Le Pendu - how may it be read?

[Rosanne]

I am struck by Le Pendus lightness. There is no strain in his waiting. He gives me comfort in the times when I feel totally alone. He is totally enclosed in his scene and passive. He is not fretting or struggling.. he just has this lightness of being. The card makes me feel that I can transcend anything. I also think he knows that he caused his predicament himself and blames no one else.

 

[Parzival]

Le Pendu

I can't help but picturing as a Zen monk. He is just hanging out (no pun intended) in there. His knowledge is that of his inner self. Just like La Papesse, who holds all the secrets and knowledge in her book of flesh, Le Pendu has an equal ammount of knowledge and secrets in his inner self.

According to Castaneda's books, back in the dawn of man, we all were in such state of mental silence. And, in that silence, we knew everything. But, being silent, this is a knowledge that can't be expressed with words. So when people started to rationalize and try to think of or explain the things they knew, the knowledge started to fade. Nowadays, we can't conceive the concept of having our mind void of thoughts if we're not dead or sleeping. He calls that empty state "the silent knowledge". Now, the concept of clearing your mind from all thought and word is no strange for doctrines like Zen/Buddhism, Sufism or Taoism. So it's sort of echoed in there.

there's something sacred about that silence. And I'm sure that Le Pendu is
just there to, like in the Depeche Mode song, enjoy the silence.

I appreciate this vision of the Hanged Man. His mind is upside down, not towards the flowers in the trees but towards the roots below the tree trunks. He can do nothing with his hands, usually sent into action by the mind's intention. The crossed leg suggests prayer or meditation, not logical mental grasping and controlling. The blue hair and blue over the heart is reflection, not action, resignation of all ambition. The Hanged Man is the patient stillnessing of the intellect, thought as calyx or hollow space yet to flower, waiting to be moved. No agitation.

 

[isthmus nekoi]

I find this a very female card, even though there's a man depicted. I often think of menses w/this card. The cycle of menses connects and binds you to the material world and the material nature of you which is a way of forcing you to accept the loss of ego control. Honestly, I wish I could better describe how menses can affect you psychologically and spiritually but it feels very pendu. It's really like an initiation if your mind is one with the body.

Also... Stasis. A silenced ego. Hibernation. All these come to mind.

 

[kwaw]

Taking alef=fool then the Hebrew letter Mem corresponds to Le Pendu. The letters alef to mem [but not including mem] are considered 'from/to the right', that is from the side of mercy and kindness; those from Mem to Tau [but not including Mem] are said to be to/from the left, from/to the side of harsh judgement and the source of evil. Mem itself is the turning point, an idea which may correlate to 'hanged man'. That the letters to the left [mem to tau] are to the left and thus from the side of judgement and evil may have some correlation to the more difficult cards following le pendu, [death, devil, tower, judgement].

Kwaw

 

[Lee]

I've been thinking about this card. Since the original source of the image was most likely the practice of hanging traitors by one foot, would it perhaps make sense to interpret the card as betrayal? I know this is a rather negative take on a card which is usually considered in a positive light. Different aspects of betrayal could be explored, for example:

You have betrayed someone.

Someone has betrayed you.

You have done something not quite ethical and have been found out.

Someone has publicly accused you of something, rightly or wrongly, and is now making an example of you.

You are uncomfortable being under public scrutiny.

Someone has embarrassed you.

You have embarrassed yourself.

There could even be a positive spin on it... you have been embarrassed or caught out, but in the end it will be a positive experience because you will have learned something about yourself or about other people's boundaries.

What do you think?

-- Lee

EDITED TO ADD: In another thread, tmgrl2 posted this link which is an article by Robert O'Neill which discusses the issue of interpreting Le Pendu according to its iconographic history:

http://tarot.com/about-tarot/library/boneill/hangedman

 

[Moonbow]

That's an interesting thought Lee.

I could see this as 'self-betrayal', perhaps a sudden realisation that things are not quite what you first thought them to be and therefore a change of mind or way of thinking, or at least a time of contemplation.

I'll be thinking of this a little more, especially when it comes up in readings.

 

[mythos]

Yes Lee ... I do like your take on this fellow. I have never been quite happy with that 'happy chappy bliss-boy' expression on many post TdM decks. When your whole world has been turned-upside down by some event or insight (but one that doesn't rate as a 'Tower' experience), be it betrayal (your own or another's), or when one small thing after another shows you that you have been looking at an issue from an entirely ill-considered perspective, and you experience the emotional sense of 'betrayal', the Hanged Man seems most appropriate. No, it is not life-threatening, but it is, without question, uncomfortable.

mythos

 

[Lee]

Thanks mythos and Moonbow*! One interesting thing I read about in Robert Place's book "The Tarot" -- if you look at the four cards surrounding the Wheel of Fortune, not including the cards that represent virtues (i.e., leave out Justice and Strength), then the four cards (Chariot, Hermit, Hanged Man, Death) could be seen as representing the four figures that surround the wheel on the Wheel of Fortune (I know on the Marseille there's only three, the one at the bottom is missing but is shown on the Visconti-Sforza deck).

The Chariot is the figure going up (I will reign); the Hermit, who has attained wisdom, is at the top (I reign), the Hanged Man is upside down and heading downward (I have reigned), and Death is at the bottom (I am without reign).

Moonbow*, I would be interested to hear how it turns out for you in readings.

-- Lee

 

[mythos]

What a fascinating observation. The more I come across references for Place's book, the more I see that it is indeed a must have book. I am not a fan of his decks ... purely an artistic thing ... and one must limit oneself somewhere in the world of deck-buying obsessiveness, but this book sounds very impressive, and well worth much juggling of the budget. Thanks Lee.

mythos

Addition: Just ordered a copy!

 

[le pendu]

I've been thinking about this card. Since the original source of the image was most likely the practice of hanging traitors by one foot, would it perhaps make sense to interpret the card as betrayal?

Lee, this is also how I see this card. I wonder sometimes if we haven't put too positive an emphasis on some of the cards. Personally, I think "betrayal", and the interpretations you have given, are all much more suited to the history and iconography of this card than the later "sacrifice", "different perspective" interpretations.

The Gioseppe Maria Mitelli Tarot from 1664 has a very clear (albiet unusual) take on this card:
http://www.tarotpassages.com/mitel12.jpg

the deck:
http://www.tarotpassages.com/mitelli.htm

best,
robert