At a closer look, there are many similarities between two or sometimes three cards of the Major Arcana. There are hidden – esoteric -, underlying connections.
One of these pairs can be the Hermit and the Fool. Both characters wear robes and hold a stick in their hands. Both are drifters outside society and social standards. Both are in search of something – they are looking for the light.
In the Waite-Smith Fool card, the Sun is shining from behind of the Fool. I think that the Sun should be positioned in front of the Fool cause in his case, the Sun has a blinding effect. The Hermit’s lamp, on the other hand, seems to be an organic part of him – the light is shining from the inside and shows the way. One represents youthfulness, the beginning, Alpha; the other represents experience, wisdom, reaching the higher state of awareness, the Omega.
In the biblical texts, one who does not believe is considered a fool. Only the renunciation of oneself and one’s material goods can lead someone to God – to awareness and spiritual fulfilment.
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The Fool and the Hermit
