XII - Le Pendu

This card is one of the most interesting of the deck. I say this in the sense that it is, unlike any of the others, very peculiar, and unlike any standard iconographic design found during either European mediaeval or early renaissance times.

Also, it is quite possible that early representations which copied it mis-understood it, for it has been claimed that the act of hanging a person by the foot or feet occured only in some places, and only for thieves. It is interesting, then, that Odin is one of the few myth Sagas which implies such depiction, though in that instance one representing initiation into knowledge (through which he spied the Runes).

From a Christian perspective, two 'hangings' are somewhat relevant. The first is that one of the crucified 'companions' of Christ was said to be a thief; the other is that St Peter was said to have been crucified up-side down (but upon a cross shaped like an 'X').

In each of those cases, various aspects of 'initiation' can be understood, and renunciation of that which is not one's own comes across, as well as the ability to see things from another perspective.

Attached is the (recently 'restored') 1650 Noblet version.

Il Traditore

It is, as you say jmd, one of the most interesting cards in the pack. However, it is a standard iconic symbol, just not a universal one. Its use and recognition seems to have been limited to Italy.

Even though the Hanged Man has been the object of nearly endless bizzarre and esoteric interpretations, he is traditionally understood in Italy as a personification of treason. Michael Dummett, in "The Visconti-Sforza Tarot Cards," lists several pertinent examples of this: "The Pope ordered paintings of Muzio Attendola, Francesco Sforza's father, showing him hung upside down, with inscriptions naming him as a traitor, on all of the bridges and gates of Rome. The walls of the Bargello in Florence were frequently adorned with such paintings...Duke Lodovico Sforza ("il Moro") ordered one made of Bernardino da Corte, who had betrayed him to the French." (p. 124)

The meaning of this symbol has apparently persisted even into modern times. When Mussolini and his mistress, attempting to flee Rome (in 1945?), were captured by an Italian mob, they were hung upside down after being killed.

Taking a cue from this exoteric and very specific meaning, I think a plausible interpretation of the card would recognize it as a depiction of sin, and the unrepentant sinner. The traditional Christian view was that sin, while natural, is a betrayal of both God and oneself, and that while the damaging effects of sin can be ameliorated by repentance, the habitual criminal and unrepentant sinner is a truly "upside down" person, an outlaw and a traitor against God's rule.

In his commentaries on tarot's structure, Tom Tadfor Little ("Tarot as Cosmograph," at www.tarothermit.com) places this card in a group with Death, the Devil, and the Tower, hypothesizing that the deck is an expression of neoplatonic, gnostic philosophy. Little argues effectively that the trumps can be arranged in four groups which provide the possible key to understanding the philosophical intentions of tarot's originators:

Sublunar World
Estates of Man: Fool, Bagatto, Emperor and Empress, Papess and Pope

Fates and Virtues: Love, Chariot (War), Wheel (Fortune), Old Man (Time); Temperance, Justice, Fortitude

The Boundary (Sphere of Fire)
Traitor, Death, Devil, Fire

The Heavens
Stars, Moon, Sun, Angel, World (God)

Little's hypothesis is plausible and backed by convincing evidence, and it is certainly way different than any other modern interpretation I've seen. It's also a measure of the degree to which tarot has evolved; most of the serious tarotists I know and have met here tend to interpret the deck as an expression of the structures and values of Kabbalah. But Kabbalah is an expression of aggressive and comprehensive monotheism and unity, and is very much at odds with the philosophy of Plato and with any form of gnosticism, which in its essence is dualistic.

Having said this, I've probably opened a can of worms that should properly be the subject of another thread.

(catboxer)

Thanks catboxer, and yes, as you say at the beginning of your post, the inverted hanging was (and is still, I believe) a generally well known depiction, even if only in story-telling, in a restricted region of northern Italy - hence my comment. But I may have sounded too dismissive and unrecognising of the iconography, so thank you for your balancing post!

With regards to Little's well constructed and worthwhile reading essay, for which catboxer gives a link, I'm not sure I agree with his views, but I do think it is fascinating how the Marseilles sequence can lead to such wonderful depth of views.

The main reason I do not agree is with regards to how the sequence arose. Personally, I think it more likely that, as he has done himself, someone (even in the 15th century) may have discovered such meaningfulness within a set which was already established. The sequence of the set, after all, has had a number of modifications precisely because someone or other manages to find a meaningful re-arrangement (the most succesful recent re-arrangement, which I personally find takes away from the deck, is, of course, the Golden Dawn's as rendered in the Waite by Colman-Smith).

Attached is the Dodal version of 1701. Notice on this version of the card how the additive Roman style is clearly used, so that even in the numbering, reversal is implied - and emphasised by the clear 'uprightness' of the card's title.

cary yale visconti - pendu

kaz

visconti sforza - pendu

kaz

soprafino - appeso

kaz

edited

Wonderful post, Diana.

You say that the Romans would frequently hang Christian martyrs upside down by one foot.

Do you know of any depictions of this? I would really be interested in furthering my knowledge in this area.

It would also explain how such a custom was maintained in northern Italy, to the virtual exclusion, as far as I am aware, other regions.

I think the hanged man is hung upside down to show the different angle from which he is viewing the world.....and it was this different view that got him hung. I feel that the gleam in the hangedmans eye comes from the knowledge of what is to come....as it were, he is a first born of a new wave......i.e ahead of his time.

I see him as having is feet in the skies[kether?] and his head on the ground. This would tally with the two supports holding up a hanged man representative of the middle path.

edited