2025: The Year of The Hermit - Year in Review

Did you know that if you add the digits of the year together, the number we get corresponds to a tarot card that represents the undercurrent of the collective energy for the year? For this year, if we add 2+0+2+5 together, we get 9. This number corresponds to The Hermit, and at the start of this year, I wrote this post about it. But tarot is useful for more than just looking ahead. It’s also a useful tool for looking back. In particular, if you read tarot, looking at the cards in a reflective way like this can certainly be a great way to further develop your understanding of the cards.

So. Year of The Hermit. What did we expect? Well, The Hermit is a card of introspection, self-reflection, personal journeys and spending time alone. This meant that, at the beginning of the year, the expectation was a prioritisation of the self, a deeper understanding of the self and a withdrawal from ‘always available’ culture. On the less favourable side, we could expect to see loneliness and obsessive navel-gazing. You can read the full breakdown here.

And how exactly did this energy appear in our lives over the course of the year?

The Loneliness Epidemic

Let’s get a hard one out of the way first, shall we? The evidence of the epidemic of loneliness in society has certainly come to the forefront this year. Early this year, the ONS reported that approximately 1 in 4 adults ‘always’, ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ felt lonely. According to more recent data, up to 65% of young adults across the UK feel lonely, and there was recent US data that 40% of Americans over age 45 reported loneliness. This is already a lot of data, but very recently, Age UK highlighted estimates suggesting over 1.5 million older people will likely be spending their Christmas Day alone. Another 1.5 million ‘might’ be, and around 700,000 will not speak to anyone that day.

Now, I know all of that data sounds really depressing, but hear me out for a second. At the start of the year, I highlighted the fact that awareness of problems is the first step in resolving them. The striking data around the loneliness of our society is more evident than ever before, and so perhaps, as we enter into 2026, a year primed with the collective energy for change (Hello, Wheel of Fortune!), perhaps a difference can really be made.

The Hermit’s Journey

When we look at The Hermit card, we can see that he is on a journey. The lantern lights his way, the staff supports him as he walks. We interpret this as a long, slow, intentional journey inward. It is a journey to deeper understanding of the self - even if we have to travel through the dark to get there. And so, I have been very surprised to find this materialise in quite literal movement this year.

On a personal level, I moved down to the South Coast this year, a completely unexpected and massive change that fulfilled a long-held dream of mine. But I’m not the only one. People all around me seem to have either moved this year, or are setting the wheels in motion to do so. And though there hasn’t necessarily been a marked increase in house moves this year, statistically speaking, what the data does show is that a much higher number of people moved further afield than usual. Half of all house moves in the UK were to a different local authority and over 20% were to a different region entirely.

And this reflects the key part of all this movement. It’s not the movement itself that embodies The Hermit’s wisdom, it is movement with purpose - movement that seeks to bring us into alignment with who we truly are. This can look like moving to the place you feel most at home, even if it’s far away (like me), but it could also look like, moving to live nearer to loved ones or to finally get on the property ladder, or to improve quality of life by reducing living costs or travel time. On the less positive side of the spectrum, separations can lead to the same result, and while the reasoning is painful, these moves bring us into a state of independence and peace, away from negative energy and tensions, so that we can move forward.

Notice that, in all of these circumstances, whether we were ‘pushed’ or made a conscious decision, the motivations are deeply personal, with a goal to improve, live in greater alignment and increase peace. Materialistic, social climbing or more traditional/conventional motivations are not what we’re talking about.

And so, this means that it may not have been a change in location that punctuated your year. Instead, perhaps it was a job change, or a business reset or a relationship shift. Whatever it is, the collective energy is the same. We might just get that epiphany moment. That realisation. Why am I doing this? Who am I doing this for? We get so uncomfortable in our current place that we feel compelled to do something about it… and so we move… literally or metaphorically. And then a new chapter of our life can begin, one predicated on a deeper level of understanding of who we are.

Your Light in The Dark

This has been a difficult, uncomfortable and/or challenging year for many people, and so we have to acknowledge here that The Hermit’s journey is undertaken through the dark. I think most of us can recall a moment in our lives where everything felt dark, disorienting, confusing, heartbreaking or chaotic, and in that moment, we have this realisation. An epiphany dawns upon us, and it changes our path. Soon, we start to see the light in front of us.

I want to stress here that no positive end result makes pain okay, nor does it erase it. However, if you have indeed had a tough year, it’s important to consider what things were like before. Were you really happy with the way things were? Or did things need to change?

The problem is, journeying through the darkness to try and get to the other side is scary and uncertain. And so we can spend a lot of time - years even - trying to avoid the darkness. It’s almost like we’re sitting in a dark, windowless room with a light on, because turning the light off and going looking for sunlight feels like an impossible task. That dark, windowless room is still dark, even if we try to mask it. But then the bulb blows out, and we’re faced with the seemingly impossible task of finding the light again. We’re kind of forced into it, yes, but in some ways, the thing we face was somewhat inevitable.

As we sit in the darkened room, our eyes adjust, and suddenly, we’re able to pick up previously imperceptible traces of light. We couldn’t see it when we had the artificial light on. Suddenly, we know where we’re going and what we’re doing. We know our path forward. We just have to follow the light.

And you might come to realise that the light you were seeking doesn’t come from any external source. The light was inside of you all along.

This year, we may have fought through the darkness, but this is also the year we find our light.

How did The Hermit show up for you? Let me know in the comments!

And if you’d like to end the year in true Hermit style, there could not be a better time to reserve Your Year Unwrapped, my annual offering, delivered to your inbox on New Year’s Eve. The reading reflects back on the year past, while also looking at the potential of the year ahead. No gimmicky predictions. Instead, a reflective snapshot of the liminal space between one year and the next, so that you can gain closure on 2025 and start setting your intentions for 2026. There are still a few left, if you’d like to book yours.

Or perhaps you know someone who would benefit from this experience. If so, the Your Year Unwrapped Gift Certificate would make a thoughtful and unique gift that will impact them long beyond the present.