IX – Hermit – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince
Hot and Humid Week
Here’s something pretty interesting that just happened. As I sat down to write this evening, I felt a nudge to pull a card from Ellen Lorenzi-Prince’s Tarot of the Crone deck. It’s been an oppressively hot and humid week, and weather like this is exhausting in and of itself. Add to that any personally stressful or tough emotional stuff one might be ‘weathering’ and inspiration might best be sought outside of oneself.
I’ve mentioned before that I love this deck and yet I haven’t worked with it for a while. As with anything, I go through spates of working with one deck or another. There are about six decks I own that I go back to again and again. Others, while they may look good or have cool artwork or imagery, just never seem to click into a deep, reliable groove with me. I tend to cultivate relationships with the decks that speak to me.
Looks Familiar
So when I chose a card (and looked at the bottom card for context) for tonight’s post, I thought it looked familiar. In fact, it felt like the pair, working in tandem, felt familiar.
Doing a quick search I was surprised (but not surprised) to see that I’d chosen this exact same PAIR of cards back on June 9th. Only I chose the Hermit on top (as the main card) this time, with the 9 of Cups providing the ‘healing’ foundation.
Well, here we are. Last time, I chose the 9 of Cups as the main card for us to focus upon. Healing. How appropriate. With the Hermit card underneath providing the foundation upon which to heal.
This time it would appear this Hermit/Wise Woman has us continuing to consciously separate ourselves for a time from the intensity and insanity of society. Hmmm. Wisdom indeed.
One interesting synchronicity I discovered when I read my post from the last time these cards appeared together? I chose them during the last oppressive heat wave we endured – the one that started our summer ‘early.’ Tarot decks are comprised of 78 cards and I tend to shuffle relentlessly and bordering on the obsessive. So their appearance in reverse positions is…notable. And my title in that post? “Our Collective Feelings.”
Here are the images and passages of those two cards again. Apparently they require our considered reflection yet again:
IX – Hermit
“I speak
No one listens
But I know what I know
The Hermit is a bag lady rejected by and rejecting comfortable society. She stands on the street of a faceless city, her own face exposed and eloquent. Her dress is a blue that recalls the depths of ocean and sky and the boundlessness that lies beyond their shallow edges. She carries her bags in both hands because she’s learned that balance gives her endurance. She is alone but her isolation is the result not the goal of her journey. Where she goes, others cannot follow. She seeks the mystery at the core of life, at the core of herself. She looks for the magic that exists even in the most artificial environment. She seeks answers to questions that have not yet been born.
The Hermit says look to yourself for the answers, look into the worlds inside you and the uncharted realms within, behind and beyond the ordinary. There are secrets only you are meant to discover and truths only you can divine.”
9 of Cups – Tarot of the Crone by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince
Nine of Cups ~ Healing
“I am the Many and One
I am whole who has been broken
I am the power of redemption
I am the renewal of creation
Two unusual beings, with ribbons of red life spiraling through the serene lavender of their skin-like cloaks, touch and twist and merge in the creation of something wonderful, whole and new. The Nine of Cups represents healing of the heart and soul: when what has been separated comes together again, when feeling flows free and true, when you are aligned with your greatest good, when you become more than you believed you could. The authenticity of your self is not subsumed by bonds with others, but is enhanced through acting with integrity and love.”
(T-105)