Prompt: “Pull the Hermit card from your deck(s). Compare the imagery between the card provided below and the card(s) from your own deck(s). How would you read them differently and why?“
Tarot of the Hidden Realm – A crone in the wild among craggy mountain rocks, she wears a symbol of death in the skull over her heart and a hag stone for vision around her neck as she climbs among the rocky landscape. This card speaks of the need to spend time alone in reflection, but hones down into that reflection being about change and how we react to change. Self examination of our response to change can be a powerful thing, and in this card there is a need to consider our past reactions (the Hermit faces towards the past), why we react as we do, and how we can deal with changes in a more graceful manner.
Christmas Storybook Tarot – Rudolph lead the sleigh through the winter storm for Santa, and in this image his nose shines bright through a storm he treads through on hi own. This card encourages solitary reflection placed towards where hope lies in our hearts. What is the shining light that guides us forward, and how can we utilize that to our benefit as we move through the more difficult times we may be experiencing or need to confront moving forward (Rudolph faces in the direction of the future).
Snowland Tarot – Here again the Hermit faces towards the future, and while the path at his feet is smooth and easy, the mountains in the distance illuminated by his lantern make it clear it will not always be so. With the book riding his back and the direction he faces, I see this card as more about planning for the future than about reflecting upon self improvement. He looks outward, and seeks to see what is to come so that he can prepare, and this card suggests that the querent needs to do the same.
The Christmas Tarot – As in the traditional RWS that this deck is a clone of, the Hermit in this card faces towards the past with his head bowed and lantern held high. The staff provides stability while the Hermit looks within himself at his past, learning from his mistakes and getting to know himself better through introspection and self-examination. He seeks to take what he has learned from the past and sort through these memories and experiences in order to become wiser for the effort.
Twisting the Leaf 