Those of us who identify with the Hermit love to spend time alone. The Hermit, after all, goes off alone up a mountain, into a cave, or across the desert; sometimes he just withdraws into his own mind. It doesn't matter where he goes; what matters is keeping his own counsel. He does come back to his tribe from time to time to teach and share and probably to get a Starbucks and maybe a pizza.
Many of you know that this is the year of the Hermit (as reckoned by adding the digits of the year together 2+0+1+6=9=the Hermit). So I didn’t think much about it when the Hermit card kept coming up for me over the past few months. Turns out, he wasn’t just stopping by to say “hi” or get directions to Starbucks. Nope. He had a bigger message for me. The first threads of the message started over a year ago when I read The Philosophers’ Secret Fire: A History of the Imagination by Patrick Harpur. This paragraph really stuck with me: Hermes is also, I suspect, behind the ‘information revolution’. He is, we remember, the god of crossroads and boundaries, of mediation and of communication. If we revere him he gives us hermeneutics, insights, and wisdom; if we do not, he deceives us (he is a great Trickster) through messages that seem true but are really false. Since he travels, uniquely among the gods, from Above to Below, from Olympus via our world to Hades, his dimension is depth. We relate to him through the depths of soul whose movement is slow, labyrinthine and downwards towards death. If we deny Hermes his vertical movement, he begins to spread horizontally, to speed up, until he is girdling the Earth like Puck (who did it in forty minutes). Hermetic revelations become literal signals, from satellites above to cables below, whose transmission criss-cross the globe, growing faster and more garbled by the minute in a wild attempt to return us to that knowledge of eternal things which can never, alas, be cobbled together by no matter how many trillions of bits of information strung across the world. Those words have been growing louder in my memory, sometimes shouting as if in warning. For the longest time, I ignored it. Instead, I kept scrolling through my Facebook feed. I had a really bad case of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). I always want to know what’s going on, what people are doing, what’s exciting and interesting “out there.” So much so that I forgot that I need to pay attention to what’s exciting and interesting “in here” <points to head and heart>. So much of what I read on FB fills me with ideas and questions and fuels my curiosity, which is great. Except that all I really do is make a note of it, but the note in this big box of notes that I have, and move on to consume the next great idea. I don’t actually pursue the ideas, seek out answers within myself, or follow my curiosity deeply. One idea that kept skimming the surface of my consciousness is for a novel about a young woman who takes herself offline. I kept thinking about it, not realizing at the time that I was imagining my own future. My birthday was January 16. The night before, as I was falling asleep, I had this clear thought “You must remove yourself from social media.” I told that thought it was nuts. How would I run my business? How would anyone know about my readings or my classes. And a really quiet, honest voice asked “how will I know who I am?” The next morning, I was journaling and pulled a card for the year (a birthday tradition of mine) and almost fell off my chair when I saw it was the Hermit and the voice that spoke last night kind of laughed and murmured something about the Universe and a 2 x 4 and my thick skull. I swallowed my fear and entertained the thought. It was finally time to admit it. I needed to energetically cut my cords to social media. Not just check it less, but deactivate my accounts and metaphorically depart on a Hermit’s journey, taking the time to explore all these ideas and possibilities that I’ve been gathering. And I need to find out who I think I am when my beautiful, kind, and generous Facebook friends aren’t telling me who I am. Don’t get me wrong, I love who they say I am. And I think that’s really who I am, only older and not quite so sparkly pretty. But I need to find out for sure. Also, I’m interested in connecting with fewer people more deeply. Which means I’ll be doing more blogging. Hopefully people who are interested will stop by and see what I’m thinking about and share what they think via email or the comments. I am not going off the internets completely, just all forms of social media. I’m not sure for how long, either. It’s all a bit of a mystery to me. Another interest of mine right now is paper…with handwriting or hand made marks on it. So if you send me your mailing address, maybe I’ll write you a real letter sent with a stamp and everything! This is important: I do not think anyone else needs to do this. There is absolutely no judgment here (you all know me well enough to know that, right?). I don’t think social media is bad or evil. I actually love it. But sometimes a gal’s gotta do what a gal’s gotta do. I hope you all keep the party going while I’m gone and I really hope my Hermit trek doesn’t take that long so I can join you again soon. So, in honor of the Year of the Hermit, in honor of the crazy voice in my head, and in hopes of curing myself of FOMO, I will deactivate my Facebook account at the end of the day on Friday, January 22. Yikes. I’m kind of scared. And kind of excited.
26 Comments
Barbara
1/20/2016 11:32:05 am
Thank you!
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Tiffany
1/20/2016 08:46:04 am
I was scared of missing out on your news! But I'll look forward to reading your blogs and your muses. Enjoy your journey!
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Barbara
1/20/2016 11:32:55 am
I know. I'm scared, too. But I hope we can stay in touch in other, more conscious and deliberate ways.
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1/20/2016 09:17:08 am
Hurrah to you! What a brave, smart thing to do! I, too, suffer from FOMO. I have been thinking along the same path as I see my creative and meditative time being swallowed by Facebook. Good luck!
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Barbara
1/20/2016 11:33:56 am
We shall see! I hope I don't just end up crawling back to endlessly scroll my newsfeed. But if I do, I have the best FB friends in the world, so it wouldn't be that bad :-)
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Erin
1/20/2016 09:52:23 am
That sounds wonderful. I wish I could do that. Maybe I can do it all the suggestions say and just take one day a week away from technology. Enjoy your journey. I will look forward to your blogs and all the juicy tidbits that come from your inner Hermit journey!
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Barbara
1/20/2016 11:35:18 am
I know a few people who do that, like unplug entirely from 5 pm Friday until 8 am Monday or the like. They find it very helpful and refreshing. I think everyone has to find the right balance for them. I totally wish mine didn't have to be so extreme, but it won't kill me to at least try. :-)
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This morning, as I was doing some research for an idea that showed up out of nowhere, I was taken back to Leonie Dawson's post about riding the wild donkey. That post seemed to marry up so perfectly with what you said here;-
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Barbara
1/20/2016 11:31:49 am
OMG, I totally have Mount Project. I'm gonna turn that mountain in a field of wild donkeys and ride them all!
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I believe this is a capital plan! For years I have felt out of sink and slowed down by fog and I dig my way back to my path. Yet, for 2016, I am infused with this "out of nowhere" Focus. I have goals. And I have a word: Cultivate. Cultivate within (my divinity, my piety, my practice). Because of this, I am focusing more on what I enjoy like reading, blogging/journaling/writing, coloring, and studying. Less time on FB and Twitter, more time with myself and my Gods. May your Hermit time be wonderfully fulfilling. *hugs*
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Barbara
1/20/2016 02:24:26 pm
What a great word "Cultivate." I heard a saying once that if you like a flower, you will pick it but if you love a flower you will water it." In other words, you consume what you like but you cultivate what you love. Good for you! Keep in touch!
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1/21/2016 04:19:55 pm
Barbara,
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Barbara Emrys
1/22/2016 03:29:50 pm
I, too, embarked on a Hermit's journey in July 2012 and it lasted until September 2013 (a 5-6 year combo). My journey was a literal one: I spent that time living in a small city on the Tyrhennian coast of Italy, halfway between Rome and Naples.
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Thanks for sharing this! I look forward to reading your posts and am glad you will be focusing on your blog. It's funny, I have been taking Saturdays (and sometimes Sundays) off from social media- after James Wells mentioned he was doing this. It feels very appropriate for a Hermit year.
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Ty Bevington
2/5/2016 05:25:51 pm
I followed your lead and took a week off from FB- and I have told my students for years...NOTHING BAD HAPPENED!
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Diane
2/5/2016 07:56:29 pm
Good for you Barbara, no word of a lie but the Hermit card and I are about to do the same thing...of all the tarot majors the Hermit is the one that I relate to the most. Of course coming out for pizza every now and then. I look forward to reading your blog, I want to and really am trying to get a blog started this year. Take joy and gowithin...so you never go without. Diane
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Lori
2/6/2016 05:56:50 am
Good for you Barbara! I will miss your posts and pictures but I understand how you feel. I get the hermit alot as well maybe It's time for me to take a walk with him. Good luck and I hope you find what your looking for.
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Andrea
2/7/2016 12:56:40 am
I look forward to reading your blogs!
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2/7/2016 08:33:08 am
Just now catching up on what's happening with you, dear Barbara. And as you know, I can relate to this very, very well. My 6-week exile from FB was not my choice, but it was illuminating.
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Diana
2/8/2016 04:03:44 pm
Thank you so much for sharing this. I, too, have been feeling called to deactivate my social media accounts and spend time getting back to "me." This is a double nine year for me. I can relate to every thing you said. Like you, I have had a fear of missing out. Yet I have been feeling so overwhelmed by all the data that I am trying to process. I just want to go within and remember who I really am and what I really believe. Again, thank you so much.
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I just 'drank the kool-aid' and signed up for FB again because everyone still states that one cannot possibly run a business without it. I hate it, have always hated it, and did this kicking and screaming. And then I find that more and more are stepping away, and I know that deep in my heart, what I felt was right. Thank you (and Beth Owl's Daughter for linking to it) for this wonderful, heartfelt post. I'm with you all the way!
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3/7/2016 02:20:59 pm
Hi Barbara, I just found you via my new "journey into the hidden realm" cards. Which I LOVE! They have been right on, eerily so. Anyway, I signed up for you newsletter and am just now reading your Feb 5th post! Yes, I am that behind. Mostly because at the winter solstice I committed to making my art my priority again and being on technology as little as possible. You went one step further than I did with fb. I removed it from my phone (which I thought was doing to cause major withdrawals) but have survived quite easily with just about 15 minutes a day on my computer. Not sure how I would have done deleting my account? I had been caught up as stated above, busy collecting ideas but not doing anything with them. I am happy to say that since limiting my computer use this year I've been exploring some of those collected ideas. Not sure why I am sharing? Apparently my guides think I should. :-)
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4/13/2016 10:02:03 pm
Hey Barbara,
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