The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man symbolizes personal sacrifice for the greater good and spiritual gain, peaceful acceptance of the loss of power, and transformation through suffering. The card incorporates imagery of St. Sebastian and draws a parallel to Odin's sacrifice on Yggdrasil. It represents a transmasculine body, divine ecstasy, and freedom. The flowering branches signify an unstoppable life force that rejuvenates through hardship, emphasizing the value of enduring pain for worthwhile outcomes.
Keywords
It was only a matter of time until St. Sebastian imagery made its way into my cards. The Hanged Man—a card of personal sacrifice for the greater good and spiritual gain, of peaceful acceptance of the loss of power, and of transformation through suffering—felt perfect for it. Enough has already been written and said about St. Sebastian’s significance in queer cultural iconography, but I wanted to take the symbolism of the card further by representing a transmasculine body.
Imagery
His chest is draped with bandages that unwind, as if to release him from their trappings, and his face is that of divine ecstasy, to symbolize the euphoric point of personal freedom and acceptance.
Odin's Sacrifice
The tree is also a nod to Odin’s sacrifice upon the Yggdrasil, where the god hung for nine days, died and was reborn again. A sacrifice of the self to the self, made to gain knowledge of the runes—runes from which blossomed intellectual and spiritual knowledge, communication, and the magic of storytelling.
Symbolism of Transformation
St. Sebastian, it is important to note, never died upon the tree at all. The flowering green branches, bursting in sprays of cherry blossom, stand for this unstoppable life force that fades and lies dormant and then springs forth again with the change of the seasons. It is a kind of transformation that feeds upon hardship, which teaches us that a worthwhile thing rarely comes easily, but that the pain is worth it in the end.
Fyodor Pavlov tarot
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