The Hermit

In the first few pages of the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed, she catapults her remaining hiking boot off the side of a cliff, hopelessly following the path of the other shoe down into the depths of the forest below. Not really giving anything away here, but this left her limping along the Pacific Northwest Trail in nothing but some taped up shower shoes to get her to the next campsite. This was a soul seeking journey for her, one that requires deep introspection, and is the epitome of the Hermit in the tarot. Considered to be the wiser version of the Magician, the Hermit is that inspirational friend and teacher who can show you how to find the answers you are seeking within yourself and not in the distractions of the outside world. Let’s face it. There is a lot of noise out there, and most of it is garbage.

As much as I speak about community being necessary to our human existence, so is solitude. A hermit is a person who chooses to live in isolation as a religious discipline. I’m not saying we need to go to that extreme, but sometimes cutting out all of the outside noise is necessary in order to hear our own hearts. The Hermit in tarot is asking you, “Can you be alone with yourself?” Not everyone can. As a recovering people-pleaser, I actually enjoy spending vast amounts of time alone. It’s the only time in my life when I am not catering to the whims of everyone else’s emotional needs. It has actually taken me a long time to figure out that that’s what I was doing. For me, it was the ultimate act of self-care. I just didn’t know it.

The energy of the Hermit is not a forward moving motion; it’s more of a pause from the hustle and bustle of daily life. He is asking us not to feed the ego simply because it demands to be fed. There will come a time when the butterfly is ready to emerge from its cocoon, but there is also a time to hang out in the chrysalis, occupying this state of not knowing, a place where you’re not privy to a ton of information. I know as someone who has gone through years of therapy, there is such a thing as too much external coming in. At some point you have to stop trying to fix yourself and start living your life, at least that’s what my therapist said. Many times the answers are already inside of us. We just can’t hear our inner guidance system, because everyone is so fucking loud.

The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude.

Aldous Huxley

When you can look at your life with a deeper understanding, your priorities may change as a result. People may fall out of your life. Things that you once held dear to you may no longer matter in the grand scheme of things. It may feel painful in the moment, but none of these are bad things. “What the uninitiated sees as being no more than relinquishment and sacrifice is for the hermit himself the key to transcendental happiness” (The Ultimate Guide to the Rider Waite Tarot, Johannes Fiebig & Evelin Burger) This is the old cliché saying that money can’t buy happiness, that material things aren’t the end goal that really matters. In his slow and methodical ways, his teachings show us how to find the light within ourselves, so that we can then create our own paths along this journey we call life. This is a patient man, so take all the time you need.

The Card of Prudence

The thing about manifestation that people seem to keep leaving out is that you can’t just make a birthday wish on some candles and have all of your dreams come true. Once you figure out what you really want out of this life, you have to work for it. This will look completely different for everyone, but the message is essentially the same, and the Eight of Pentacles is our support system for this time in our lives. From August 23 to September 1, this tarot card is a card of encouragement and reassurance that whatever you do to invest in yourself will be worth it in the long run. Ask yourself this: What can I do to master my craft?

Not many of us are great at things the first time around. Learning how to ride a bike, I fell more times than I care to count, but I did keep getting back up. FFTs, or Fucking First Times as Brené Brown refers to it, can be tremendously frustrating. But when you finally get it, when the pedals start moving and you stop wobbling in the banana seat, it can feel almost magical. The Eight of Pentacles is that “intelligence lovingly applied to material matters, especially those of agriculturalist, the artificer, and the engineer” (Book of Thoth). He is a craftsman, someone who is patient and very much in tune to the details of his particular artistry. Through repetition and practice, through hard work and a conscientious energy, we can find success in this life. We could, in fact, become the masters of our own destiny.

Treat your work like an extension of yourself.

There is a tenacity that must be involved in making your own dreams come true. You must never give up, even if things are not going as you planned them to. I very much wanted to find a way out of the restaurant industry. I never thought that it would be because of a propane incident, and not of my own accord. It’s not always apparent as you may like, or in the way you might want, but events do unfold in a way that will put you on the right path to finding your true calling. These experiences are helping us to learn and grow. We can honor the places we have been, while simultaneously transitioning into the new. The key is to keep coming back to your center, that quiet place inside your heart.

The Card of Gain

In the movie Mad Max: Fury Road, the War Boys are trained to believe that their whole presence on this planet is to serve Immortan Joe and die for him in their quest to reach Valhalla. They spray chrome spray paint across their mouths, inhaling some sort of euphoric drug that makes them suicidally devoted to the cause. The Christian Bible teaches its followers to devote themselves fully the the Almighty God in hopes of finding great peace and joy in Heaven. The Nine of Pentacles, which is our guide from September 2 to September 11, completely goes against both of these cultish doctrines, bringing us “good luck attending material affairs, favor and popularity” (Book of Thoth). This tarot card shows us how to find the solitary enjoyment of the good things in life, those little daily happenings that we sometimes miss.

We are always rushing to get to the next thing. I could blame it on the fact that I’m a millennial, but our society has pushed these values onto us, often without us even realizing. I am still trying to unravel the beliefs I have surrounding my own productivity and my worthiness around it. This card is asking us to understand and appreciate the wealth that we already possess. “You have worked hard to create abundance in your life, and now you can finally enjoy the fruits of your labor” (Biddy Tarot). There is a grace that comes with balancing between the need to work and the need to enjoy and celebrate what we’ve accomplished and how far we’ve come. It is a balance of the material with the spiritual, and trusting in one’s own abilities.

Happiness is part of who we are. Joy is the feeling.

Tony DeLiso

I went into therapy hoping to find some happiness in this life, or at least to figure out where to begin to look for it. I was chasing it, desperately clutching onto anything and everything that would make the hurt and pain go away. As it turns out, happiness isn’t the point. It’s just an emotion. All they do is give us information, and we are in a constant feedback loop. The key, I am now realizing, is to teach yourself how to fully embrace those “good” moments without holding back. It tethers those joyous feelings into the neural networks in your brain, helping to allow those “bad” ones to slip away more easily. Our minds are wired to clench onto things that may be perceived as dangerous, and we must take charge to actively change that response system. There is a beauty and an abundance in nature, and we can harness that energy to bring more pleasure into our lives. We can reclaim this organic wellspring of pleasure and show everyone in our lives what treasures we already have – because we are, in fact, priceless just as we are.

The Card of Wealth

I was taught that in order to be successful in this life I needed the following: a house with a white picket fence, a two-car garage, 2.5 children, and a well-trained dog running around the backyard. This sounds all fine and dandy, but not everyone is interested in keeping up with the Joneses, or the Kardashians for that matter. The Ten of Pentacles, which runs from September 12 to September 22, is the ancestral healing card of the tarot. The blood of your ancestors flows through your veins, and with that comes all of their wants and desires. Our parents have a tendency to pressure us into caring about the same things that matter most to them, instead of encouraging us to step into our own legacies. Wealth isn’t merely about buying more stuff, and it will be “dissipated unless put to further use by devoting its power to objects other than mere accumulation” (Book of Thoth). It is the futility of material gain.

The ten in numerology is both the end and the beginning of a cycle. Think of it as harvest day, a time of joyous bounty. Much like bringing grain in from the fields, the work is far from over. However, your hard work and dedication will reward you with the foundation for a rich and sustainable future. This card is that gentle reminder that eventually everything will come together and you will be proud of all that you achieved. This is not to say that we do any of this alone, as your community, those that help to bring in the crops, is a key source of your abundance. Your deeds build on the foundation laid by those who have gone before and they will be continued by your successors. We inherited this earth from our ancestors, and our families, whether they be biological or chosen, are the ones who will keep this soul work moving through us.

Be brutally honest about the short term and optimistic and confident about the long term.

Reed Hastings

What is meant for you will not pass you. You always have what you need and desire as long as you say yes to the full-bodied embodiment on this planet. The Ten of Pentacles invites us to bring soul work into the material sphere, reflecting on bodily service and balance, on permanence and creating a lasting foundation for future success. How am I surrounded by wealth and abundance? What is and is not working? What would help to feel authentic in this space? Remember that nothing can prevent you from living and feeling your pulse, tarrying and then taking your leave. You don’t have to want the things that other people want, and there is no need to disparage someone for what resides in their heart space. Consciously take on the people and events of your life and accept them in love, and then go out there and live your life in the ways that you want to. At the end of the day, who really cares?

Mad love, Jenna

deck credit: Rider-Waite Tarot Deck, drawn in 1909 by Pamela Colman Smith under direction of Arthur Edward Waite, Motherpeace Tarot Deck by Karen Vogel & Vicki Noble, Shadowscapes Tarot drawn by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law