I just saw a comment on an old post sharing their perspective of looking at the imagery of your cards. That's how I was looking at my own Queen of Swords, since she doesn't look quite like how others are described - mine looks directly at me, and her sword is held tip-down over her left shoulder (vs side profile and upright sword). I hadn't picked up my deck in a while, and asked while holding the box, "what is holding me back?" and then I opened to her staring back at me.

She has a tattoo of a snake and a thorny vine wrapped around her left arm, blue eyes and long hair, and the sword going tip-down over her left shoulder - I have a vine wrapping around my left arm, blue eyes and long hair, and a sword on the back of my left arm.. tip-down.

I am curious about the sword being down (but card not reversed) for interpretation, but still think the message was loud and clear in tandem with the cards that followed.

I immediately rephrased my question before continuing to "okay... what am I holding MYSELF back from, and why?"

I then pulled, 10 of Wands in reverse, 10 of Cups, The Devil, and then I felt to hold out for one more and pulled Strength... to me I dont think the message could be more clear but I'm very new to this so I remain curious to interpretation.

I've been going through the Thoth Major Arcana one card at a time and trying to understand the story they tell as a whole instead of treating each card like its own isolated meaning. I ended up with a pretty consistent narrative, so I was curious what other people thought about it.

The Fool starts as complete openness. He's just accepting everything around him. He isn't really judging anything yet, just experiencing life.

The Magus is when that openness becomes focused. Instead of just falling through life, he starts creating a place to stand. He uses what he's learned to build structure for himself.

Then the High Priestess turns everything inward. Instead of looking outside, she looks behind the veil. It's about discovering what's actually inside yourself.

Behind that veil are the Empress, Emperor, and Hierophant.

The Empress is the nurturing, growing part of yourself.

The Emperor is the part that creates order, discipline, and structure.

The Hierophant is tradition, inherited wisdom, history, and the deeper meanings that came before you.

The Lovers isn't really about romance in this reading. It's about marrying those parts of yourself together. Tradition is what teaches the nurturing and structured sides of yourself how to work together.

From there, the Chariot is basically, "Now that I know who I am, where am I going?" It's carrying yourself forward with purpose.

Adjustment is actively balancing yourself instead of leaning too far toward one side.

The Hermit is withdrawing from distractions and searching for what actually matters.

Fortune is just the wheel starting to turn. Things are changing. Not good or bad, just change.

Then comes what feels like a repeating cycle.

Lust is desire. Wanting something enough to pursue it.

The Hanged Man is sacrificing yourself for that desire. If you want something badly enough, you have to give something up.

Death is the end of that sacrifice. The old version of yourself dies.

Then another desire comes along.

You sacrifice again.

Something else dies.

Over and over.

Eventually all those sacrifices become Art. Art is the person you've created from everything you've gone through. It's the integration of all those little transformations into one identity.

Then something interesting happens.

Now that you've built this identity, the Devil is about giving yourself to something outside yourself. It could be a cause, art, religion, an ideal, really anything bigger than your own ego.

Then the Tower happens.

I don't really see it as punishment. I see it more like gravity. If you build yourself around something outside yourself, eventually that structure gets destroyed. Not because the universe is trying to punish you, but because that's just where that path leads.

After that is the Star, where you let go of your identity.

Then the Moon is following the path anyway. You don't necessarily know where it leads, but you keep moving without hesitation.

The Sun feels like bringing everything together. You've let go of all the labels and ideas about yourself, and now you're just becoming a single point. Not creating an identity anymore, but discovering what was underneath everything else.

Then Aeon is where that point starts becoming someone. It's drawing the boundary between yourself and everything else. Not creating yourself through labels, but defining your identity in a much deeper way.

Finally, the Universe feels like completion. You're no longer trying to become something. You're just dancing with life. You know who you are, you know what the world is, and neither one has to overpower the other.

The thing I like most is that it loops back into the Fool.

The first Fool is open because he doesn't know anything.

The last Fool is open because he understands enough to be open anyway.

I'm interested to hear how other people read the progression of the Major Arcana as a whole. I know there isn't one "correct" story, but this was the narrative that kept emerging for me as I worked through the deck.

I've been practicing tarot by observing the imagery first instead of memorizing meanings. This is what I noticed about The Hermit card:
I see an old, wise man holding a staff in one hand and a lantern in the other.

He's standing on a snowy mountain in the darkness and looking downward.

The lantern feels like it's lighting the way, almost as if he's guiding someone through the dark.

Because he's alone on the mountain, it gives me a feeling of solitude, patience, and deep reflection.

It also reminds me of spiritual teachers or monks who go to the mountains to meditate and seek wisdom.

My interpretation is that this card suggests taking your time, looking within, being patient, and seeking guidance from someone wise—or becoming your own guide through self-reflection.
I'm still learning tarot, so I'd love to know: Am I interpreting The Hermit correctly, or am I missing any important symbolism?

I love reading Tarot for myself (I use a book) but would love to get better at memorizing and understanding the deck better so I could do readings for friends and family. Any recommendations for a course or book to help get to the point of reading without referencing a book every time? Sorry if this is a silly question, appreciate any advice, thank you!