Noblet - Atouts: Le Pendu

[Moonbow]

A new thread! great!

... and yet another penis.... or is it?!

I can't think of anything to say right now. so will post a picture of the card.

[jmd]

This is again where Noblet is superb in simply not holding back on anatomical details that even Heri shyes from (as shown by Le Pendu in another thread I need to get to and also add some reflections - it's a really important thread in terms of also understanding the Noblet in my view).

As to whether or not the Noblet Pendu is circumcised, I would suggest that he in fact appears to be so - check out a magnified zoom-in from the original:

What's also interesting in terms of this talk of circumcision and the mention of the tongue is that this is the other organ that is said to be circumcised. In fact, if one looks at the Sefer Yetzirah (which antedates Tarot by a few centuries), right near the opening (1.3) we have:

"Ten Sefirot of Nothingness: The number of the ten fingers, five opposite five, with a single covenent precisely in the middle, like the circumcision of the tongue and the circumcision of the membrum."

[spoonbender]

O-M-G!!! It really is a penis!

[Melanchollic]

A lot of the ‘features’ of our hanging man are, oddly enough, common to men who have been hanged by the neck; the protruding tongue, the erection, often accompanied by involuntary ejaculation. There was also involuntary emptying of the bladder and bowels, thankfully not represented on the picture.

The Conver Hanged Man has often been said to have a serene expression on his face. This has given rise to various interpretation that the card is showing some spiritual initiation, or some such thing. Clearly the Noblet hanged man is not serene; I’d say he is dead.

Also, I don’t think this gentleman has wings. I think they are his hands tied behind his back. The Noblet is clearly more ‘hand-like’ than the Dodal.


M

[lark]

This morning when I woke up I must have been dreaming about this because my first thought was maybe he is hanging from a pier underwater.

his hair and finger/wings seem wiggly and watery to me.

[Minervasaltar]

Originally Posted by Melanchollic

Clearly the Noblet hanged man is not serene; I’d say he is dead.

He doesn't look serene to me, but he doesn't look dead either. To my eyes he has a happy, mocking look, which is enhanced by his 'waving' fingers and protruding tongue.

Would he be able to hold his left-leg like that if he had no tone in his muscles?

[rox]

Noblet seems to drive people off the deep end...........gee, we always thought of the pendu as clothed, but wearing a codpiece or "coquille", as the French say. It seems this accoutrement was practical for sword fighters, and was worn I think during the same period as the tunic-tights fashion for men.

As for his face: crossing one's eyes and hyperventilating (tongue out, panting like a dog) while upside-down is an effective way to divest oneself of encumbering emotional charges. Evidently, during the crusades the Knights Templars, after a day of massacring heathens, hung in this way to purge the day' violence and come out ready to sit that evening serenely opposite his enemy in the local bistro.

[prudence]

Originally Posted by rox

Noblet seems to drive people off the deep end...........gee, we always thought of the pendu as clothed, but wearing a codpiece or "coquille", as the French say. It seems this accoutrement was practical for sword fighters, and was worn I think during the same period as the tunic-tights fashion for men.

As for his face: crossing one's eyes and hyperventilating (tongue out, panting like a dog) while upside-down is an effective way to divest oneself of encumbering emotional charges. Evidently, during the crusades the Knights Templars, after a day of massacring heathens, hung in this way to purge the day' violence and come out ready to sit that evening serenely opposite his enemy in the local bistro.

Thank you, Rox, for that explanation. A codpiece, now that makes much more sense than a gravity defying penis.

Wow, I will have to try that method next time I am out of my wits from stress.

[prudence]

Surely this has come up in other threads about Le Pendu, but something that is perplexing me about him is the hand placement. How could they possibly be tied in the back to look the way the do from the front? And how much damage would be inflicted on his arms having been tied up in such a manner?

[jmd]

Right - absolutely: it suggests that prior to being tied, they are forced and likely broken behind his back.

This is one of those images that to me suggests the brutality of torture - not only in the hanging itself, but in the tying of the arms likely at the elbows.

Whether or not he dies (or is dead) is nearly besides the point.

The images shown in another thread with dogs hanging (also upside down) besides the victim only adds to the overall tortuous element.

From another perspective, however, one can see that a totally altered state of consciousness would open for the victim to be able to transcend the state he which he unfortunately finds himself. Also, of all cards, this one clearly implies the action of others in the depiction: one cannot place oneself in that state!