Greenwood Tarot: The Blasted Oak (Hanged Man)

From Chesca Potter's notes:
The Blasted Oak
(traditionally The Hanged One, The Tower)
Minor arcana; Fives
Position on wheel: Lammas.
Element: Air/Water
Chakra: solar plexus.
Colour: yellow/green.
Polarity: red
A green figure is liberated from their bonds by the force of the lightening striking the oak tree. You have been out on a limb, clinging on to an untenable situation. The air is charged with emotion. Pent up tears or anger are released. Although these times are often traumatic, this is the first stage of healing; yet there may be a loss of stability as the familiar is replaced by the unknown. Be gentle on yourself and give yourself time to heal. The thunderbolt could also be thrown at you by a figure in authority, using their power over you, as anger, or intimidation, for instance. Use the balance of Strength to stand up to them or seek help.

I drew this as my card of the day on January 12th 2010
The same day an Earthquake devastated Haiti and an estimated 200 000 people lost their lifes.
I can only look at this image and remember the words, Mark Ryan wrote in his Greenwood book:
.... Just as the Universe has the power to create,so it has the power to destroy.
The sudden catabolic power of natural catastrophe and disaster is almost unimaginable.
With a sideways flick of its tail the hurricane can uproot a bridge of concrete and steel, just as a shudder of the Earth’s crust can reduce cities to rubble and send tidal shock waves around the world............
..................................................................................................
Today is the 17. January 2010,
5 days after an earthquake and I am still looking at this card.....
.... and more words from Mark ryan float through my mind:
"The essence of enduring strength and spirit can not be bought by gold or position or grandiose esotheric theory. It is found in the ashes, flames and rubble of nature’s own “wild card”

Will this card forever be linked with the images we all know and remember?
Only time will tell....

A few months ago when I had a look at the scan of this image these notes went into my Tarot diary:

When I look at this card, I essentially see an alien. A green alien falling from a green Tree. That brings up alienation. Alienation may blend in well = wear the same colours, but its very matrix is foreign. And so with great cost to itself the Tree is shedding it.
Humans have alienated themselves from the Tree of Life, from the roots in the Earth that created them.
With great effort and under great upheaval the living Earth will have to one day get rid of them, in order for its own survival and hopefully the survival of many other species that are not slobbering green venom onto the skin of the Earth Mother.
What will become of these “falling angels of alienation”?
Will they shatter their top heavy brains on the hard roots below and then will their corpses finally fertilize the roots again, as it should be?
Or will they manage to survive the fall, pick themselves up and .... what...???
what will they have learned?

In the very act of creating/creation, we sow the seeds of destruction, because everything that is created must be destroyed. It is in the understanding of this that the Tower and the Hanged Man co-exist in this card. Nothing will change our perspective on how fragile we are or turn us upside down more quickly than an act of Nature, the ultimate power of creation and destruction.

Thanks, Mi-Shell. I think you helped me understand why the Greenwood uses an image from William Blake. Blake calls all religions One. The meaning of the Fall is Universal. In it Urizen both creates while he is destroyed. Nature has no compassion, it just IS

I thought I'd add this here since it might be relevant... (from the IDS thread)

I ran across a Creation Myth by someone calling themselves a Siberian shaman/teacher living n the U.S. I am afraid I don't know anything about them - perhaps someone knows? Anyway, this creation myth has similar elements to Blake's 'Urizen into the Void' and that element of creation/destruction seen in the Blasted Oak. The card, interestingly, uses Blake's falling/creating Urizen artwork as a foundation. I'll include a link here for the sake of interest. http://www.shamanic.net/index.php/a...animal-brothers I am hoping somebody with more knowledge than I can jump in here and follow these threads and perhaps offer a good theory as to why Chesca used so much of Blake's painting.

There is a thread for comparison of the artwork directly for anyone interested: http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=132233

Hi Bat Chicken!
I put something here, into thethe Blasted / Blake thread
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=2146160&postcount=5
You are making me curious about this deck....??