9. The Hermit.

Up –Caution, counsel – slow but sure. Solitary, secrets, patience.

Reversed – You're old enough to know better! Bad advice. "He who hesitates is lost". "Grumpy old man" attitudes.

He is a wise old man, and if you seek him out he will give you the benefit of his vast store of knowledge- but he doesn't see why he should share his secrets with everyone. He is self-sufficient and not a disseminator of knowledge; neither does he see any practical use for his secrets: he enjoys them for their own sakes.

He suggests that the way ahead can only be negotiated slowly. Slow but sure is the only way, and problems can only be overcome by employing patience and prudence.

Reversed, he is the old man who persists in acting childishly; he's old enough to know better. He is the cantankerous, stubborn old man whose views have calcified. He wants his own way and will nor listen to reason. There's no fool like an old fool; everyone has to learn every day, nobody knows it all. Alternatively, he could represent over-caution. He is so afraid of the unknown he will not move at all, and causes unnecessary hold-ups.

8. Strength

Up – Fortitude, spiritual power. Well-founded confidence. Knowing the factors involved and being aware that one can overcome. Moral fortitude.

Reversed – Lack of moral fibre. Abuse of power. Aggression.

Strength conquers by being a superior being; her strength is in her inner conviction that the lion will submit, not in physical might. She has calmness and a sense of purpose that will not permit her to be harmed. Her power is not in displaying might for its own sake, rather in the manifestation of a great inner resource. She may not have realised that she had it in her. This is the faith that moves mountains; all things are possible if we but believe.

Reversed, the card points to lack of moral fibre – cowardice. If you don't believe in yourself, who will believe in you – and what can you believe in?

The other extreme is abuse of strength. Most strong men are gentle. If you are secure in the knowledge of your own power, you have no need to keep proving yourself by being aggressive. Aggressive people lack inner strength; they are afraid that if the other party gets in the first blow, they will be destroyed. "Do unto others before they can do unto you" is their motto.

7. The Chariot

Up – Control, Success by own efforts. Active, effective control. Balanced, firm controlling of diverse factors – "pulling together what is trying to fly apart."

Reversed – Ruthlessness, collapse of plans, losing what you thought was within your grasp.

The Charioteer must exercise constant vigilance over the beasts drawing the chariot. They naturally want to pull apart, but he compels them to do his bidding by force of his superior will. Left to themselves, they would cause disaster, so he cannot afford to relax and let things ride: meanwhile, he is on top of the situation, he has earned his success. This card is about being in control and constantly alert – the Charioteer must constantly watch the road ahead and take appropriate action.

Reversed, there are two extremes. Either the Charioteer fails to appreciate that others have a right to be on the road and becomes a road hog, or else he loses his grip. If he loses control, it will be difficult to regain and the Chariot will be overturned, with breathtaking suddenness. It may be, then, that the Charioteer will blame everyone else for his failure.

6. The Lovers

Up – Choice. Intuition can help.

A love affair implies a choice. Fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A test. Responsibility for one's actions.

Reversed – Moral lapse. Wrong choice. Failure to meet the test. Less a wrong choice than a refusal to choose.

The Lovers is about choice. The Fool has many options open to him, but the choice shown by the Lovers is more defined. It is, basically, the choice between growing up – taking responsibility, becoming an adult, marrying- or remaining a child, becoming a "mother's boy". Adam became a man, rather than remaining a trusting puppet, by eating the fruit of the tree. He could have chosen not to eat the fruit and remained a creature of instinct and innocence – a baby.

A man chooses a wife. Life is not guaranteed to be happy. He and his wife will certainly quarrel. Nevertheless, he has chosen to stand on its own two feet.

Reversed, The Lovers is a wrong choice, a refusal to grow by recognising that it is time to put away childish things, and so, by passiveness, the choice is made. It's like stopping a car by taking your foot off the accelerator rather than by pressing the brake; a negative, unsatisfactory solution.

5. The Hierophant.

Up- Orthodoxy, conformity. "The Vicar".

Believer in tradition. Not an original thinker, but sound and well-meaning. A comforter.

Reversed, unconventionality. Misinformation. "Throwing out the baby with the bathwater." Reactionary; the Inquisition.

This is "The Vicar."

He is gentle and compassionate, but slightly "square". You wouldn't expect revolutionary, earth-shattering revelations from him; in fact, you'd feel uncomfortable if you got them. All the same, he is a source of comfort when in trouble, a good and selfless friend. He is a persuader, not a compeller, and if he dislikes what you are doing, he will pray for you, not fight you. Sooner or later, we all need him. His outlook is orthodox and kind; he is moderately open-minded.

Reversed, he is the cult leader. He is unorthodox, the False Prophet; he tells his followers what he thinks they should know. Otherwise, he is a believer in Modernity; the past made mistakes so let it go! Unfortunately, he often discards valid concepts, throws out the baby with the bathwater.

The other extreme is the Reactionary, ultra-orthodox person who hates the new and is unwilling to consider that any new thought can be – the Inquisition, stamping out heresy.