Begin or deepen your exploration of the Tarot Hermit card with me this April, 2026. What is your relationship to “hermiting,” taking time away in solitude to tend your lamp of inner wisdom? The Hermit card invites you to explore how you tend your heart, your resources, your passions, and your ideas as you deepen your relationship to the sacred quiet within before you turn to sharing that light on the path for others. We write to a wide variety of tarot card imagery, we reflect on our past and present experiences of the card , and we create personal tarot card art based on 1) our lived experiences and 2) our “wished for” experiences. The card we create acts as both a witness and a visionary tool. We have just finished our Strength card course; the depth of inquiry and heart connection experienced the last six weeks continues to inspire me to teach these courses.

Tarot Journaling: The Hermit is a six session class that runs on Sundays and starts on April 12, 2026 (no class May 17, so our final class will be on May 24th ). Held over zoom, 2:00-3:30 pm (PST) / 5:00-6:30pm (EST). Offered by Antioch University Continuing Education (Online). Course cost is $100; sign up link is forthcoming.

In this six-week course we explore how The Hermit, Major Arcanum IX, symbolizes various ways we tend the lamp of inner wisdom in solitude over the course of our lifetimes. 

The four Minor Arcana Nines in the tarot deck offer a chance to reflect on the questions about how we’ve experienced The Hermit in the past and the opportunities to deepen our engagement heading into the present and future:

How do we make time to hear the heart’s full range of wishes? (Nine of Cups)

How do find ways to enjoy the physical sanctuaries we’ve manifested? (Nine of Disks)

How do we still the mind to transform worries into contemplative tranquility? (Nine of Swords)

How do we draw on our past life experiences when faced with conflict to make choices in the present using a balance of caution and trust?  (Nine of Wands)

These are the kinds of in-depth questions we will address in writing and discussion. You will learn a method for tarot journaling and a handful of other simple tools designed to help you begin and deepen your relationship to tarot. You’ll have the optional opportunity to create a personal tarot card using your own personal symbols that resonate for you. No prior experience with the tarot or with art-making is necessary. Tarot images from a variety of decks will be provided, though you are welcome to work with your own deck of choice. Course engagement helps you:

· 1) Develop a personal tarot journaling practice

· 2) Interpret and integrate the symbolic lessons of The Hermit and the Four Nines

· 3) Create a personalized symbolic tarot card as a tool for self-expression

Hermit Mermaid Art: The artwork at the top of the post is a Hermit Mermaid I drew in 2021, my personal tarot card art for the Hermit card. I made this image based on a dream I had years ago when I first landed in the heartland to pursue my dream of becoming a writer. I was overjoyed by the opportunity in front of me and wanted to go the distance–discover! grow! play! in my creative work. I remember the two fold challenge: 1) to balance the desire to retreat and focus inward so I could translate what I found there into poetry…all while 2) engaging in a dynamic MFA program with other poets and poets on faculty. Holding one’s center in such a setting is a Hermit challenge. My Hermit Mermaid represents living in both worlds while tending the heart flame. Join us to explore your own relationship to the Hermit using writing and the making of a personal tarot card to engage.