A FOUND "HANGED MAN"

Old photo on the blog The Boat Lullabies

Wow, I just love finding Tarot images in odd places! (Though technically I did not find this Hanged Man, a friend emailed it to me knowing my Tarot-mania. Thanks, oino.) The blog does not go into anything about the photo, but I seriously doubt it was taken as a Hanged Man Tarot card.

What I love even more is the synchronicity these Tarot images found in odd places often radiate. I just included The Hanged Man in the UFO deck in my previous post and in my response to a comment a visitor left to that post, I talked a bit about The Hanged Man. Especially referencing how the UFO deck XII version shares a somewhat unusual slant on this card in that the surrender appears to be involuntary. Whereas, in my understandings of this card the surrender tends to be voluntary. In looking at the above photo, I tend to think it's a voluntary surrender as well. Of course, someone could have slung him up there against his will; just as in the UFO version that figure could be giving over to the suspension voluntarily. But ultimately what this all says to me personally is that right now (1) The Hanged Man is active in my life in a big way, and (2) that this issue of volition is an important one to be aware of. E.g., is any given instance in which I "surrender" actually to my own High Self's guidance, say, or am I justifying slipping into old people pleasing behavior?

Another message from The Hanged Man is to keep suspending judgments. That came to me now as I was typing this post. I tend to jump to conclusions to relieve any suspension (i.e. the suspense of not knowing) that I find hard to tolerate.

I just "heard" another message from The Hanged Man. That I am in one particular and very intimate way, suspending, i.e. holding back out of a bit of fear. I'll need to look at this one more closely, but I suspect just acknowledging that fear and figuring out the need beneath it will ease the situation.

By the way, I don't share these illustrations from my own life because I think they are insights others may find valuable. But because the way in which I come to them illustrates my basic approach to Tarot (along with intuition and the more traditional meanings): seeing how these images resonate with, reflect upon, amplify, inform, etc. the present. Even in the years when I was reading professionally for others, this was part of my approach.

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‘til next time, keep responding to High Self's prompts and enjoying The Tarot,

[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems.****

THE HANGED WOMAN in The Animals Divine Tarot

The Hanged Woman, "Spider Woman," in The Animals Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt

As much work as I am doing, there is still so much more that simply has to wait on further information or on other things first being in place as I prepare to move cross country. I've never been very good at being patient, especially as the longer I wait the more anxious I get and I'm a rather anxious person to begin with. So yesterday I did some magic affirming that I am not anxious and am waiting patiently for as long as need be, then got on with what I can be doing now. This morning it occurred to me that this is a time of The Hanged One for me (or Man, or Woman, or Person, depending on the deck you are thinking of).

When I went to my image library for a Hanged Man card to accompany this post, the one above really grabbed my attention. I began to see that the times when we are feeling suspended (delayed, having to wait, anxious) are the times when The God/dess is spinning something new for us, while holding us safely in the web of the old. And I recalled an anonymous quote I had recently unearthed in weeding out my files: "Things work out in the end. If they haven't worked out, it's not the end." :-D

As ever, I hope you visit the Animals Divine Tarot site (link above under the graphic) to view Lisa Hunt's extraordinary deck.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry and Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka).****

THE HANGED MAN (XII)

TODAY’S CARD is The Hanged Man. This version is The Hanging Man from The New Tarot for the Aquarian Age (a/k/a The Reverse Tarot) by John Starr Cooke:



For comparison, here’s The Hanged Man in the Rider/ Waite/ Smith deck:



THE HANGED MAN:

In addressing The Devil in my last post I was drawn to get out The Reverse Tarot, my first deck ever (published in 1969). After going through the deck, I chose The Hanging Man for today because it has always puzzled me, even more than many of the dense and intriguing images in the Reverse Tarot. I quote from the book accompanying this deck as the design is different enough from the more traditional Hanged Man to deserve some exploration:

“As the Hanged Man was trapped physically, [The Hanging Man] is trapped morally and he is weighed down by the two figures dangling by his outstretched arms. ... He must drop the ego illusion that he is indispensable to others. .... The Hanging state awaits the redemption of the act.... The Hanging Man represents the Christ state. This involves the balancing of all opposites by permitting all to flow through him. .... Between earth and sky, matter and spirit, the Hanging Man stands not only as a balancer but as a bridge, a mediator, and by this very token a sacrifice. The redemption lies in the effort to bridge, reconcile and bring together the seeming opposites. .... As an observer or witness, the Hanging Man is weighted down by these two principal enacters [the two hanging people/polarities] within his own mind-projection stating the law of opposites. He weeps since he can seemingly do nothing to resolve their plight. He knows infinite consciousness and infinite unconsciousness simultaneously yet cannot move forward until the male and female sides of his own projection are going in the same direction, no longer divided, but in the harmony of Unity. Unity alone produces redemption ..... He awaits his place in the heavens, but he knows he shall never attain it until every living entity is redeemed. Redemption is a universal act. ... But the responsibility is first of all to Self – for only thus can universal redemption be accomplished."

The above is not all that was “shaken out of the tree” by my previous post on The Devil. Cooke, the designer of The Reverse Tarot, also designed a triple deck set, “The Word of One Tarot,” and I felt compelled to pull out this set, as well (published in 1992). The decks address three different levels of the development of consciousness – from Atlantean, to Gypsy/Medieval, to The Aquarian Age. (The deck for the Aquarian age in this triple set is the complete Reverse Tarot plus one additional Major, The Wanderer; the other two are original decks by Cooke with the Majors only.) I may devote a post in the future to this triple set, and share the results of a reading I did for myself with it last night.

DIFFERENT TAKES ON THE HANGED MAN:

Many years ago, I read that adopting the posture of a figure on a card can deepen one’s relationship to it. And, yes, back then I managed to get myself upside down against the wall. That was quite a rush, one I’d not had in a great many years, and all that readjustment of perception! This generated an insight into The Hanged Man for me: You need to shake your viewpoint up. It is your perception that needs changing, not the situation.

You are hung-up on this issue. Give it a rest and come back to it later.

Someone is not to be trusted. They may “hang you up” or “out to dry,” or leave you to “blow in the wind.”

Action delayed too long.

Preoccupation with money or material things.

Your conscious “hang-ups” at this time make action risky or improbable.

Some situation is about to turn upside down.

Be prepared to fall “head over heels” for someone or some area of endeavor.

Try suspending your own feelings/thoughts on this matter. It could make room for higher wisdom.

You need a vacation, either literally or metaphorically. Relax.

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Resource: Review of the Word of One Tarot, with images from the Reverse Tarot and a link to images from the Atlantean and Gypsy/Medieval decks, too.

Please see the top of the sidebar for my background with the Tarot and a recommendation to beginners.

‘til next time, keep seeking unity and enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for some articles about Tarot.****