Spelloween 2025: Day 24

Don’t mind me. Trying to get back into the groove of habits left behind. Today is October 24, 2025, and it’s time to have some fun. Each day of the month of October, I’m going to put together a little spell that involves one of my favorite tools: Tarot cards.

None of this is meant to be taken seriously, unless you want to do just that. All of this is in fun and with good intentions. All of this is meant to bring me joy. If you get some of that joy-juice as well, then all the better.

These spells are meant to be modified, adapted, used “as is”, or as inspiration for your personal rituals. Feel free to change them to suit your personal circumstances.

Day 24: The Hermit – Light for Light

Gather the following:

• The Hermit card from your tarot deck. If using an alternative deck, use the card that best represents “revelation” and/or “seeking”.
• Note paper and a writing utensil.
• Preferred: A candle with candleholder. Otherwise: An LED candle or a flashlight.
• An envelope large enough to hold the chosen card without folding it.
• Optional: A plate large enough to hold the envelope.
• A small glass of drinking water.
• A block of time during your regular hours in which you will not be interrupted.
• A good night’s sleep the night after the ritual.

The Page of Cups and the Hermit are both seekers of knowledge, but not of the same scope of knowledge. The Page of Cups want to know what happened in history and how things work. The Hermit wants to know why that happened and how people work. The Page of Cups is an engineer. The Hermit is a philosopher.

Finding the reasoning behind a decision is not always straightforward. Very few people understand themselves to that point for any given decision, much less how they function in their every day life. But sometimes, it is necessary that we have that foundational knowledge. The problem is, that knowledge sometimes hurts.

So this spell has a warning to it. Not only is this not a substitute for medical advice as the writer is not a doctor of any degree (pun intended), but if you are concerned for yourself (or for someone you care about), then it is better to seek professional assistance than to rely on a parlor trick you read about online.

The spell:

1. Prepare your working area according to your personal custom. There, collect the tarot card, note paper, writing utensil, light source, envelope, and drinking water.
2. On your notepaper, write the question you want the Hermit to answer. What kind of question? What do you want to know more about yourself? What truth have you been avoiding because you already know the answer? What truth have you been avoiding because you’re not sure how to ask about it? What would you ask someone who has been at this a lot longer than you have and is willing to speak to you about it? That kind of question.
3. If using a plate, place it in the middle of your working area. Take your notepaper, place it in the envelope, and close the envelope. Do not seal it. Place the closed envelope on the plate. If not using a plate, place the closed envelope in the middle of your working area.
4. Pick up the Hermit tarot card. Address the card with the following (out loud or silently):
   “You who have seen the foundations of the world,
   and have beheld mountain peaks no cloud has summited,
   accept my gracious greetings.
   Though you want for nothing, I bring you two offerings:
   Light and water. Water and light.
   Stay a moment from your wanderings and hear my petition.”
5. Place the Hermit card on top of your envelope.
6. On the dominant side of the plate, place the glass of water. So if you are right-handed, place the glass on the right side of the plate. If you are ambidextrous, place the glass on the side that corresponds with the hand you use to give or offer things to others.
7. On the non-dominant side of the plate, place the candle and light it. (If using an electric source of light, turn it on as you place it.)
8. Sit a while in silence. Could be a few minutes, could be a few hours. But as you sit in physical silence to the best of your abilities, turn over your petition in your mind. Allow your thoughts to trace its shape and to lead or be led into considerations you had considered before and considerations fresh and novel. Sit for as long as you are comfortable.
9. Once your visit is concluded. Show honor to the Hermit card in your usual fashion and extinguish the candle (turn off the light). Leave everything in place if it is safe to do so.
10. Go to bed at your usual hour. (Optional: Take an extended nap if it is too early for bedtime still.)
11. The next day, consider your dreams (if any). If you did not dream, revisit your petition in your thoughts. Have you any new insights? It is okay if you don’t. Regardless of the night’s outcome, put away the candle, the glass, and the tarot card to their respective places. Keep the petition in the envelope. You may be adding to it as your ruminations progress.

The Hermit is usually a card of subtle action. But if you are being particularly obtuse about a situation, then the Hermit will apply a Clue-By-Four to your metaphysical forehead to bring something important to mind.