now. You are insanely creative:)
Thanks for poking your nose out of the monastery long enough to share this post with us. :)
And you are right, the mystics do live among us now.
I love this, Morgan. I see the Hermit as those like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or that chaos theory guy whose name is dancing around on the edges of my mind. They are the avant garde leaders who must be so lonely at times since they have to convince others to see their new ways.
Wonderful post! Left me smiling. Hermit - image of a person in a cubicle surrounded by other people, yet not interacting - interesting thought.
The bit about being called a Hermit if you turn off the computer for a few days or refuse a party invite made me chuckle! So glad you slunk out of your cave to share your magical madness with us, Morgan :)
Morgan, yep, insanity is definitely under-rated by those who fear change and the wisdom, or fun folly, it might bring. As ever, your gift of words shines through all the shadows of your family. Well done! And thanks. I think I like the "happy little cynic" thing the best. I find that I married one of those, so I understand.:)
I loved this - made me laugh in a few places... Thanks for sharing!
Great post! Made me laugh out loud :)
Coming from a family that boxed up, chained, and chucked out any potential in it's young'uns I hear you. I think my occasionally inappropriate and random sense of humour was a survival mechanism. When in doubt... maniacal laughing punctuated by speaking in tongues works every time :D
Love your take on the Hermit card. I like the way you associate it with the sense of isolation felt by someone trying to walk their own path in the face of opposition from those around them.
You had me at the title :D
I was lucky, my mother was very supportive of creativity and different perspectives, she always listened to me and said if she found my argument valid then she would say so, and she did. That was such a boost for a child of 8, to be taken seriously and treated as an adult!
To be open to learning, even when it doesn't fit your conditioned responses, I think that's part of the Hermit's gift...
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