Fantastical SG -- Hanged Man

This card came up for me the other day in a daily reading. I've just finished my exams so naturally i'm ready for relaxing and quite contemplation and things standing still over the summer, the traditional meaning for the card.
In the Fant though, it doesnt really give me that sort of hope, the man looked really hanged, like DEAD. There was no hope of restful retreat , and i associate the hanged man with Odin hanging on the tree to receive the runes. True the Fant Hanged Man is truly a card of sacrifice, but it seems a very bleak, like rather than a willing sacrifice he had to give up his life rather relunctantly....

Any other thoughts? Why would Hertz design this card so dark? so bleak?

Blessings,
Sezo
x

I agree this is a very bleak card. At first glance, it doesn't give me the feeling that he agreed to be tied up like that. It also doesn't look like he's actually hanging. We can't see his feet, but I get the impression that he's standing on something, maybe the ground or maybe a chair that's about to be kicked out from under him.

I don't see how he could have tied himself up like that with his hands behind his back, so there must be others involved.

He could also be standing in a hole. I can see the upper rim just behind his head. This gives me the feeling that he's going deep into a meditation or a vison quest, and the rope around his neck is the only thing preventing him from getting lost in the depths of his own subconscious.

Or maybe he's a shape-shifter. That's why his back is so oddly shaped; he's beginning to change.

The more I look at this card, the more I like it. It's not your typical Hanged Man, but it has a lot to say.

Becky

Thanks for that Becky. I always rush past this card; it is such a grim depiction and I hate the way that his skin hangs and sags; always makes me a bit unerved. However, I will take another look for the positive in it.

Best wishes

Yaboot

well the other day i had a blonde moment! I could have just looked in the LWB. Another thing i love about this deck is that with the majors it has a description of the card, so it highlights things my olde eyes cant see.

There is a full moon, so a shapeshifter could be quite possible.
Again, hes tied up and obviously couldnt have done that himself, maybe someone else doing it highlights the white of his body. The LWB says that he is white to highlight his purity and innocence. He has been given this to deal with, and rather than fight it, he has surrendered to it and so embraced this chance within him by taking time out.

The way he's tied up, the inference of others helping him, brings to mind an initiation rite. He has be left here and to me, he looks more in discomfort than pain. He is changing, be it physically (the shapeshifter thing) or mentally, moving to a new frame of mind and possibly spiritually. This is a time of preparation, a test to see if he can walk the walk and talk the talk.

LWB says hes looking for nobility. He seems very critical of himself, maybe he's asked for this punishment, like a monk who whips themselves for thinking naughty things etc.

The way the sky is moving, to me reflects that he's either just arrived or he's coming across to what he wants to achieve by this sacrifice. The sky reminds me of brain wave machines, with people who look dead but their brain is running all over the place, searching, analysing and looking for what he needs.

Blessings,
Sezo
x

Hanging in there

The first thought that comes to mind is "That moon sure looks surprised".

After that I can see the tree reaching down to the man, who seems to have evolved a kind of armour on his back. The shoulderblades, the back and his arms seem pointy as if to tell whomever may pass to stay away and leave him alone.

This is a volontary hanger, but while seemingly dead I do believe he is very much alive..

Why has he chosen to hang there?
Well, he may feel he is guilty of something, that he deserves to be kept out of the light and needs to leave the stage to the deserving.
Or he may just need a time-out from life. Feeling easily hurt and tired of the turnings of everyday-life he has put on his armour instead of the garments that bind him to his place in society (so you see he may be a beggar or a king or anything inbetween) and made himself a frightning sight to those that may come in search of him. All to ward them off and get some time alone.

Based on the lenght of the hair he may have been there for some time and though he is free to go at any time (I'm convinced he is just holding those ropes in his hands and is not tied up at all) he chooses to stay and be out of tune until whatever crises brought him there has blown over...

Ahh, a major. Nathalie did a great job with the majors.

The Hanged Man -

From what I see, he has been stripped, and was hung, with the force of others. It appears, that there was a huge hole, of some sort, with a large, sturdy tree near by, and has been hanging over the pit for quite a while, with his long gray hair.

I however, do not go with the shapeshifter, mainly looking at the rest of the deck, it does not seem to fit with me.

To me, he looks as he did wish to be hang. Even though he is sad, itl ooked like he sacrificed to save a friend. He seems contempt with his decision.

Fantastical SG - Hanged Man

Nathalie does refer to the Hanged Man in the LWB as a corpse. Yet, she says he is looking for nobility (I think - don't have it in front of me). I don't get why she chose to make him dead. So, she says he's a corpse = dead, but, in what ways is he still alive? Spiritually?

Also, was it necessary to go that far to convey her message. I don't know. It's still not working for me. It seems more like the Death card than the Hanged Man. Sheesh!

TL2