78 Weeks: Hanged Man

To find out what these threads refer to, please seeThe link above provides suggested dates and links to all threads for this study.

Some amongst us may be working through the deck in a different order, and using different decks.

For more general comments or questions about the 78 weeks, please post in the thread linked above.

Enjoy!

Twelve weeks of a new, regular practice would give anyone a new perspective upon that practice. Thus I find myself looking at 78 weeks of regular study from a new angle. Looking back over the last 12 weeks, I find I've made adjustments to my life to enable myself to have at least 5 minutes per day for contemplation of the card I'm working on during any given week. Looking forward, I find myself building my schedule to leave sufficient time to draw and colour and post my own version of the card for the week. I can even see myself carrying my drawing materials with me when I go on holiday.

One of the things that struck me as I contemplated The Hanged Man and in particular the Camoin version was how easily the card can serve as a metaphor for the Tree of Life. If, as I believe, human beings are spiritual beings having a physical experience, it makes complete sense to me that it is so like The Hanged Man that we experience our lives. Most people are completely unconcerned that we view ourselves as physical beings first.

Despite the recognition of this metaphor, I decided not to include any overt symbolism in my own drawing, but to instead concentrate upon dressing The Hanged Man in modern clothing. Thus I present my own version of the card with him wearing a rugby shirt, jeans and red trainers.

H Hold up
A Abstinence
N Nowhere
G Gestation
E Evolve
D Disengagement

M Meditation
A Awareness
N New outlook

A strange card for the week. I have had lots of medical tests done and everything kind of gets put on hold until I get the results and breath a sigh of relief for another year.

HADAR

This man hangs upside down, the rope that ties him to the tree is in the shape of an arrow which points upwards! The trees either side of him have had their branches chopped off. Coppicing is a french word meaning to cut. Its a system whereby branches are cut to encourage further growth. Could it be that the branches have been cut in order to encourage more spiritual growth for the hanged man? In order for him to see more clearly? The branches are red, the colour of blood! I now see the shape of a door! A doorway to potential growth? He has ten buttons on his tunic which shows a link to the WOF and this reduces to the Magician. He is not there because of a change of fate though, he is there through his own doing. The Magician represents focused will whereas the Hanged Man shows little focus or will at all. He looks peaceful. He is waiting and contemplating his next course of action. He definately has a different view of the world when turned upside down, which made me think that people who have different views are often victimized or hung (if we go back a few hundred years!).

CRYSTAL

The view of this card is not dissimilar to the Hadar, the doorway is evident and growing up the trees at the side is a vine, which looks quite like a snake . Snakes symbolise re-birth. Furthermore, the vine has groups of leaves in threes and three is a number of expansion and vision. He has his eyes shut symbolising an inner journey. The coins which fall from his pockets are unimportant. His concern is not with the material world. The colour in this card in a beautiful spectrum of oranges, yellows, reds, greens and earthy colours. Needless to say, the earthiness is at the bottom and the enlightened colours towards the top. Here he is, suspended between enlightenment and the material world. He has sacrificed himself and is waiting, quietly, peacefully for understanding, the release which will move him on in his journey.

HAINDL

This card represents Odin, who suspended himself from the World Tree. He appears to merge with the Earth. The colours of the rainbow represent the chakras and appear to go through his body at the relative points, symbolising his connection with the divine. His chakras are aligned. The moon in the sky signifies him moving from one phase to another. He waits willingly for understanding, his arms outstretched, ready to embrace this divine unity.

J

Le Pendu - Hadar Marseilles

He looks so at ease, so comfortable that I want to put the card upside-down (i.e stand him upright) - it just feels right that way!

He looks like he has a noose around his neck where his neck is thickened. Ten buttons on his coat which means the end of a cycle and beginning of a new one. For the hanged man this is a time of enlightenment therefore a new beginning. His legs form the number four (emperor- structure, solidity). As he hangs there, still and calm, there is no struggle, he has an acceptance and willingness of what he is doing.

The hanged man is at a turning point, he is changing, it's an inspirational time for him. He is now aware of his other consciousness - his higher self. He has reached the gateway and is about to go through it.

The two branches have been hacked in order to form the support for the man but there is also growth in the card (the greenery). I looked at this card from a different perspective too! When he is upright he looks like he is dancing between two trees. It makes me think that things that appear bad at first are not always what they seem.

Moonbow*

Blue Rose deck

Two kids peer through a fissure (reminding me of "down the rabbit hole") and a Hanged Man beacons them to explore the alternate reality of the island of Myst. Sometimes we need to upend our thinking, shift our perspective 180 degrees, or perhaps return to a childlike state of not having preconceived notions of how something "should" work in order to suspend our judgements, live in the present, and look at things afresh. In this state, the seemingly disparate may suddenly appear connected and the obsure come into focus. Perhaps it will refresh our spirit as well, to see life as an Adventure Game, where hunting out the clues and fitting the pieces together IS the adventure, not just a means to an end. Or as Rilke said "...Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves...Do not...seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will...gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer."

www.tarotpassages.com/PGHangedOne.htm

The Hanged Man - Morgan Greer

The colours of this card are:- Dark purplish blue, pale blue, red, greenish blue, yellow, brown.

It depicts the Hanged Man hung by his foot between two trees, all of the branches have been cut off them. His left foot is bound by rope to a branch that is held by the two trees. His right leg is bent behind his left, making the number 4 shape. His arms are also bent at the elbows and behind his back.
His shoes are yellow, blue/green jacket with gold buttons, trimmed with red at the collar and red belt with gold buckle. His trousers are also red. He has yellow hair and blue eyes and is looking straight forward.
His face shows no discomfort, he looks resigned to the fact that he will hang there for a while. There is also a sense of self sacrifice about this card, he could easily get himself free but he's letting things stay as they are for a little while longer.

The Hanged Man

Radiant Rider Waite

Man in a blue tunic and red tights hanging upside down by his right foot - bound by a rope - right being the side of action, being tied - restricting action. Suspended with his arms behind is back and his left leg crossed behind his right. A yellow halo around his head - illumination of thought. He is not struggling, very calmly hanging upside down - like he is there voluntarily or willing to accept this situation. Giving up / sacrificing his freedom to gain new insight from looking at the world from a different view.

It can be amazing what you notice when you are hanging upside down - how things can look so different from the inverted perspective. Remember hanging upside down on swings for ages as a child, just watching everything, thinking about things - feeling the blood rush to your head - feeling a bit light headed.

Mythic Tarot

On this card the image depicted is of a man bound upside down by one foot (and an arm) to a large rock. There is an eagle flying overhead - circling. This is meant to be Prometheus, the Titan who defied the law of Zeus and stole the fire of the gods to give to man, knowing that he would suffer for his deed. The eagle in the image and myth flies down each day to eat his liver, then each night the liver grows back and the torture happens again the next day, and the next. This myth definitely reflects a willing sacrifice for the benefit of man, or the greater good.

Off to read the other posts, and catch up with my next card

CreativeFire

The Hanged man

The Quest
This is a very interesting card, the hanged man it made of crystal, with his hair flowing to the earth with what seems to be sparks of energy in his hair rising from the earth. He has actually two faces, when the card is right side up, the hanged mans face is also right side up, wizened older face of a man. Turn the card over and his face becomes that of a younger man. His arms are open wide as if in acceptance of his life, and comfortable in his situation. Joseph Martin refers to this card as uniqueness, and of self-sacrifice.
This is not the gloominous card of most decks. This one has a happy feel about it. A beautiful rainbow in the background, the ravens in the sky bringing messages from beyond. I actually had to write to Joseph about this card, because when I saw the two distinct faces I thought I was loosing it. I do see this card differently than I do in my other decks. I see it as more as acceptance, freedom from uniformity.

Rohrig

I think this Hanged Man is of a more traditional flavor. He is suspended by a rope around his ankle, with his hands behind him. It gives the impression of hands being tied. This card has a feeling of waiting for the next phase. Below him is a pool of water and his hair is wet, as if he was dipped.
There are many words on the paper n the background that I cannot make out. Trial is written in bold red letters. Freeze, ending of a bogged down situation, break from old patterns.
I feel he is in a transitional state, a period of waiting or stagnant.

Symbols of Neptune, rune symbol Tyr; God of war, God of law, and the Hebrew letter Mem; Seas or water

Using Radiant Rider-Waite

XII - The Hanged Man

LWB
Wisdom, trials, circumspection, discernment, sacrifice, intuition, divination and prophecy

My Impressions
The fact that he is hanging, can be seen that in some way he is suspended in some sort of inaction. The way his legs are reminds me of someone sitting down, where they have one leg tucked under the other, which probably means that he is quite comfortable. So sometimes it can indicate the reason why there is inaction is that they are in their comfort zone, and not wanting to make any major life changes because they like this comfort zone.

The man has his hands behind his back, which indicates that he may have the sense that his hands are tied, although there is no apparnet bonds in regards to this. It could be the fact that for some reason he doesn't recognise that he needs to make a change. And, if he does recognise the fact he needs to make a change, he can't recognise what needs to be changed.

But again, the fact that he is upside down may indicate that h e has got out of his comfort zone and has made sacrifices and now he feels like his life is upside down. This would indiate that he has looked at his life and himself and identified the things that are in a sense holding him back from achieving what he truly desires, and have started the process of letting go of these things. And the suspension he sees himself is the result of leaving the old behind without the new actually totally come into place.

So, by having said that it could be seen that he is in a transformation phast of his life. Where he is leaving certain things behind and determining what he really wants. The light behind his head could indicate that he has had some sort of enlightenment, or perhaps some ideas, thoughts and concepts, and perhaps visualising what he wants to do. It would also indicate that he has some guidance, perhaps in the form of inner guidance. Which can be seen that sometimes there may be a need to wait for the next step to be revealed for what he needs to do. It is also about hope and faith for a more fulfilling and happy future. Perhaps that may indicate that one of the things that he needs to "sacrifice" is his self-doubts, fears and worries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Using Golden Tarot of Klimt

XII - The Hanged Man

LWB
Transformation of points of view, ability to understand and tolerance

My Impressions
The card depicts a profile of a man hanging upside down. He has his foot resting, the one that is not bound, against what can be seen to be a wall, which looks like he could quite easily push himself off to put him into motion. He has his chin down to his neck (or up ), with his eyes closed, with a slight smile on his face. He has his arms directly in from of him, at shoulder height, with his hands clasped together as he is either praying or begging. There are other things in the card which, I'm not sure, but could quite easily be snakes.

The way the man is facing with his arms in front of him can be seen to be facing the past. But at the same time he seems to be praying, so this praying could be in relation to the dreams he has for the future as his eyes are closed. So, then it could be seen that he wants something good or better for the future but might be unwilling to give up anything in the past. But to make room for the new something old needs to be given away.

The man seems to be praying and meditating which means that he has a got a very good snese, or is getting that way, or what he truly desires to do and wants. Oh, I didn't mention the fact that the man is naked (hardly a surprise with this deck ) and that indicates that he is not interested in pretending to be something that he is not. In relation to this card, it would indicate that he has nothing to hide, or the fact that at this point where he is the process of letting go of the old and bringing in the new he really doesn't have much to lose, that he doesn't want to let go off anyway. The snakes would symbolise the transformation, if that is what they are, as the snakes need to shed their skin so that they can grow bigger, so, as we grow, or change, we can be seen (metaphorically) to change our skin, as well

Bec

Zombi, Voodoo Tarot of New Orleans: sacrifice

Jewel-ry said:

HAINDL
This card represents Odin, who suspended himself from the World Tree. He appears to merge with the Earth. The colours of the rainbow represent the chakras and appear to go through his body at the relative points, symbolising his connection with the divine. His chakras are aligned. The moon in the sky signifies him moving from one phase to another. He waits willingly for understanding, his arms outstretched, ready to embrace this divine unity.

Click to expand...

http://taroteca.multiply.com/photos/photo/165/25.jpg

This seems the only card in this deck I did not feel too crazy about, at first! ;-P

As someone else already said, the Magician = focused will; in this one, the will has left, and with it purpose. Nothing moves within the head. Nothing moves within the stagnant emptiness. Quiet water drips on dank stone. All seems decay; footsteps sound, leading nowhere. Here you see neither Light nor Dark. Actions know neither success nor failure. Conclusion seems forgotten in numb repetition, i.e. just 'going through the motions'. The spider has lost its way in the web! ;-P

Mechanically it moves in circles as the strands vibrate in a thin, dull wind.

There seem two types of sacrifice in Voodoo: either enforced or voluntary. At first I did not like this card, because I saw only the first, which this card chillingly depicts. The victim helplessly witnesses his/her own death, and then continues to live it. The Voodooist may create the Zombi as an act of vengeance, for service, or to serve as an example to the community... ;-P

Critical in the making of the Zombi seems the capture of the victim's Ti Bon Ange ("little good angel", of the Temperance card!), which enables personality to hold and manifest. When someone or something captures this, one finds one's will thrust into a slavery that burns like acid.

The woman stands on a slave-block in the green mire of a swamp. She has thrown her head back and raised her arms to the heavens in desperation. Just out of reach, the Ti Bon Ange swirls around her in the form of a mist. Simbi the snake wraps around her waist as a symbol of possible salvation, but the Zombi also has her mouth sewn shut also using the snake as a thread, shutting her off from the healing power of Naming.

And yet to sacrifice means to sanctify, make sacred. What seems made sacred here? Death and the will itself; I would also say silence, whether enforced or voluntary. The person seems catatonic, frozen, helpless to speak out.

The positive side of the voluntary aspect (perhaps resigning oneself to silence for a time) only came to me when someone related it to the sacrifice of Odin, on the World Tree. I also loved the comment of Galadrial about learning to live with, and even love, the questions themselves, rather than seeking hasty answers!!

In divination terms, maybe this card = the Tarot's way of saying "no comment"! lol