 | Drawing the Hermit indicates a state of regret, or an unnecessary focus on the past. Something about your past is keeping you from moving forward, and until you make peace with these past issues, they will continue to weigh heavily on your mind. The Hermit cannot look forward to the future, instead preferring to seek out the ghosts of his previous life. The image is of an elderly man, wandering in the darkness. He moves from right to left, indicative in western society of moving from past to future, in opposition to the direction we read. The old man is stooped, as if weighed down by and invisible burden. His lamp is held low, and he is so focused on his search in the past that he is unaware of the light of the future at his back. His staff is crowned by a cross, representing a lingering dependence on the values of society. The structure of this image is that of a material rectangle engulfing the whole image, suggesting that it is mired in materialism, and is unable to awaken to its spiritual potential. The traditional meaning of this image is withdrawal from society, self-delusion, and regret.
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