The decipherment of the HERMIT card:

The Hermit card is a representation of the constellation Ophiuchus in its Christian form as Saint Benedict, the great physician. In the earlier Roman, Greek and Pre-Hellenic star myths, Ophiuchus symbolized the defeat of evil. Ophiuchus is the messenger of light who treads upon the scorpion (Scorpio) and wrestels with the serpent. (Serpens Caput and Serpens Cauda are one serpent.) Ophiuchus was a medicine man of ancient times.

Snakes had special powers of healing and knew magic secrets, such as what herbs were necessary for curing a disease. In a sense, Ophiuchus was a snake charmer, for he was able to obtain the secrets of healing from the snake. That is why he is seen wrestling with a snake on star maps. The snake itself was worshipped by ancient snake cults which thrived in early times and continued to be revered by the conquering peoples who took over the shrines and worship. Spirits of the deseased were thought to be seen in snakes.

Hebrew mythology places a great significance on the snake or serpent which offers the knowledge of good and evil in the form of a fruit to Eve. The snake was a symbol of wisdom, but was merciless to those who forgot to pay homage to its reptilian form. The snake could withhold rain, light and fertility unless the worshipers offered sacrifice or somehow through force or cunning could make the serpent yield up the fruits that it guarded.

The Greeks saw the stars of Ophiuchus as Asclepius, son of Apollo and Arsinoe, the Greek god of healing whom the Romans called Aesculapius. The Christian star map makers placed Saint Benedict, the hermit and physician of the fifth century over the stars of Ophiuchus. He gained fame across Europe for his miraculous powers of curing sickness, reading minds, foretelling the future and raising the dead to life again. He was the founder of hermitages and religious retreats. He prescribed a life of prayer, study of sacred scripture, hard work, and communal living for the monks who were taught by the example of his deeds. He was a psychic. In a great vision he saw the entire world as in a sunbeam of the light of God.