December meme, day seven

sophiap asked, which Tarot card intrigues/frustrates/mystifies you the most, and why?

When I'm interested in a new deck, I scour the internet for scans of the cards and opinions on the deck. When I knew local tarot collectors, I checked to see if any of them had the deck I could get a hands-on look at, and the local metaphysical shops, the good ones anyway, have open decks so you can check the thickness and slickness of the stock, the size, ease of handling, and how you react to the actual artwork and coloring. Eclectic by Nature in Greensboro, NC had decks holepunched in one corner and threaded on ball chain fastened to the display, so the decks didn't wander. The holes were grommeted, so short of breaking the chain, the cards really didn't wander. But hands-on before you buy is wonderful. It would have prevented a couple of purchases I later regretted because of coloring or the feel of the card stock.

The first card I check is The Hermit, and then the two and three of cups, the three, five, and nine of pentacles, and the four, nine, and ten of swords. The four of swords is one of my benchmarks. Its simplest meaning is "a place of rest", but it's most often depicted as a bier. I bought the Robin Wood deck because the four of swords card reminded me of Aragorn's bier in Arwen's dream in The Two Towers. I never claimed to be rational about this. The three of cups's main definition is "joy" and usually depicts three women dancing. Three women dancing, aka The Three Graces, is a symbol used throughout time and worldwide. I require three females on this card, and they should be dancing. Nine of swords is "mental anguish," and the ten is "dude, you are so finally fucked." It's also "rebirth and/or regeneration," so it is at once the worst and the most hopeful card in the deck. I'm not much fashed how these meanings are depicted, as long as those meanings are clear and obvious. The three of pentacles is "work" and implies pride and satisfaction in one's work, the nine needs to have a woman who is comfortably well off, if not actually wealthy, and hopefully a falcon--failing that, a bird of some sort. Any depiction that comes close is usually good enough. The five, of course, is "outcasts" and needs to be obvious about the main character or characters being deliberately excluded.

But the first card I always check, the card that speaks to me, that has both been designated by others and the one I've chosen out of the deck as "mine" is the Hermit. If the Hermit doesn't speak to me, that deck isn't meant to be mine.

There are countless interpretations of the Hermit, animals of all sorts, women, popular characters from LotR and Harry Potter and television shows, in various poses, with various props. I lean toward depictions of a man, with a staff and a lantern--and welcome other details the artist includes. Narrowing the field by this much still leaves hundreds, maybe thousands of decks, and each one has something to say to me about the role of the Hermit. I suppose the first story that comes to mind is Diogenes wandering with staff and lamp in search of truth, but the Hermit has evolved to larger meaning. It signifies a primarily solitary person, wandering in search of knowledge. Whether this knowledge is to be shared or not isn't known, but the search itself is tireless. This search also symbolizes the search within, for self-knowledge. I have been accused from time to time, of pointless navel-gazing spiralling ever more inward on my quest for what makes me tick. I think I may be somewhat perilously attuned to The Hermit.
( Some examples, some from decks, some rendered as art, or as part of a privately published deck. )