Tarot Hermit ~ Sacred Solitude
A peek at a current work in progress on my drawing board
Dear One,
I have been spending a fair amount of time lately enjoying my own sweet company. I suppose that anyone who is more introvert than extrovert can relate. I cherish my time with friends and community, but I replenish myself in solitude. The Hermit tarot card invites contemplation of the riches found in a solitary life.
The folks at NWTS (Northwest Tarot Symposium) asked me to create a Hermit image to celebrate their 9th conference this coming September (Hermit is Major Arcana #9). In the creation of the Gaian Tarot, Pentimento Tarot (majors-only), and Herbcrafter’s Tarot, I’ve loved putting a new spin on familiar archetypes. The folks at NWTS gave me a lot of freedom and little direction in the creation of this new Hermit painting.
I decided I wanted to keep the “elder” aspect of the Wise Old Man archetype, but give it a spin by making the Hermit female instead of male and dark-skinned instead of light-skinned.
I also wanted to present an alternative to the agist and misogynist cultural narrative that tells us that an aging woman living alone is someone to be pitied. We tend to internalize toxic stereotypes like that one without realizing it. Most women I’ve encountered who, like me, left difficult marriages, are content to be on their own. They’re not looking to replace the old partner with a new one. Romance is a possibility but another live-in mate is not likely. Other women who are alone by choice or through other circumstances have created good lives for themselves.
Everyone is different, to be sure. For myself — as long as I have art, music, reading, writing, time in nature, and time with friends and family, I have everything. That’s the energy I’m bringing to this portrait of the Hermit.
Elder Hermit: A Work in Progress
I don’t know about you, but I love seeing works in progress, so I thought I’d share a bit with you here.
When dreaming about this new Hermit and playing with ideas, I deliberately chose the same essential posture and background of Pamela Colman Smith’s Hermit. That way I figured the changes I did make (gender, skin color, background details) would be more striking. Plus, it’s a tribute to Pixie’s legacy.
First I made a sketch based on Pixie’s Hermit. I looked at images of capes, lanterns, and faces in profile for inspiration. I couldn’t decide on how high I wanted her arm to be, so I asked a few friends for feedback. They all liked the lower arm. Then I realized that the direction of her gaze falls right on the lantern that way, which is likely one reason the composition is more pleasing.
I aged her face and hands, by looking at photographs of faces of aging women. I shifted her posture a bit too, and realized that her “wizard’s staff” is an aid to balance while walking or standing. Both / and — magical and mundane at the same time. Just like the traditional Hermit, she holds aloft the light of her wisdom as a beacon to others.
I decided the Hermit would be standing on a boulder. I added the mountain line, low on the horizon, to give depth and height, just like Pixie’s image. As a wink to those who live here in my area, the mountain in the image is Koma Kulshan (Mt. Baker), who also made an appearance in the Gaian Tarot in the Seeker card, the Seven of Water, and the Elder of Water. Koma Kulshan is a beloved mountain to the indigenous Lummi and Nooksack tribal people, as well as to everyone who lives in our area. ”She is mighty,” we like to say.
I added a treeline of conifers, probably Douglas firs and cedars, to add a bit more Northwest imagery. It is the Northwest Tarot Symposium, after all. I also like the way the dark tree line creates a kind of nest or cradle for our Hermit.
I put a circle behind the Hermit’s head. I love the ambiguity. Is it the sun? A full moon? A halo or aura? It’s definitely a sign of divinity, going back to the Renaissance and perhaps earlier.
Then I added swooping lines behind the figure. Are the lines winds of change moving through? Are they clouds? Perhaps they represent the spirit world. Again, I love the ambiguity.
I turned to her animal allies. Owl, for wisdom, of course. I found a photo of a barn owl that, when flipped and placed in just the right spot, gives the impression that the owl is protecting our Hermit. I love that.
A squirrel is busy stashing food away for the coming winter. (He’s seen here having a snack; it’s a nod to the Gaian Four of Earth).
I added a couple of crows too. When my friend Deb saw the sketch, she said “Oh the crows are flying away, they’re like a memory of partnership in the past.” I hadn’t thought of that, but I like Deb’s interpretation.
So much of creating a tarot card — or any kind of art, really — is intuitive.
I decided consciously that the image would be set in the autumn because I associate the Elder / Crone with that season. Also, NWTS is happening in September and I like the resonance. So I added moss and mushrooms to the boulder. The fern fronds will be green fading to brown, as they look in the fall.
I added the fern fronds because spirals are one of my favorite symbols and I love the way I can incorporate them in a natural way. Plus, who doesn’t love ferns?
I added falling leaves, feathers, and seedpods whirling through the air. Again, these reinforce the time of autumn and letting go, but also represent dynamic movement. This is something else that makes my image different from Pixie’s version. The main figure may be still, but life stirs and swells around her, inside her, and through her.
The final sketch is done. Now I start playing with colors. First comes the dark green conifers and the blue sky, which really should be a gradation of dark at the top to light at the horizon line. But I’ll get back to that. To be continued!
For you artists out there or anyone interested in process: I started out drawing with pencil on paper, then scanned my sketches and imported them into Procreate on my iPad Pro. I love the versatility of putting different elements on different layers in Procreate. That way I can change the size or placement of ferns, mushrooms, birds, and other details until I’m happy with the composition.