December and the Year in Review

The Oxford Dictionary defines a hermit as:

The Hermit
Rider Waite Smith Tarot

1. A person living in solitude as a religious discipline.
2. Any person living in solitude or seeking to do so.

The Hermit was my tarot card for December. However, he was reversed. As I’ve blogged before, reversals can suggest the opposite meaning of the card when upright. In the Tarot, the Hermit can suggest a need for a period of isolation, mostly for reasons of introspection. It might also suggest a need or desire to disconnect from society and/or social media. Reversed, it could suggest the opposite, it’s time to do less introspection, be less isolated, step out a bit more.

Or,  perhaps the introspection isn’t deep enough due to some blockage.

The Hermit
New Palladini Tarot

The Hermit carries a lantern with him which serves two purposes. The obvious one is to light his path as he continues his journey. The other purpose is to light the way for others to seek him.

Often in literature, a hermit is pictured as someone who lives in solitude usually up on a mountain away from society, because he, or she, realizes they no longer “fit in” or they see that the ways of society don’t mesh with their own views. Yet, many people climb the mountain to seek answers from the Hermit.

Perhaps, that’s the message for me here. While the spiritual views I hold often clash with those of society and even more so with the general lgbtq population, perhaps it’s time to just come down off the mountain and be who I am and let those who need or want to see my lantern, seek me out.

I think that’s it.

Standing up for one’s beliefs is hard, especially when they diverge from the mainstream. But, someone once told me if you don’t feel like you fit in, maybe that’s the point.

I don't fit in and that's okay. Now, I need to work on letting it be okay.

As 2019 has come to a close, it’s also time to reflect on the overall card for my year. Well, actually there are two cards for my previous year; the Page of Rods, which came up in my New Year's reading, and the Major Arcana card corresponding to my year number.

Page of Wands
New Palladini Tarot

The Page of Rods shows a young man looking off into the distance. He’s young, eager and filled with a zest for life. He is young enough to accept he still has a lot to learn but is eager to set out on his life path. He’s creative, energetic and sees the world in front of him as a wondrous place to explore. This was a year to explore and take those creative steps forward. I feel I have explored more of myself and a possible path forward. I may not have stepped out as much as I could have as suggested by the Hermit reversed, but I did join a couple of other groups, I just haven't channeled my inner Page of Rods and actually attended them. Yet. 

The Chariot
Radiant Rider Waite Smith Tarot

The Major Arcana card is calculated by taking one's birthday and the year in question, totaling them and then adding those digits to arrive at a number less than 22 which then corresponds to one of the 22 cards in the Major Arcana. So for last year, the numbers in question brought me to the number 7. So, to illustrate; 2019 + 2 + 11= 2,032, then 2 + 0 + 3 + 2=7. The seventh card in the Major Arcana is the Chariot meaning last year was a Chariot year for me. I view the Chariot as a forward moving vehicle making progress as long as the Charioteer maintains control over the chariot. It takes some physical strength to keep the chariot on the forward path. I view forward progress as growth. I do feel in many areas I grew. I’ve let things go I no longer needed, especially in the way I view situations. I've learned I can only control my own chariot and no one else's.

Astrologically the Chariot is connected to Cancer, the crab. And like the crab, the Charioteer is protected by armor which covers his vulnerability, i.e., his emotions. Cancer is one of three water signs which means those signs feel their emotions more deeply than the other nine. I take the armor as a way of keeping the Charioteer focused on moving forward, concentrating on what he needs to and not be distracted by unnecessary emotions. Plus, the armor also gives the Charioteer the appearance of being less vulnerable than he truly could be.

As I look back on my year, I feel I was able to keep my hands on the reins of my chariot so it could maintain its forward movement without being distracted by too many emotions. Well, most of the time. A good charioteer must also be aware of their surroundings at all times, too. So, yes, I admit to being distracted a few times, but regained control with the help of some friends.

Now, on to 2020 and my new card of the year:

Strength
Radiant Rider Waite Smith Tarot