Cosmic Tarot-The Hanged Man

paradoxx

Suspended by his foot, instead of a rope, this hanged man is in a state of meditation, his hair flows downward, and the sun behind him is setting upon the horizion, a scene of far away mountains. Stars can be seen at the top fo the card as teh sky darkens. Two birds fly freely in the scene behind.

The man is wearing a yellow shirt, and pink pants, his belt is red and yellow, his eyes are closed. As other cards show an aura of enlightenment around the figure, in this card that aura is the sun itself.

now how does he intend to get down from his branch is beyond me.

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cosmic tarot threads
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=22365
 

Namaste

You've encouraged me, Paradoxx, to take out my deck again and take a look at this hanged man... :)

It is a deck I've neglected too long.
 

Myrrha

This card is very simple and all I really get from it is a sense of peace. Unlike either the Marseilles or Waite-Smith decks he has his hands in front of him not behind. This, and the fact that there is no rope binding him to the tree, makes it look like his suspension is voluntary.

He holds his hands in a position that yogis and Hindus use when they say "Namaste". Namaste is a statement of not identifying with the ego. Literally you are saying your soul belongs to the Divine and the Divine resides in the one you are greeting. You claim nothing, not even your self, as your own. There are Hindu (or Vedantist) symbols all through this deck.

The Hanged Man wears a red and yellow belt that is very much like the headband worn by the man in the Lovers card. Not sure what to make of this.

Many of the cards in the Major Arcana of this deck are paired. If you spread out the cards and focus on the colors used in each card you will see this. Some are more obvious than others. The Hanged man seems to me to be paired with the Sun. The colors used are very similar and if you turn the Hanged Man card upside down you will see the same areas of color: pink at the bottom (child's shirt, HM's pants) then yellow (child's hair, HM's shirt) then the big round sun in both cards, then the greenery. I feel that Losche is making a connection between these two cards.

Perhaps, by not identifying with his ego (false self) and going through this suspension process the HM comes out into the light of the Sun which is the true self.

--Myrrha (who is feeling a bit out of her depth with all of this)
 

spinningspider

Myrrha,
Can I just say that I'm totally enjoying reading the posts you've written about the Cosmic Tarot! You may be occasionally feeling "out of your depth"...but know that others are reaping benefits from your keen insight and thoughtful writing. Thank you.

Myrrha wrote: Perhaps, by not identifying with his ego (false self) and going through this suspension process the HM comes out into the light of the Sun which is the true self.

It seems to me that you know and practice the above sentiment very well yourself! Again I thank you and look forward to your future posts.
 

Myrrha

Thank you for your comments spinningspider. I am so glad to hear that someone finds these posts useful. I'd love it if other posters who use this deck would chime in with their takes on the cards as it is always interesting to know what others see in the imagery.
--Myrrha
 

Manybas

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.