My goal was to create a tarot deck that captures a spiritual and fantastical world with imagery that held a variety of symbolism. My idea was to encase this world within the themes of forest animals and woodland creatures, as I have a love for the animal kingdom. In this example, The Hermit, I begin with writing the card meaning and tie in animals and other imagery that could possibly represent that archetype. After that I, create a few rough sketches and choose the one that I am most drawn to, no pun intended.
My inspiration also comes from the original Rider-Waite Tarot Deck. Particularly for this card, I wanted to make sure I had the lamp light, the staff, a looking-down pose and the slate blue color.
I then refined my sketch of the main figures onto my watercolor block and drawing in the background and details afterwards. I knew I wanted to have some sort of border at the bottom to enclose the subject, so I added the blackberry thorn bush later.
After the drawing is complete, I paint the illustration with the colors and shadows from my color palette, which consists of complimentary colors of blues and oranges and greens and purple. The font used is Carta Marina, for its antique and historical style.
The Hermit's meaning in it's upright state represents reflection, introspection and self-discovery. In its reversed state, The Hermit represents isolation, self-absorption and loneliness.
The starlight represents enlightenment and lighting the path forward. The moths represent intuition and transformation. The bluebird represents guidance and harmony. The blackberry bush and its thorns represent pain, remorse, grief and concealment. And the sapphire jewels represent wisdom and depth of thought. The number nine corresponds to the card's position in the Major Arcana, and the number itself also represents balance and life's ebb and flow. The alchemical symbols on the bottom left and bottom right are used to give my cards a more arcane feel. The symbols represents elements. The left representing the element of earth and the right representing the element of mercury, known for it's fusibility and volatility. The symbols are gold-foiled in my painting.
