F ollowing either the balance of the Justice card or the grounding force of the Strength, the Fool journeys onward to encounter a literal and pivotal turning point on the path. This card is potentially one of, if not the most important card in its possible connection to the spiritual aspect of the tarot as a system of hidden, esoteric knowledge. The Hanged Man first appears as an upsetting image to most, but he is actually quite peaceful—perhaps the hanging is a choice to follow the clarity, determination, and balance of Strength (Justice) before moving into Death.
At number twelve on the path, the Hanged Man is connected to the numbers 1, 2, and 3 (1 + 2) connecting this image to the Magician, the High Priestess, and the Empress, a powerful trio! Within the Hanged Man we have the energy and potency of intention found in the Magician; the dreaming intuition and guardian of the threshold as the High Priestess; and the creative, patient, diligent approach of the Empress. Together, these qualities infuse the central card of the path, as the Hanged Man appears just over the crest of the middle part of our major arcana journey.
The Hanged Man evokes a strange quality that feels ominous or heavy, yet the wisdom of the card is more about stillness and quiet reflection. Hanging above the ground or water, he is literally doing a 180 view and turning the situation entirely upside down. This card is similar to the Hermit in its invitation to retreat and take stock of a situation in life, but to do so in a state that can be uncomfortable and completely out of our usual way of thinking. The Hanged Man reminds us that the situation we are facing cannot be resolved or understood fully in the present moment and requires not only stepping out of the box, but removing it completely in order to move forward.
In 78 Degrees of Wisdom, author Rachel Pollack speculates that the strange shape of the Hanged Man’s body signifies a deeper and more esoteric meaning than seeking out an upside-down perspective (Pollack, 1997). Most of the cards illustrate archetypes reminiscent of the times in which they became popular: kings, queens, emperors, the pope, chariots, and so on are inspired by medieval and Renaissance days, symbols and qualities of the 1500s. However, the Hanged Man imagery has older roots and is perhaps an image of initiatory practices of ancient cultures. Some historians have drawn connections between the Hanged Man and the myth of Odin in which he hung upside down for nine nights to receive enlightenment and the gift of prophecy.
Spiritually, this card indicates an initiatory experience of passing through a threshold. As in previous cards, we consider the sequence of cards that have come before the Hanged Man, and then specifically Strength (Justice) preceding, which has empowered us on the journey to handle this card’s advanced initiations and undertaking. Followed by the Death card, we know that the energy of the Hanged Man is longing for a complete change and transformation in our life, one that is born out of stillness and reflection. He is literally hanging, not only upside down, but also in the middle of our major arcana journey.
Pollack goes on to discuss the possible connection between the Kabbalah, occult knowledge, and the tarot. Curiously, nothing was written about the connection between these two ancient systems until the nineteenth century, when it became a major point of interest for esoteric societies including the Order of the Golden Dawn. It is interesting to note that the Kabbalah uses the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet along the paths of the Tree of Life. Occultists such as Crowley drew connections between the Hebrew letters, the Tree of Life paths, and the twenty-two major arcana cards—the precision of the two systems mirroring each other is uncanny. Although this connection is drawn by modern occultists, it is important to note that Kabbalah is associated with ancient Jewish mysticism; traditional practitioners may disagree with this noted connection. Others may even believe it is appropriative to use the Kabbalah in a form that is outside the Jewish religion. I thus recommend readers tread lightly and do their own research.
With the Hanged Man offering an imagery that is perhaps ancient and not necessarily a depiction of medieval life, we cannot help but surmise the potential of the tarot cards to be not just a system of divination but a map of enlightenment (Pollack, 1997). On a physiological note, hanging upside down has a direct effect on the blood flow to the brain, bringing new awareness to our mind. In every moment we have the opportunity to shape our own neural circuitry. According to Harvard brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor, ninety seconds is all it takes to notice the appearance of an emotion and allow it to dissipate (Taylor, 2006). The brain chemically produces our intense emotions of anger, fear, sorrow, excitement, and joy for only ninety seconds! That’s it! The rest of the time spent fuming, weeping, anticipating, and worrying is our hardwired looping neurons that have created a story to keep a feeling afloat. What might happen if we allow that feeling to arise and then dissolve without looping the story? Can we catch ourselves in a story and do something deliberate to alter the loop? This takes focused effort to retrain the brain and uses creative thought patterning to build new neural pathways.
In the Waite-Smith imagery, a man hangs upside down from a wooden T-shaped post. His right leg is strapped to the post and the left crosses behind the right leg’s knee to form a symbol of the crossroads. His arms rest behind him, evoking a sense of presence in his stillness. The blue shirt is the color of the sky and the red tights symbolize the earth and the ground, or rootedness, thus bringing the sky down and the earth up. His head is illuminated by a golden halo, a symbol of enlightenment. The answers to our questions lie in the still, reflective self when we are thinking outside the box; only then does illumination appear.
In the Crowley deck, the Hanged Man is in the same position, hanging upside down; however, his arms are extended and nailed to two pale blue disks, evoking a more intense connection to crucifixion or sacrifice. There are two snakes in the image, one at his extended foot and the other above (below) his head symbolizing powerful transformation, shedding the skin, and rebirth. The left foot is connected to the ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life and the merging of masculine and feminine energies. The colors of white and pale blue and green permeate the image, giving it a soothing or healing quality that again reminds us of stillness, quiet, and the implacable power of centering.
When the Hanged Man appears in a reading, it indicates a time for a completely new way of looking at things. This card advises against taking action in a situation but instead waiting until a new perspective that is arising becomes more clear. Sometimes solutions are found in stillness and, as indicated by the Hanged Man, are usually completely different than anything we are thinking of now. The advice of the Hanged Man is to literally do the exact opposite of what you are doing or think you should be doing.
Essential Qualities: new thought, upside down, reflection, stillness, deconditioning, hanging around, inversion, out of the box, wonder, deconstructing, initiation
Suggestions: Hang upside down or do an inversion. Do a headstand or a handstand if you can! Turn your body around and be open to a whole new view on life. Practice doing a one-eighty in both body and mind. Pay attention to your thoughts. Meditate in the morning and direct your intentions for the day. Make deliberate choices to bring your awareness, thoughts, and mind back into a stream of love, acceptance, joy, and happiness. See if you can creatively create a new neural pathway or two.
Considering Reversals
This book does not include reversals or opposite meanings mainly because I do not use them in my practice. I view the cards as both positive and negative and am more interested in how the general energy of the card shows up in life and what can be done with that energy. How can we embody it more fully? What are the patterns emerging? That said, I do encourage readers to work on using reversals for some time and consider whether they might be brought into their own tarot practice.
If working with reversals interests you, use the Hermit one card layout approach to practice narrowing your focus. The traditional method of working with reversals is to read the opposite meaning of the card. For example, the Tower, which is generally destructive and chaotic, may indicate things coming back together or a restoration of harmony. Another view is that the reversals indicate a more internal process at work with the card and upright is the external or conscious view. A helpful resource for working with reversals is The Complete Book of Tarot Reversals by Mary K. Greer.
Hanged Man Layout: Reclaiming Initiation
This layout is designed to help uncover the deeper reasons behind a traumatic event. If we are to look at difficult situations from our past and attempt to understand them as initiations into power, love, and wisdom we can make sense of our soul journey. For this layout, you may want to separate out the major arcana cards to deepen the understanding in relation to archetypal forces. Using the full deck works as well. Decide on an event such as a loss, breakup, divorce, unexpected disaster, or another troubling event that was particularly difficult for you. However, if this is new work for you, choose something that was difficult in your life but not necessarily traumatic. Be mindful that any work which looks at difficult situations is bound to bring up complicated responses. Having a support friend, network, or counselor can help to navigate the process. As you concentrate on this issue, open your heart to receive guidance from a different aspect of yourself, a part that can view things from a completely alternative perspective. Using the upside-down stillness of the Hanged Man as our guide, we can take steps to recover, reclaim, and heal the past.
• Card 1: Querent
• Card 2: Wound: the painful past influences of the issue, what needed to be learned or resolved
• Card 3: Central issue or heart of the matter
• Card 4: Sacrifice: something that you gave up, that was surrendered in the initiatory process
• Card 5: Gain: what was learned or mastered from this process
• Card 6: Gift: the lesson that has become a teaching for your path; the wisdom that arose from the wound