Another stop at the Temple of the Secrets today, to talk about a card, that has a very special meaning to me.

When I started working on that project in the mid nineties, it was a really hard time in my life.. often quite a nightmare to be honest. In the midst of a pile of problems, I desperately tried to create a major piece of art and make a living as a self employed artist. Had just started to run this museum and needed a way to fit this ancient Egyptian theme in a small tourist town in the Bavarian Forest (Germany)... that's how I got in touch with Tarot cards, as they supposedly came from ancient Egypt (or somewhere else 😜) and eventually found their way to the area where I live.

So I started studying the Tarot and designed the first five of the major arcana, the trump cards of the Tarot. I have to admit, that it wasn't a project of love, but once I commit to something its hard to get me to quit. So I pulled it through.

Another season had ended, 5 cards done, I was really fed up with it all and although I wasn't gonna give up, I turned my back to the project for a while... seems like my subconscious had needed this break. To my own surprise, several weeks later I woke up with the next card/picture in my head

Thing is, it was not the next card in line...

But then I thought.. hell, who cares in which order they are painted? If this card presents itself like that, then its the one I'll paint. And so I did 🙂

The card "IX - The Hermit" was the first card I created completely different than the ones before, where I pretty much took the elements which were supposed to be there and put them together in my own style. It was like "adding" these elements together to illustrate the idea my way.

Now I had a finished picture in my head! Sure, there are certain elements we know from traditional Tarot cards, but this time I didn't just "rearrange" them, it was my very own interpretation of the theme.

When we look at the Hermit as a chapter of the journey of the fool, then this is the moment, when our young travellers meet someone who already possesses the wisdom and hands it on to them. In fairytales we often have this theme, when a young and unexperienced soon to be the hero meets an old wizard or wise woman to get the magic thing or knowledge necessary to complete some quest.

The Hermit brings light into darkness and represents being true to oneself, self reflection and wisdom.

A long time, after I had completed a lot more cards, my Tarot teacher came to my "Temple of the Secrets" and he was particularly taken with my Hermit. He asked me, why I put it inside mount Kailash, the holy mountain of the Tibetans, and said he found the thought quite fascinating.. when I had to admit, that I had never even heard of it before.. the image just came to me!

If you are interested in the aspects of divination, please make sure to
visit @mystikmoongypsy and @tarotbyfergus

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