Maybe an odd place to start, but this is my first post here... so, Hello to everyone.
The insight I've gained from this board has really helped me establish a relationship with my cosmic deck that I never had before.. thanks for that! I'm fairly new to this, but here's what I noticed the other day. I understand that a lot of cards are "paired" through imagery/symbolism, and I think the Hanged Man and the Fool may be one of those sets. These two cards both represent major life dispositions in terms of which core values are guiding you. I think the Fool and the HM are the same person... they have a lot of similar physical features (stringy, long-ish hair) as well as the colors they're wearing. When I look at the Fool I see someone who is in a state of childlike joy but looks completely ridiculous. An adult in unconventional garb fixes his gaze on the danger he seems to be completely aware of, while suspended in a state of false weightlessness. I say false because he is jumping.. and whether he is jumping up or coming down, he is still jumping... as if he is trying to remain in a state of limbo (not part of either world).
Compare this to the HM, who represents the calm of self discipline. The landscape is quite simpler but looks to be the same environment the Fool is in, just further away from it, as if he has gotten beyond that place. He now becomes a symbol of accomplishment through heading on the right path, which is why the Fool is not necessarily a bad card... the HM has obviously learned a great deal from that "stage" in his life... I say this because it looks to me like he carries the rolled up shirt of the Fool as a belt around his waist. Also, the pants are the same. This is someone who has not forgotten his past and has found a creative means of merging it with the present. His head, being the place of wisdom, is now upside-down, closer to the earth (grounded intelligence). The sun is rising, it is a time of new beginnings, and the wispy clouds blowing high in the sky signal change. The snowy blue mountains are far behind him now (compare to the fool), and consciousness flows through him with a renewed sense of purpose. Could that mountain peak in the distance that looks as if its holding the weight of the sun be the very precipice our Fool was dancing on earlier in his journey?
The busyness of the world in which the Fool resides, despite all of its colorful attractiveness, can only suggest what is essentially an unbalanced nature. If the bright sun in a starry night sky doesn't say it, I don't know what does. I followed the spheres of light down the center of this card and couldn't help but think of the Beatles... "But the fool on the hill / sees the sun going down / And the eyes in his head / see the world spinning round." Like that song, everything becomes a matter of perception. The Hanged Man and The Fool can both look like chumps, but only one of them is blatantly advertising it. We may sometimes be viewed as 'the fool' by others or we may recognize it inside of us on our own. Either way, the message here is about maintaining a healthy inner voice and the ability to make necessary changes in life without all the chagrin.