Hello you,
Welcome to the October edition of Embodying the Tarot. It’s time to don your swoopiest cloak and grab your cutest hurricane lamp, we’re heading into the wilds to meet The Hermit!
Before we stomp our way up that mountain, I have a question for you - do you want to come to a sleepover?
I’m imagining a weekend of togetherness, pyjamas, magic making, coming back to centre, refilling your cup, conversation, silliness, releasing the old, and imagining into the new.
Think the camaraderie of high school slumber parties but without the crippling self consciousness of being fourteen. And digital, so we can all sleep in our own beds.
I was on a walk the other day and the idea rang through me like a bell. I’m planning it for November 18th and 19th, and it feels so juicy to begin the descent into winter together. The phrase that came to me was ‘like Spotify Wrapped but for your heart’ - what showed up a whole bunch this year and what do you want to call in for the next?
I’ll share more details in the coming weeks, but if you already know you’re a ‘heck yes!’ then drop a comment on this post. I’ll get you on the waitlist and you’ll be the first in line.
Okay, now on to The Hermit…
9.
The Hermit
The velvet dark wraps around you as you stand atop the mountain. If it wasn’t for the glow of the lantern in your hand it would envelop you completely. The wind blows though your cloak, bracing but clarifying, and you shine your light into the dark.
You’ve been up here a while now. Long enough for your hair to grow long and tangled. Long enough for you to untangle your thoughts.
It’s quiet here. Just the sound of your breath and your heartbeat to keep you company. It’s not always comfortable but it’s distinctly peaceful.
The din of the world hushed as you walked further and further up the mountain. Other people’s opinions, the ways you were expected to live, the beliefs of what’s allowed, what’s possible, the societally imposed ideas of who you should be - it all slowly faded to nothing. Step by step by step until there was silence.
And what shone through in the silence was you. Everything else fell away and all that remained was your you-ness. Radiating into the darkness, bright and clear.
Meet The Hermit
Ever feel the urge to run away to a little hut forest and leave everything behind?
Ever dream of renouncing the modern world and heading to a monastery in the Tibetan foothills?
Ever want to throw you phone in the ocean and become a lighthouse keeper on the craggy outcrops of the outer Hebrides?
That’s some Hermit energy right there.
The Hermit is the archetype of the recluse. The one who follows their own path in quiet solitude, making space to hear the divine moving in them. Muttering to themselves and preaching to the birds - but - also speaking the truth. Clean and clear.
The Hermit stands alone and shines their unique perspective into the world. And in fact, retreating from the hubbub of societal expectations is an integral part of connecting to that perspective. They had to leave the ‘normal’ world and walk into the darkness to order find their truest light shining.
It’s a card of solitude and contemplation. Intentionally creating a sacred space to reconnect with yourself and the divine.
You are the only you, in all of time and space, and you have a unique expression of aliveness. It will never exist again. The Hermit is about taking space to be radically honest with yourself about what brings you alive, even if it means rejecting conventional society. Who are you without the expectations and stories about who you should be?
“I am out with lanterns looking for myself” - Emily Dickinson
Do you trust yourself to light your way?
It can be immensely scary to walk away from the way everyone else is (seemingly) doing life and listen to your inner guidance. To walk the path of The Hermit requires bravery and a resourceful spirit. It takes guts to be willing to face yourself and sit quietly with what you find. It’s no small feat to hold the loneliness of stepping out of the crowd.
So yeah, The Hermit is an invitation to be brave and go inwards. To run away and live in the forest, metaphorically or literally. But you don’t need to live out there forever. That’s not the point. The Hermit isn’t a card of toxic individualism. Yes, retreat from the noisy world and learn about yourself, and then shine that light like a beacon for others to see.
Embodying The Hermit
Clearing Space
What’s clouding your unique expression? My favourite week of The Artist’s Way (or perhaps I should say the most impactful) is week four, in which Julia Cameron prescribes a week of reading deprivation. She challenges you to stop consuming other’s voices for a week. The book was written in the 90’s so she calls for a relinquishing of newspapers and books and other print media, but I always extend it out to socials, TV, and digital media too.
Every time I do the exercise there’s a moment of rude shock. All these things I was consuming, spending my precious attention on, are largely just noise. And in the resulting quiet I start to witness myself more clearly.
That moment is the embodiment of The Hermit.
And so I extend that challenge out to you too - give yourself a period of media deprivation. Time to get quiet and come back into yourself. Log out of social media, delete the news app off your phone, get extremely intentional and discerning with the things you allow to crowd your mental solitude.
Do a month, do a week, do a day and see what shines through.
An invitation to practice
Become a paid subscriber to dive deeper into The Hermit this month with a live breathwork session. This is the most accessible way to work with me, and it also means you get to join an absolutely magical bunch of folks in practice.
All paid subscribers are welcome and there will, of course, be a replay for those who can’t make it live.
Breathe with The Hermit –
7pm UK time, Sunday October 29th (this is the day clocks go back in the UK so be careful with timezones!)
And don’t forget to shout out in the comments if you want to get on the waitlist for the digital retreat sleepover coming in November.
More details coming soon, but I know for sure that places will be limited and waitlist babes will get first dibs!
You two!! ❤️ I would love to do the digital sleep over, but I'm on a yoga retreat, I hope you get some takers xx
I’m 1000% in for a sleepover with you!