The Hanged Man

✦ Surrender; Faith; Sacrifice; Perspective

✦ Introduction

A man suspended in the air lays face-down in a golden field. He is calm, peaceful, and relieved as he slowly lifts and disintegrates.

✦ Symbol of Surrender

The Hanged Man is a symbol of surrender, but not of principle or will. With liquid gold dripping from his lips and nourishing the earth around him, he embodies the realization that some situations can only be won by losing, sacrificing a battle in order to win the war.

✦ Peace and Understanding

A cloud of butterflies manifests near his vanishing feet. He is finally at peace confronting this realization, and the card is also encased by an aura of understanding and finality, a quiet and dignified end to achieve the greater goal.

✦ Taking a Different Approach

In this contradictory nature, the Hanged Man can also symbolize taking a different and unexpected approach. The most obvious answer is not always the best.

✦ Additional Artwork

Floating above the Hanged Man’s feet is a schematic view of the city of Teotihuacan, the birthplace of the 5th sun.

✦ Aztec Mythology

In Aztec creation mythology, the current world is the latest of 5 incarnations, each of which required a god’s sacrifice in order to create the sun and give life. After a sacrificial bonfire was started, Tecuciztecatl, a rich and proud god, was the first to volunteer. However, upon seeing the fire in which he would die, he hesitated and retreated. In his stead, the poor and unseemly Nanahuatzin willingly took his place. As he threw himself into the fire, he became the sun, lighting the world. Seeing this and wracked with guilt, the first god followed Nanahuatzin into the fire as well, becoming the moon, forever following the sun and half as bright.