Getting Into Alignment, or Four Years as the Solopreneur of a Capricorn When You’re Not a Capricorn
Hermit’s Mirror is a Capricorn. Are you surprised?
On the surface, Hermit’s Mirror has nothing to do with Capricorn. The name derives from the Hermit card, which represents Virgo, and the Moon (both numerological 9 cards). Now I, Thomas, happen to have a Virgo Moon, but that was a fun twist of fate since I didn’t know that at the time of registering my business. That happened almost four years ago to the day, which would make it right smack in the middle of Capricorn season. My business’s sun sign is Capricorn.
And Hermit’s Mirror is such a Capricorn.
Now I, Thomas of Hermit’s Mirror, thought I was a Capricorn rising at the time, so I have some love for the sign. But I’m not actually one. I have nothing in Capricorn other than … my South Node and 6th House Cusp. Those placements and the business’s heavy Capricorn influences (Sun, Mercury, Saturn, and South Node) can make for a challenging partnership. The business can be all-consuming.
That’s true of any sole proprietorship. But it’s astrologically reinforced for me because the South Node represents where we fall back on tried and true skillsets, our crutches and safety nets. And the 6th House is related to work, especially tasks and busy work, among other things). These are not growth areas, and when you’re a Virgo Moon who finds comfort in those same 6th House areas of busy work, it’s very easy to lose yourself in work. It’s easy to lose sight of yourself in the work too. That’s why it’s so important to me to focus on alignment in coaching.
There are a lot of convenient synchronicities between my business’s natal chart and my personal chart—all of which are the whims of Fate, not planning—but we are very different entities. That’s hard when you’re a solopreneur (a “one-man show” as I think of myself) because you are the business. The business is you. There’s no one else making things happen in the background. So when the stars are aligned for your business but not for you, it can be hard to take advantage of the astrological goodness.
Of course, sometimes we’re in complementary seasons. For 2023, I’m in my personal Temperance Year, trying to play time-traveler while staying healthy, and the business is shining as the Star. That’s certainly a better place to be in tarot-year terms than 2022 was with Death and the Tower (also complementary cards but in the other direction).
But when things are out of alignment for you personally, there’s not a lot you can do to force things back on track. You can work harder and be more disciplined despite, but you’re naturally more easily distracted and often unfocused and regularly in need of a break. I’ve certainly tried to overcome those obstacles in alignment. And I can tell you from experience that you’ll probably burn yourself out. I find comfort in staying busy and fiddling (Hi, Virgo Moon!), so when I’m in a personal Tower moment and things start crumbling, I am more than happy to lose myself in my work. But being busy is not the same thing as being productive. And being productive is not the same thing as producing work of quality and purpose that is aligned with where you are in life.
Because we’re in a Mercury retrograde, it’s a good time to reflect on what Hermit’s Mirror is, how it is, and why it is. It’s not a bad time for Thomas (or you, dear reader) to reflect on those same things on a personal level. If you’re the sole proprietor of a business or the visionary leader for some other personal creation, this gets tricky. There’s business and then there’s personal.
Where’s the line between what you, the human, do and what the business does? What’s your purpose? What is its? And importantly, why do you invest so much of yourself into this business? There are many more questions I could ask. Trust that I have asked those questions. And as a result, I know where we align and where we diverge (most of the time).
If you’re a solopreneur, creative visionary, or leader of some external project, these three questions—what is my purpose, what is its purpose, and why do I invest so much into this work—are the big three. There are a lot of ways to answer that, but let’s look at some tarot numerology and astrology.
When I created the name Hermit’s Mirror, I was inspired by the Hermit and Moon cards of the tarot as symbols of my Life Path and Destiny number (both are 9). Both offer light in the dark, revealing things in strange and unexpected ways. Have you ever looked at your reflection in moonlight? What about the face of your beloved? You can sometimes glimpse other lives in that light. Shadows fall differently. Features shift. Another self is revealed.
That shift of possibility, of a doorway opening in the moonlight, is where the magic happens for me as Thomas.
Whether it’s the ghost of a past life, an ancestral blessing (or some baggage), or shadows ready to be brought into the light, there’s something magical happening in that liminal night light. There’s something magical and something deeply healing. I’m happiest working in those spaces, when light lifts the darkness. When the clouds part and the moon shines bright? It’s as if a veil has lifted. When your eyes adjust to pitch-black midnight to see an endless river of stars? It’s time to travel into your other lives, lives that have been and lives that could be.
Who wouldn’t want to take that journey?
Honestly, a lot of people would not want to take that journey. It’s terrifying. The sublime is beautiful, but it is also a reminder of the limits of mortality. Who in their right mind embraces that experience whole-heartedly?
Hermit’s Mirror offers clarity and focus to that mission when we’re in alignment. The business entity and I exist in tension, but from that comes something new and better. It grounds my spiritual questing. And I redefine its ambitiousness. As Thomas of Hermit’s Mirror, I provide practical ways to undertake those big, often scary journeys.
That’s because the business Hermit’s Mirror is a Life Path 4 (13) and Destiny number 3. That’s very different from the hermity 9. Of all the humanoid major arcana, the Emperor (4) and Empress (3) are about as far removed from the Hermit (9) as you can get. In a traditional sense, they exist solely in relation to the people they rule and property they own. The Hermit is alone and owns nothing. And outside of tarot ties, the combination of 4 + 3 in numerology can reinforce Hermit’s Mirror’s Capricorn vibes by being based in the material world and in wanting recognition from others.
So what does the Hermit working through Capricornian Emperor/Empress energy do in this situation? This Hermit is going to guide you to the path that leads up the mountaintop. You’re going to climb, like Capricorn, to that summit. And I’m going to help you do it. What’s at the top of that mountaintop? The Emperor’s throne of course.
As you imagine it, that throne can represent anything. And it’s probably something you’ve wanted to dream into being, but you haven’t felt you really could. Maybe you didn’t think you deserved it. Or maybe it just seemed too big or too out there. As Thomas of Hermit Mirror’s, I’m going to open the door for you so that you can dare to climb that mountain. That’s why I frame my work in terms of coaching and guidance, even when we’re looking at past lives and ancestors and shadows. I want to help you get to your mountaintop. Think of me as the Mentor/Donor on your Hero’s Journey.
To get up that mountaintop, you have to put down unnecessary burdens. You need to know what to beware so that when you stumble, you don’t fall too far. And you need to rest on the way up.
It’s funny. Many of us think of a coach as a kind of drill sergeant, but before that very recent viewpoint, a coach was always a vehicle to help you get somewhere. I want to help you get where you want to go. That starts with personal soul alignment. Are you ready to imagine what’s at the top of that mountain?