The Hanged Man card

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Supporting / Blocking Tarot Card

support

The card obstructs the querent because they need to change their perspective on the issue in question. They must adopt a new approach, new habits, and a different way of thinking. To succeed in the matter at hand, the querent must let go of something else in their life.

Relationships

Career

Finances

Relationships

Career

Finances

The Meaning of The Card

The Hanged Man card teaches that life is a process of change and transformation. These processes require courage, trust, confidence in the process, and sacrifice. The person seeks to live their life from a new perspective, letting go of the old, taking risks, paying the price of pain and loneliness, and evolving. The individual looks for new ways to cope after recognizing repetitive behavioral patterns that hinder their development. They learn that sometimes challenging life circumstances lead to a change in attitude towards the challenge without trying to alter the nature of the challenge itself. Change and transformation come from letting go of the ego, past habits, and surrender. The person’s concepts of their life are shattered and disintegrate, resulting in confusion as the old ways no longer fit and the new ones are still unfamiliar. There is sadness as the person realizes that past habits have hindered and stopped their progress.

The Hanged Man card: The Meaning of The Symbols

Card Symbols	Symbol Meaning
Staff and Leaves	Authority, support, spiritual power, desires, initiative, growth.
Halo	The halo indicates a new state of consciousness. A divine and holy figure reflects the state of the soul.
Yellow Shoes	Connection to the physical reality and spirituality.
Blue Shirt	Spirituality, infinite possibilities, and eternity.
Red Pants	Active, emotional, impulses, determination, courage, connection to the physical, anger.
The Hanged Man	The Hanged Man frees himself from dependency on old habits. He symbolizes thinking outside the box, realizing that changes are needed in life, renewal often accompanied by sacrifice, pain, and loneliness. He sees the world upside down, viewing it from a different, new perspective. The coins falling from his pockets symbolize liberation from material constraints.
Crossed Legs	The left leg represents emotion, aspiration for spirit, while the right leg is bent, symbolizing intellect. One leg is connected to the beam, legs typically symbolize grounding, but in this card, they connect to spirit. The bent right leg symbolizes submission, representing thought and logic.
Gray Background	Compromise, reduction, detachment, and protection.
Calm Facial Expression	Surrender, sacrifice, a new state of awareness.

Mythology

The card is represented in Norse mythology by Odin (the animals representing him are the raven, symbolizing magic, and the wolf, representing instinct). Odin sacrificed his divine status and power, hanging himself from a tree to gain the knowledge of the runes. Being a voluntary sacrifice requires courage and enduring the physical pain of hanging and the emotional pain of relinquishment. The person choosing to undergo this stage demonstrates a willingness to sacrifice and suffer for developmental purposes. In Greek mythology, the card is represented by the god Neptune, god of the waters, oceans, depths, and storms, symbolizing the subconscious. Water, as a source of life, is ever-changing, but it can also flood and submerge. The sea and its waves represent the range of emotions within a person. (The animals symbolizing Neptune are the horse, embodying wildness, power, drives, instincts, and strength, and the bull, representing power, fertility, and connection to the earth). The animals representing these two gods symbolize the earth and the instincts that must be relinquished for the sake of the spirit.

Representation of the Card in a Reading

The card represents the completion of the initiation process where the person becomes a master. They reach inner maturity and gain the necessary insight to understand what they need to do to spiritually evolve. At this stage, the person finds their true purpose. The world continues as usual, but the master’s perspective has changed. This is a card of pain and sacrifice. The natural tendency of a person in times of change is to resist; the hanged man seeks to pause and let the challenge teach the lesson. It is a challenging card as its success depends on the person’s willingness to sacrifice and relinquish. It is important for the person to change their perspective on the situation. The world of material existence holds all the challenges necessary for spiritual growth. The process of spiritual development involves sadness and loneliness, which are part of the master’s sacrifice for the process. “”Fake it till you make it”” (also known as “”act as if””) is a psychological technique recommended as a treatment method for fighting depression. The idea is to behave throughout the day as if one is full of joy and pleasure, even though initially the behavior may be forced. Research has shown that a person learns to adopt the new behavior and eventually feels happy. This technique can be applied to all life behaviors, from self-confidence and joy of life to optimism and starting a sports routine. When this card appears in a reading, there are situations where the querent is dissatisfied with their life situation, which is a crisis imposed upon them. The cause of dissatisfaction is internal, such as work or a partner, which reflects the querent’s behavior. Changing one’s behavior will lead to a change in the external situation and bring about a shift in perspective and understanding. To create change, one must sacrifice comfort and old habits.

It is important to remember that this is a card of the Major Arcana, representing the world of the spirit. The querent’s soul is in the place of the Hanged Man, in a place of sacrifice for spiritual development. To achieve this, they must sacrifice and let go of old patterns. They must create change even through pain, loneliness, and the loss of the old.