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Above all things, know thyself!

From the Thirty Two paths of Wisdom: 

The Twentieth Path (The Hermit) is the Intelligence of Will, and is so called because it is the means of preparation of all and each created being, and by this intelligence the existence of the Primordial Wisdom becomes known.

The zodiacal attribution to the Tarot Hermit card is the sign of Virgo. Virgo is an earthly sign that represents the most receptive feminine form of earth. Virgo is ruled by Mercury and Mercury is exalted in Virgo as well. Therefore, the Hermit is represented both by Mercury/Thoth/Hermes and The Virgin. Mercury, besides being Hermes and Thoth is also a form of Hades, who is also the fiery messenger of Spirit, that has descended into matter, signaling the reintegration by Spirit (the Sexual Force) into being. This is known in Western Hermetic Qabalah as the "Formula of the Princess", the mode of fulfillment of the Great Work. Therefore, the fertility generated by this event and that of Virgo itself is shown as the Dark Green Wheat background on the Thoth Hermit Card. On the Modern Witch Tarot Card, the sign for Virgo, the green window in the background represents the color attributed to Venus.

The Tarot Hermit is a solitary figure, that represents the old wise man (woman) that is the main aspect of the Egyptian god Thoth (Greek-Hermes) and is often displaying great aptitude for meditation and contemplation. This is implied by the lone hermit figure of both the Thoth ATU 9 Card and the Modern Witch Tarot Key 9. Both the Thoth Tarot and Modern Witch Tarot shows an elderly Being symbolizing the wisdom of the ages. The Modern Witch Tarot shows a solitary image which may be of an older Goddess known as the Roman- Vestia. Her right hand is opening a desktop computer, a modern symbol for hidden knowledge and a special skill that helps the hermit to cope with being alone. Here the Modern Witch Hermit is shown in her inner sanctum, taking a break from the "hustle and bustle" of the outside world of man. Instead of lantern, she wears a glowing star pendant that represents her unconscious mind and a pathway to a breakthrough.

The Thoth Hermit carries a lantern, implying intuitive knowledge coming from his inner Sun/Soul of the Divine. Also in the center of the Thoth Hermit's lantern is the sigil of the Great King of Fire, who is also represented by the Hebrew word Yod-the secret fire, which is the Hebrew letter assigned to this Thoth Tarot card. The Hebrew word, Yod, also means Hand and the letter is shown on the bottom left of the Thoth Card. Hence, the hand of the Hermit is displayed as the center of the both the Thoth and Modern Witch Tarot cards. The image of the Thoth- Hermit is also bent into the shape of the letter Yod while being cloaked in the red robes of Binah, the Great Mother in whom he gestates. According to Crowley he is the symbol of a lingam after ejaculation, hence the white hair looks more semen like and the spermatozoon is shown released into the "fertile dark" of the Subconscious, and swimming towards the Universal/Orphic egg above it. The Orphic egg represents the "egg of Akasha" and it being wrapped in a serpent implies fertilization.

In such a solitary state, as the Hermit, one often is able to hear the wisdom of the Spirit/Mind by tuning out the babble of the brain. This is also called in magic, listening to the "loud silence". As I have said, the Thoth Deck Hermit symbolizes the Hebrew Letter Yod, meaning hand, and all letters of the Hebrew alphabet are combinations of this foundational letter. Yod is the first letter of the name Tetragrammaton (YHVH) symbolizing the Farther who is Wisdom, and the highest form of Mercury/Thoth/Hermes. Therefore, he is the Logos; the Creator of all worlds, accordingly his representative in the physical world is the spermatozoon which is illustrated on the Thoth Tarot card.

The figure of the Thoth Hermit seems to be staring at the Orphic egg which is conterminous with the Universe, and is wrapped in the iridescent many-colored serpentine energy of Mercury that fertilizes it. The Thoth Tarot card, with its domesticated 3 headed dog Cerberus that guards the gates of Hell, represents time; one head represents the Past (head facing backwards), one head the Future (head facing forward) and one head represents the Present (Face looking at hermit). Cerberus also brings to mind The Greek Legend of Persephone and Hades. The reference to his mastery of time is also shown in the Tarot as his ancient gray beard or the white hair of the Modern Witch Tarot Hermit. I would suggest that the student read the legend of Hades and Persephone to further have fun understanding and contemplating this card's connection to the "underworld".

In this Thoth Trump, is illustrated the secret of life and all its workings. For instance, Yod=Phallus=Spermatozoon-Hand=Logos=Virgin. Crowley says in his book of Thoth:

 "There is perfect identity, not merely Equivalence, of the Extremes, the Manifestation, and the Method."

As you may note, in both Decks, ATU/ Key 9, is about the solitary person who walks the path that leads to the Higher Self and perfection of the soul. It is the image of the Adept-Magus and their detachment from the material world of man. S/He's often so far advanced in psyche, that most people find them difficult to comprehend. Hence they seem solitary in their journey, totally at peace in their presence. However, this does not deter their willingness to light the path for those who sincerely wish to know the depths of self. The Hermit Tarot Card corresponds to the archetype or the "selfless servant of the Self", who is searching for truth in the Souls that manifest human beings. Deep within our internal silence, we will find this intelligence, whose wisdom is always available; one just needs to go into deep introspection, listening only to the pregnant silence of the Greater Self. Just as Moses, we have an inner Buddha, who was a true Hermit, S/he will lead by example, the personality to the Solitude of the Sun of The Divine Creative.

The Modern Witch Tarot -Key 9- also represents the archetype for Wisdom, but instead of male hermit figure what is presented here is the female figure of the Goddess Vesta with her fiery desktop in hand that represents inner light/enlightenment achieved in solitude. Mastery of Time/Space, is the paradigm of the Hermit. This is because s/he represents "...the manifestation and the method". Time/Space are the mechanisms of measurement, of which all form is created. Hence s/he represents Mastery of Time/Space. As stated, Thoth is commonly associated with Hermes (from which the word hermit came from), who was commonly shown at Grecian Crossroads, as a bust with an erect phallus, for his verbal intercourse with others, impregnates them with new awareness. Vesta was known as the Greek Hestia who was a daughter of Saturn (Father Time) also connecting her to Time/Space mastery; in the myth, there were miraculous tales of the Virgin priestesses becoming impregnated by a phallus appearing in the flame of the Sacred hearth. Sounds a bit suspect to me, but then "virgin births" became a common issue with "virgins" of many religions as the Male Super naturals were always said to be "randy of nature" and often practiced "cross pollination". Just proving that belief systems can make a convenient cover for crucial pleasures in human activities.

In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (/ˈhɛstiə, ˈhɛstʃə/; Greek: Ἑστία, "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, her Roman counterpart, was also the virgin goddess of the hearth and the right ordering of domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. This also connects the Modern Witch Tarot Hermit with the Virgin-Virgo.

In myth, Hestia is the firstborn child of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea. Cronus was Time; Therefore, connecting her to time/space.

Greek custom required that as the goddess of sacrificial fire, Hestia should receive the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. In the public domain, the hearth of the prytaneum functioned as her official sanctuary. Whenever a new colony was established, a flame from Hestia's public hearth in the mother city would be carried to the new settlement.

This article is about the Roman goddess.

Coin issued under Nero: the reverse depicts the cult statue of Vesta, holding a patera and scepter, within her hexastyle temple.

Vesta (Classical Latin: [ˈu̯ɛs̠t̪ä]) is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. She was rarely depicted in human form, and was more often represented by the fire of her temple in the Forum Romanum. Entry to her temple was permitted only to her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, who guarded particular sacred objects within, prepared flour and sacred salt (mola salsa) for official sacrifices, and tended Vesta's sacred fire at the temple hearth. Their virginity was thought essential to Rome's survival; if found guilty of unchastities, they were punished by burial alive. As Vesta was considered a guardian of the Roman people, her festival, the Vestalia (7–15 June), was regarded as one of the most important Roman holidays.^[1] During the Vestalia privileged matrons walked barefoot through the city to the temple, where they presented food-offerings. Such was Vesta's importance to Roman religion that following the rise of Christianity, hers was one of the last non-Christian cults still active, until it was forcibly disbanded by the Christian emperor Theodosius I in AD 391.

The myths depicting Vesta and her priestesses were few; the most notable of them were tales of miraculous impregnation of a virgin priestess by a phallus appearing in the flames of the sacred hearth — the manifestation of the goddess combined with a male supernatural being. In some Roman traditions, Rome's founders Romulus and Remus and the benevolent king Servius Tullius were conceived in this way. ^[2] Vesta was among the Dii Consentes, twelve of the most honored gods in the Roman pantheon.^[3] She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, and sister of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, and Ceres. Her Greek equivalent is Hestia.^[4]

When the Hermit-ATU/Key 9-is thrown during a divination:

• A search for wisdom and truth.
• Counsel and sound judgment.
• Knowledge.
• A solitary soul.
• Meditation.
• A time of re-evaluation and soul searching.
• Discretionary caution.
• Inner wisdom often called enlightenment.
• Spiritual inspiration pointing the way on life's journey.
• Contemplation, introspection and space.
• Needing more knowledge that can only be attained by listening closely to the inner self.
• The Divine Marriage within.
• Completing karma through service.
• A stage in life where wisdom it sought through introspection and isolation.
• Using your work in the world and uniting it with the Spiritual realms to attain the Highest state of Mind.
• Being yourself by pursuing the "above all things, know thyself", deep inner philosophy.

If ill defined by the surrounding cards it implies:

• Stubbornness to the point of foolishness.
• A closed mind,
• Bad advice.
• Isolation.
• Only looking at the surface value.

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