Back at card 5, the Hierophant taught us that there is no shame in getting help if you don't know something. The Hierophant is the highest standard of knowledge in the material world.
Now at card 9, the Hermit teaches us that sometimes we need help in a more spiritual context. Sometimes we need wisdom from without. There is never shame in seeking for that help if we need it.
I've been taking a class in online marketing. One of our modules asks us to think about which artists were major influences in our own work. My first thoughts went toward my favorite surrealists: Frida Kahlo, Salvador Dali, and Rene Magritte, but then my mind stuck on the artist Joe Pintauro, and the more I thought of him, the more I realized his work started me down my current creative path.
Many years ago I bought a set of books from a little used bookstore in Scranton (they only had three of the original set of four). It was a delightful series by Joe Pintauro. "I am the rabbit". The series seems to be mostly forgotten but for me those books were a revelation: a combination of poetry and photography that encouraged the reader to find and embrace their place in this world; to love the earth as our mother.
I loved the books but ended up selling them for a tidy profit as their value has skyrocketed. They are rare and long out of print. In retrospect, I wish I'd kept them.
I can see the influence of these books echoing through my art like the circles of water rippling out from the toss of a stone. I combine Victorian portraiture and poetry. Rabbits have come to represent a particular significance in my life.
Finding those influences in my life brings me full circle back to the Hermit.
We have these significant spiritual guidances in our lives, whether we see it in the moment or not. If we are struggling, pause. Take a deep breath and look around. Find that figure that can give us sanctuary; that can help us find our way.
Embrace their influence. Listen to their words. Let their wisdom sit with you until clarity follows. Thank them and take their knowledge with you into the world.
Leave them with gratitude and love. "I am the rabbit".
