The Path of the Hermit

Have you seen Harry's daughter anywhere? Short, dark hair?

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Droo
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The Path of the Hermit

Post by Droo »

I'm not sure if this has been discussed before, but I'm interested in the connection/parallels between Silent Hill and the Tarot's Major Arcana.

The Tarot are used to name the different sections of Lost Memories, and the Hermit is brought up by Dahlia in her initial meeting with Harry. She urges him to follow "The Path of the Hermit, concealed by Flauros".

So what does this mean? According to what I've read, the cycle of the Hermit which travels from arcanas 0 through 9, and then 10 to 19 is "The Magician to the Hermit; the Wheel of Fortune through The Sun. The Fool gains knowledge of the external world, meets the mysteries, finds the initial object of desire, finds mastery, finds knowledge, finds a new object of desire, leaves home, gains some strength, and withdraws for a time to integrate the lessons learned before starting on the next turn of the spiral, where the Wheel of Fortune spins us into a new adventure."

This has interesting similiarities to the events of Silent Hill 1. Harry, the Fool, gains knowledge of "The World" (Silent Hill and its two alternate planes), meets the mysteries of Silent Hill through the initial encounter with the demon children in the alleyway. He then finds the intial object of his desire through finding Cheryl's sketchbook, which sends him tot he school. There, he gains his first knowledge about the Otherworld. It could also be argued that he gains a form of combat mastery as he faces down numerous demons and survives. The new object of desire is the combined form of Alessa/Cheryl, and so on and so forth.

What, then, is important or relevant about the Hermit? "The Hermit may be the old man or woman, metaphorically, that we meet who gives us the insights or tools or training we need to confront the beasts of the forest, the sealed cave, the gated castle, the wormhole."

Technically, then, in saying this line, Dahlia is casting herself as the old woman who gives Harry the insight (informs him of the Seal) and provides him with the tool (the Flauros) with which to confront Alessa. She also refers to the Flauros as a cage of peace. The Hermit card represents a state of peace or tranquility.

Is Dahlia's self-casting as The Hermit accurate? Certainly, there seems to be a certain amount of cynical irony in her usage of the Hermit imagery, as the Hermit is supposed to be a friend and aide to the Fool. Dahlia is in actuality working against Harry's intentions, making her a perversion of the Hermit. At the same time, however, the Hermit "takes each step with a deliberate, conscious approach - knowing that each step of the journey is a small imprint upon the larger picture of his path. He does everything in this manner - each breath he takes, each word he speaks, every decision he makes is a deliberate act." Certainly this does seem to fit Dahlia's deliberate, careful planning and actions over the course of her plot to birth God.

Interestingly, some scholars interpret the Hermit as almost a Christ-like figure, and some theologists even interpret the Hermit to be Jesus Christ Himself. It's interesting that this seems to indicate that dahlia could possibly view herself not only as the Mother of God, but also as the bringer of Salvation herself. Although it is Alessa/God, and not Dahlia, who will bring about her twisted version of Paradise, Dahlia may self-indulgently view herself as the bringer of salvation.

Is the Path of the Hermit her way of cryptically saying "MY path"? Is she merely urging Harry to follow her own directions rather than his own? Upon further readings, one does find that in actual Tarot mythology the Hermit does have a Path. The Path involves removing oneself from the world as we know it and finding our true path to wisdom. Perhaps this means to separate oneself from a corrupted world and seek salvation through alternate means, as Dahlia and the rest of The Order have done. Perhaps the Path of the Hermit is Foggy Silent Hill itself. You can't get much further removed from the world as the deserted realms of FSH.

"In recognizing that each of our thoughts and actions is a brick we use to build our lives, we partake in the creation of our own reality. The Hermit has had to learn this lesson by means of distancing himself from the regular, routine world. By removing himself from the "normal" stream of societal thought, the Hermit is able to listen to the inner stirrings of his own intuition and act upon it."

Much the same way as Alessa, James, and others in the series are able to construct their own realities by removing themselves from the world.

Also, right before Dahlia brings up the Path of the Hermit, she reprimands Harry for "floundering about at random". In this way, Dahlia is acting somewhat as the Hermit, providing direction and urging Harry to look inwards for direction.

Mythology is not a subject I am incredibly well-versed in, so there may be more that I'm missing here. I just thought it would be interesting to examine this small section of dialogue for its hidden meanings. I would be happy to hear further elaborations on the subject should anyone have any.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

It's interesting that this seems to indicate that dahlia could possibly view herself not only as the Mother of God, but also as the bringer of Salvation herself. Although it is Alessa/God, and not Dahlia, who will bring about her twisted version of Paradise, Dahlia may self-indulgently view herself as the bringer of salvation.
Dahlia never once uses the word Salvation, and knows damn well what she's doing.

Otherwise, I very much like the idea.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by The Adversary »

>Dahlia never once uses the word Salvation, and knows damn well what she's doing.
To be fair, Dahlia does in the English script:

"The time is neigh. Everyone will be released from pain and suffering. Our salvation is at hand. This is the day of reckoning. When all our sorrows will be washed away. When we return to the true paradise!"

I like it, Drew. I'll have to read it again for any nit-pickery, but I wouldn't worry too much about that.
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Post by Harrys_Girl »

I can not believe I missed this. I study the Tarot, and somehow looked right over this. Hell, the Hermit is my personnal card.

The Hermit is a strange card, Trump 9 of the Major Arcana. The image is of an older man or woman, standing isolated on a snowy mountain peak, holding a lantern, the light of knowledge (Typically, a six-pointed star, the Seal of Solomon, with in the lamp.) in one hand and usually a patriarch/ matriarch's staff in the other to use on the narrow path of initiation. His cloak is the mantle of discretion.
After Strength, which is the card of Womanly strength, charisma, and a control over the animal within. The Hermit is before The Wheel of Fortune, which is representative of situations, not people more often than not, something that has been put into motion, over which you have no control.
Also as Trump 9 it has a power in that number. The number 9 is the number of pure intellect; also the number of initiation, because it is the trinity of trinities.
So if put simply, after gaining control over your animal instincts, i.e. fear, you gain wisdom to navagate you path through a situation you can not control.

Just a little more info on the Hermit for you, Drewfus. I like the thought you put into it.
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Post by vavelva »

I am not really into fortune telling cards (Too dangerous), but i just thought that dahlia was speaking psycho babble.... i thought she was crazy to begin with, especially after lisa mentioned she was crazy
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Post by Harrys_Girl »

^Too dangerous? Using cards is one of the safest methods to use. It was one of the first things I learned.

And of course Dahila is crazy, she sacrafised her own kid. Not many sane people go through with their fanatsies of inflicting pain on their kids.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

How is divining with cards dangerous? Papercuts? It's not like a demon's gonna jump out of the picture and bite your face off.

And yea, Dahlia is crazy, but she's not incoherent. Her words DO mean something.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Harrys_Girl »

Papercuts?
Never thought about that. I should be more careful next time I do a reading.
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Post by Droo »

Some people believe that using the Tarut is indulging in witchcraft, and therefore places your mortal soul in danger. It's a fundamentalist Christian position that fortune telling is evil. So is using the Ouija.
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Some people believe that using the Tarut is indulging in witchcraft, and therefore places your mortal soul in danger. It's a fundamentalist Christian position that fortune telling is evil. So is using the Ouija.
Some people also believe that evolution is a lie or that the Earth is flat (Seriously!!), doesn't mean they're right.
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by Harrys_Girl »

^Next your gonna tell me Santa isn't real, huh?
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Post by AuraTwilight »

Pfft, no of course not. Santa is clearly real. Who else gives the presents and eats the cookies?
[quote="BlackFire2"]I thought he meant the special powers of her vagina.[/quote]
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Post by AdjectiveRyan »

intriguing thoughts. when l hear the word hermit, l always think anti-social and eyes wide shut (not the movie). l guess in a sense that could mean that the hermit has taken the oppurtunity to educate themselves beyond all reason causing instant seduction to their will when speaking. l don't know if you could go so far as to call harry a fool. l'd say he'd be more the warrior type (know nothing about tarot, maybe some card that is similar to a warrior.) just because he's duped into doing dahlia's bidding by no means makes him a fool. just weaker-minded than that bitch (is there a bitch card in tarot?)
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Post by paladin181 »

They are actually referencing the cards used in the end of SH3 in this discussion, as those cards are used to tell the story of "Heather". In this case, Harry would be the Fool.
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Post by Droo »

And I'm saying the fact that they bring up the cards in SH3 makes Dahlia's Hermit remark undoubtedly about the Hermit Arcana.

Saying Harry is the Fool does not make Harry a fool. The Fool Arcana simply represents an individual who starts out with little to no knowledge of the World. Harry starts out not knowing anything about the dark underside of reality and the Gods of Silent Hill. He ultimately ends up with a deep and intimate knowledge of this, making his journey similar to that of the Fool in the Tarot.
"Oh yeah, I've been here before
I can see it with eyes closed
Shadows that look like blood
Dead as far as the mind goes
Fear that comes from my head
Lives in the mirror"
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Post by AdjectiveRyan »

okay. now I get it. I guees I'd be the fool at this point...simply because I don't know that much. but I'm learning a little. no one's gonna take my daughter now, right?
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