View Full Version : Gilded Study - the Hanging Man
I was playing with my Gilded deck today and got so into this card.
Notice first that he is the HangING Man not the HangED Man.
His whole attitude makes clear that he is hanging upside down on his own volition. If you look closely, the chain binding his leg is loose. He could easily get out of this situation.
Both his costume and pose are similar to the acrobats in Circe du Soleil.
I know this is a bit far fetched, but as I studied the card, I was reminded of the scene in The Empire Strikes Back where Luke Skywalker leaps down the chute to get away from Darth Vader and ends up hanging upside down at the very tip of Cloud City. The Gilded's Hanging Man recalls that sort of courage. Usually I think of the HM as a much more passive card.
Hi Wizzle,
I've just got this card out to have a look - my Gilded only came yesterday so I'm still getting to know it.
I see what you mean, he does look pretty animated. The Hanged Man usually just hangs there, pretty resigned to the fact that he's hanging. This Hanging Man looks like he's ready to move on, his foot is pushed against the wheel and he's looking to his left - maybe to his future.
I like this card it shows an aspect of the Hanging Man that you don't see very often, the fact that after the self-sacrifice you can move on, nothing stops the same forever, things move on.
Very acrobati and the character seems to move. But there is calm that come from this card. I like the background and the colors.
Turned upside down, it looks like he is balanced on the wheel, moving forward, wind blowing his har back, almost like riding a unicycle. Also, the chians hanging loose are broken, there is part of a link on each end, not ending in a completed link.
This card has a sense of movement to it that other Hanged men don't have. Perhaps he is about ready to finish his contemplation and move forward with whatever it it he has decided, or just signifying this state of deep thought is so fleeting that is seems as if you've never stopped to think in the first place :)
Desert Dreamer
16-06-2005, 01:37
He has made a choice his way and is ready to get on with it. The broken links seem to say he won't be confined to doing things the way society expects him to. By not hanging still, he is drawing attention to the fact that he does things differently.
Desert Dreamer
I always liked the fact that there's nothing in the background other than sky, which indicates that he's quiet high up (a bit like the fool, but the fool looks more like he's levatating). Perhaps an olde worlde bungee jumper...?!
I got a very strong 'liberating' feel about this card. Almost like to hang is to be free and to not worry if others thing your actions/viewpoints are a bit odd... Almost as if the chains that bind us are our own fears. But I digress..!
DeaconBlues
26-06-2008, 06:51
Paulb, his implied altitude struck me, also. But it also occurred to me that as seemingly carefree as he is, he'd better stay there for the moment. Otherwise who knows how far he has to fall?
It seems to me that he's actively looking for a way out of this situation, though. He isn't panicking. He's very calm, collected and deliberate. Way to be proactive, Hanging Man!
Dragon-Capricorn
08-08-2008, 11:26
I agree Paulb ... this card gives the distinct feeling for me of the Hanged Man being happy with his situation and new outlook on life, even if others don't quite understand it.
I read for a lady a while back and this card came up. After talking it out, it seemed to literally imply for her a state of hanging in limbo. I had never thought of it this way, and it was a little different spin that I found interesting.
He is calmer in this deck, isn't he? I kind of see him as someone a bit tangled up in things. Like an acrobat who was trying to do something fancy to impress, but who ended up tangled in his ropes. He seems fatalistic about it, though. Like, well, these things happen. I think he can release himself if he tries.
I always think of him in this deck as someone who got too caught up in worrying about doing for others rather than doing for himself. He lost focus, and got all tangled up.
I am trying to work on my meanings of the Major Arcana cards, thought I would post it here to get your opinions.
The Hanged Man/Hanging Man
Why dose he hang upside down? This is about being suspended, not of punishment or death. Unknown if he put himself there, but he dose not seem to be in pain or is upset or sad. He is calm and assured. Expectation and action is suspended. He is in a state of complete surrender. By doing this he can gain a new perspective.
By doing nothing, you have others “show their hand” first, or you must wait for someone or something to happen before making an important decision. Patients, Sacrifice, suspend your own needs, wants, and desires for the good of others is the way of the Hanged Man. To look inward, a need for spiritual growth. Putting others first, sacrificing an unhealthy life style for a healthier one. For a better relationship, sacrifices are made.
In some decks the Hanged man is letting go of money bags to symbolize this action is not for financial reward, but a spiritual one. In Norse mythology, the God Odin hung himself in this position for 9 days on the world tree. Coins fell from his pockets he looks at them not as money but only as round pieces of metal, his prospective suddenly changes from the material to the spiritual world, mysteries of life are revealed to him. Some say that runes had fallen from the tree, giving him insight, the ability to read them. He forever sees the world differently.
The Hanging Man might be telling you that there is never a right time, like to have children, start now. This can also mean you are waiting for someone else to do something wrong..so you will not be seen as the “bad guy”..to save face. When the Hanged Man is in your reading it’s time for movement to pause. Logic and sense needs a new prospective, another look, time to shake up your beliefs. Time for sacrifice to gain new insight. An outdated wish/attitude you need to let go of. A need for a personality change, “to mellow out”, letting go of an unattainable lover, give someone else a chance. For a long term relationship be sure both of you are on the same page.
If financially things are tight, it’s time to give until it hurts, the more you give the more you will receive. In Health, always question and research it yourself. Spirituality, let go of negative self limiting beliefs. Remember “self-fulfilling prophesy” be careful how you feel and think about your life. Are the “prophecies” you are feeling and thinking resembles the life you wish to see?
The Hanging Man: suspended between the physical and mystical world. Open yourself to new truths, other perspectives, to find solutions in order to bring change. The Hanging Man is “Action in Non Action”.
Direct: Spirituality, pause, time to think, meditation, giving up control. Accepting what is, seeing a new angle, living in the moment, putting others first.
Reversed: Materialistic, hung out to dry, lack of insight, resistant to spirituality, abandoned.