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This is card 9 of the traditional tarot, called The Hermit. The Hermit is a particular favorite of mine, not just because of its ties with the zodiac sign Virgo. It is the card of enlightenment through introspection, as opposed to enlightenment through sacrifice as is the case of the Hanged Man. When put in a position of a spread that tells about outside influences, the Hermit signifies a teacher who has earned his wisdom through long introspection and experience, rather than through the erudition of the Heirophant. I have chosen the second meaning of the card as the basis for this image.

The Hermit is known for his lantern, which illuminates all that its light shines upon, while he himself is wrapped in shadow. Since wisdom can come in the oddest places, the Hermit is seen here on a desert road at night. Since the Hermit is what I think of as a motion card, meaning he is something that you do going from one place to another, we see city lights in the background, further emphasising that the road he waits on is a road to somewhere rather than to nowhere at all. The owl, harbinger of wisdom, completes the image.

Model: Glas
Stock Photos: MorgueFile