The Hermit as How Someone Sees You: Wise, Distant and Hard to Reach

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Hermit as how someone sees you means they see the lantern on the peak. Here is what the picture includes, upright and reversed, and whether they think they can climb.

If you want the short answer, the Hermit as how someone sees you means they see you as wise and apart: thoughtful, self-sufficient, someone whose counsel is worth having and whose company is hard to get. It is a respectful picture. It is also a picture of distance, and the person may admire the lantern and assume the mountain is not for them.

This is you as the figure on the peak holding the light. They see the wisdom. They may think you prefer to be alone.

The Hermit upright as how someone sees you

Tina Gong's the Hermit guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with introspection, solitude, inner guidance and a search for truth. When the card lands in a position that asks how someone sees you, I read those meanings as the image the person holds of you, which is not the same as who you are and not the same as what they feel. the Hermit as feelings covers what they feel; the Hermit as intentions covers what they plan. This page covers the picture. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, I read the Hermit as a person who sees you as deep: someone who thinks before speaking, who has been through something, whose rare advice is right. They respect your need for space and they may give you more of it than you want, because the picture says you prefer it.

What I would not read into it is that they feel welcome. The Hermit is seen from the foot of the mountain. The person may have decided you would rather not be climbed toward.

What the card does not tell you

The card does not confirm the person feels close to you, that the respect is romantic, or that they believe you would want their company. No card lets a reader see inside another person's head. What a card can do is describe the kind of image that fits the person's behaviour toward you, and give you something to check against how they actually treat you.

The Hermit reversed as how someone sees you

Reversed, the Hermit as how someone sees you means the picture has gone from wise to withdrawn: they see you as isolated, aloof, hiding, someone who has gone up the mountain to avoid them rather than to think. The distance they respected has started to feel like rejection.

In your own question, ask whether the person has lately stopped reaching out, or whether they have said anything about you being hard to reach or not wanting them around. A reversed card here is a prompt to notice whether the picture the person holds has gone sour or gone wrong, not a verdict on you.

The Hermit as how an ex sees you

Asked how an ex sees you, the Hermit suggests they remember you as deep, thoughtful and never quite available, the one who was always partly somewhere else. It is a picture with respect and loneliness in it. Some exes come back for the depth. Most do not come back for the distance. My guide to asking a psychic whether an ex will come back explains what a reading can and cannot say about that question.

The Hermit as how a new person sees you

For someone new, this card means they find you intriguing and assume you want to be left alone. Invite them up the mountain once, plainly, and the picture gains a path.

How to check the picture against reality

Look at whether the person reaches out or waits to be reached. Look at whether they apologise for taking your time. A Hermit picture is respectful and distant; the way to change it is to come down and say you are glad of them.

What to record before drawing again

Keep three short notes: the question you asked, what the person seems to respect in you, and the last time you sought their company rather than accepting it. The third note is what the picture needs.

For comparison, the High Priestess as how someone sees you and the Fool as how someone sees you describe different pictures. The the Hermit card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Hermit as a person covers the card when it describes a temperament rather than an image. For a personal interpretation, my guide to a love psychic reading online explains how I work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.