Hermit Like You Mean It

A tarot spread and deep self-care

Happy last day of January! I’m ready to wave goodby to this month - it’s been a tough one. February is always a welcome sight, if only because I love chocolate. 💝🍫 As a writer, I feel that January usually goes one of two ways: either you hit the ground running or you need a re-set. If you need that re-set (or you want to keep up momentum), I’ve got some support below for you!

I am really feeling the tarot card of 2025, which is The Hermit. (The reason this is the card has something to do with numerology and slightly above my pay grade, but I trust the tarot goddesses on this). Not sure about the rest of you, but I’m feeling pretty rundown these days. Heavy energy - no surprise, given the state of the country and the world. I’ve been leaning into a lot of self care: somatics, laying on my new Higher Dose mat (a birthday gift and one that I highly recommend if you have chronic pain!), and trying to rest as much as possible. I got COVID after Thanksgiving, then the flu just after my birthday, and now I’m sick again, thanks to social working with high schoolers who come to school with fevers (gahhhhh!).

Enter February: the month I have decreed as the Month of Deep Self-Care. Who’s with me?! 💕

This is why I am SO looking forward to the Winter Edition of the Cozy Mini Writing Retreat. I always do one in the winter and one in the autumn and the winter one is always in February because I feel that’s right when we need it.

To prepare, I’m going to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Guthrie Theater the Friday of that weekend and then attending a sound bath at my Zen center the night before. The morning of, I’ll be meditating and continuing to fill my well so I can hold our container. Maybe you might make a weekend of it, too!

I was hanging out with some of my writing sisters in the Rebecca Dykes Writers alumna community (our next in-person trauma and grief writing retreat is in November, not to be confused with the upcoming cozy retreat I’m leading). We were all talking about the ways we’re micro-dosing our creativity, trying to stay connected to our writer selves and our stories amidst so much upheaval. We did some writing prompts which I’ll share at the end of this newsletter - super helpful for really looking at where we’re at as we move deeper into 2025.

All I know is, our writing is there for us in whatever way we are able to meet it.

For me, that looks like reading picture books and coming up with fun, playful ideas because a novel is just too much right now. I’ve never published a picture book and I think I want to do that this year.

It looks like intentional daydreaming and deep rest and filling my well as much as I can with good books and trips to museums and finding patches of sunlight to sit in.

If you have time, write a list of all the ways you are trying to stay connected to your creativity. Maybe it’s choosing your outfit with care, baking, making a card for someone. That’s not nothing. When your well is filled, the words will be ready.

So here’s what I’m doing this weekend, as a way to kick of this month of self-care:

My Hermit Card Spread

I had so much fun making up this spread back in 2022 and now it’s really time for its close-up. The Hermit, which I always feel represents The Writer, is one of my favorite cards in the tarot. It’s one of the more easily accessed cards because, as soon as you see it, the message is clear: get some sacred alone time.

I usually receive this card when life has become hectic and I can feel my connection to my inner life growing weaker. I might even be struggling creatively OR I'm in dire need of more time alone so I can take advantage of flow.

No matter what, when you get this card, you are being invited to create inner magic (re: it's not the wheel, it's the potter).

The Hermit card most often features a figure alone in darkness, at or near a mountain top. Though solitary, it is clear they feel safe and secure. They are prepared for this journey inward: they have their lantern to guide the way, the staff that keeps them grounded, and the cloak that serves to shelter them from the elements.

For me, tarot is a structure through which I can explore my life. It's not fortune-telling or predictive. Rather, I have found it to be an extremely helpful way to untangle knots inside me and my stories.

You can do this explorations as yourself and/or as a character you're trying to get to know better.

For this spread, take out your Hermit card and place it off to the side to guide your reading. Then, shuffle the cards.

As you shuffle, close your eyes and hold the following query - or something similar - in your mind, repeating it like a mantra: "What do I need for my inner journey right now?"

OR If you'd like to get into the season, you might ask: "What inside me needs to be explored this autumn?"

When you stop shuffling, keep your eyes closed and feel the energy of YOU move through your veins and into the cards. Then, separate the cards into three piles. Choose the pile that feels good to you. From the top of that pile, place three cards in the pattern above, facedown.

Then, turn over each card, taking some time to sit with the illustrations and whatever intuitively comes up for you as you look at each card.

Note: If you have a reversed card (or three!), there are many ways to interpret this - or to choose to ignore reversals entirely. It's most important to just notice if the card being in reverse feels important, or simply the nature of shuffling. I like to look at reversals the way I was taught by tarot goddess, Carrie Mallon: When a card is in reverse, it can often mean that you intellectually understand the lesson or message of the card, but you've not yet found a way to integrate your understanding of it into your life. For example, The Devil often represents addiction. Let's say you're a workaholic. So you get that card and you KNOW you have to address this issue - the tarot is gently reminding you that it's time to integrate and take action. In the course, we'll talk about all the ways cards work structurally for each of us.

Card #1 (Lantern): This card represents what energy / forces / resources will be lighting your path as you go inward. Perhaps you're struggling to access your creative flow. So this card would be showing you what in your life might help light the path forward back to your flow. Or maybe you are struggling with limiting beliefs and you are taking this inner journey toward being free of them. This card will show what is on hand to help you navigate the challenges of this inner work.

Card #2 (Staff): This card represents the grounding elements and forces in your life that will help you stay on your feet as you traverse this rocky terrain. Not only will these forces keep you from stumbling when you're unsure of where you are or what you're doing, it will also act as a form of ballast, keeping you from galloping ahead and losing steam.

Card #3 (Cloak): This card represents the things in your life that will support, protect, and warm you during this journey. It may be a place to get away, a supportive partner who helps you get the time you need to yourself. It could be creature comforts, like a cozy writing spot or meditation cushion. Whatever or whoever the cloak represents, this card's message will help you recognize the things that are (or aren't) in place for you to safely make this journey.

After you've spent some time with each card, you can check your tarot resources or the Little White Book that came with your deck to go deeper into each card's meanings.

Now would be a great time to journal - you could even journal as you inspect each card, before you turn to figuring out their exact meanings. It's all about what your intuition is giving you, free association, and your curiosity. If you did this as your character, then you might find - as I do - that plot points and backstory begin to bubble up, in addition to learning more about your character.

Image: Modern Witch Tarot

Tarot Course

If this was great fun for you, then you might be interested in taking my Tarot for Writers course. It’s something you can dip into as you wish or make a lovely weekend out of.

Easeful Writing Prompts

At our Rebecca Dykes reunion, we worked on these lovely writing prompts from poet Radha Marcum- they’re meant for the end of 2024, but they’re pretty perfect for where I’m at in 2025. I hope they nourish you.

Image: The Spacious Tarot

Okay, friends, I hope this was fun and helpful for you! Comment below and let us know if you do the spread and what came up for you. I hope I'll see you at the retreat - I've worked hard to price things so they are as accessible as possible.

Here's to your inner magic and drawing it out over the next few months as you hermit away,