Hanged Man as advice - stay in a bad situation or let it go?

Aset

I did a reading for myself regarding work/career using the celtic cross spread and got the Hanged Man for advice. This is always such a tricky card for me because it seems to be a card of nothing-ness... no action, just resignation, which seems unnatural to me in virtually every situation.

At first I thought the message was to stay put in my current position where I am very unhappy. But beyond the fact that I obviously hope for some other result, this doesn't sit quite right with me - the hanged man always seems to me to be at peace, more like a meditative monk than someone who is actually being hanged against their will. And it's just not possible for me to find peace of mind like that at this job.

Then it occurred to me that maybe the Hanged Man is referring to resigning *from* the job, and letting go of any fear I might have about that loss of income (my spouse also works and we would most likely not be in any seriously tight situation money-wise, but it is still a scary adjustment to make).

So how would you interpret the Hanged Man here, and in general? What does the Hanged Man do? And when does he do (or not do) it?

Since I know someone is likely to say that it depends on the other cards in the spread, I will say that there were several nasty sword cards earlier in the spread.
 

Mystica7

I feel that you want to let it go but can't quite do it because of your fears.

So the Hanged Man may be simply pointing out to this fact and telling you to surrender to the situation until you make your final decision.
 

rwcarter

Hanged Man as advice could be to view the situation from a different viewpoint or angle. OR it may be saying to recognize that you are viewing the situation from the wrong angle. He is hanging upside down, after all, so all his input is skewed.
 

Barleywine

I've lately gone through quite a bit of revisionism in my thinking about the Hanged Man. Along the lines of your own observation, I've seen it mentioned in many books over the years that the Hanged Man has a benign - even smiling - look on his face; he's clearly not under any stress when he's depicted in that way. I've begun thinking that maybe all the Hanged Man is really sacrificing is time. His position reminds me of a "cocoon" hanging from a branch. He's going through a state of "incubation" from which he will emerge in due time as something entirely different. The trick is trying to figure out the timing of that impending metamorphosis, and decide whether it's worth the wait. (Since it's a Trump card, I don't see much chance of goosing it along.) If you consider the "advice" position to be position 7, the developments emerging from the previous card would represent something that the seventh card is reacting to in trying to incorporate or at least adapt to its lessons. Not knowing what that card was, all I can say is that the Hanged Man represents a contemplative "wait-and-see" attitude; if what was coming turns out to be a fizzle, you will have lost nothing in waiting it out. If, on the other hand, it signifies a major new beginning, remaining in "hibernation" could result in not getting "out of the gate" as quickly as you might have. The interplay of those two cards should tell the tale.
 

tarot_quest

Hi Aset,

I like Barleywine's intepretation. Why don't you send cv for interesting job positions while waiting at the current job? Maybe the hanged man is simply telling you to take a ''smooth'' approach and to do not rush anything right now.

Timing is everything to find a new job. I would take the hanged man's advice as start to look around, but don't rush anything just yet. Timing might get better soon.
 

Aset

Hanged Man as advice could be to view the situation from a different viewpoint or angle. OR it may be saying to recognize that you are viewing the situation from the wrong angle. He is hanging upside down, after all, so all his input is skewed.

Ahh, yes. I always forget about this aspect of the HM. This is something I will spend some time thinking about. Thank you!
 

Aset

I've lately gone through quite a bit of revisionism in my thinking about the Hanged Man. Along the lines of your own observation, I've seen it mentioned in many books over the years that the Hanged Man has a benign - even smiling - look on his face; he's clearly not under any stress when he's depicted in that way. I've begun thinking that maybe all the Hanged Man is really sacrificing is time. His position reminds me of a "cocoon" hanging from a branch. He's going through a state of "incubation" from which he will emerge in due time as something entirely different. The trick is trying to figure out the timing of that impending metamorphosis, and decide whether it's worth the wait. (Since it's a Trump card, I don't see much chance of goosing it along.) If you consider the "advice" position to be position 7, the developments emerging from the previous card would represent something that the seventh card is reacting to in trying to incorporate or at least adapt to its lessons. Not knowing what that card was, all I can say is that the Hanged Man represents a contemplative "wait-and-see" attitude; if what was coming turns out to be a fizzle, you will have lost nothing in waiting it out. If, on the other hand, it signifies a major new beginning, remaining in "hibernation" could result in not getting "out of the gate" as quickly as you might have. The interplay of those two cards should tell the tale.


This is really interesting. I read the 9th card (next to last) as advice. The card before is surrounding environment, and 6th card (which I believe you are referring to) represents influences that are newly coming into play or soon to come into play. Would you still say that the 6th card is something the advice would be developing from?

Also asking in advance... we are allowed to post two cards, correct? I would love to share that card as well if so.
 

Aset

Just another thought about the HM - is it just me, or does he imply a solitary situation similar to the Hermit? For some reason those two cards are linked in my mind, but also it seems that someone who was hung up and left in that position would necessarily have to handle things on his own. You could look at him as having a skewed vision, or as having to see with his mind's eye, but in either case he seems a self-contained entity. Anyone else think of him this way?
 

Aset

Hi Aset,

I like Barleywine's intepretation. Why don't you send cv for interesting job positions while waiting at the current job? Maybe the hanged man is simply telling you to take a ''smooth'' approach and to do not rush anything right now.

Timing is everything to find a new job. I would take the hanged man's advice as start to look around, but don't rush anything just yet. Timing might get better soon.

Heh, I think this is essentially why I don't get this card - I'm such an action-oriented person! Your suggestion is a fantastic one, but I am hoping to actually work alone/be my own boss doing creative work. Maybe I will modify that to try to set up shop while I am still working at my day job. Of course timing is never great for trying to make a living that way, unless a patron would happen to show up on my doorstep.
 

Aset

I feel that you want to let it go but can't quite do it because of your fears.

So the Hanged Man may be simply pointing out to this fact and telling you to surrender to the situation until you make your final decision.

That's how I'd normally read this too, but I find it very confusing because I feel like I've been surrendered to the crappy situation at work for a long time (it's been well over a year that I've been loathing every second of it, just waiting for the moment I can quit). I'm admittedly not a patient person, but it feels like I'm treading into putrid stagnant water at this point. I'll have to reassess how patient I'm really being here.