The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man signifies a period of suspension, sacrifice, and release. It encourages letting go of perceived control and embracing a state of stillness to gather resources and prepare for action. This card emphasizes the importance of surrendering willingly and recognizing that sometimes, the best course of action is to pause and reflect before making decisions. When inverted, it highlights taking responsibility for one's life and the necessity of effort for meaningful change.
Keywords
Releasing
I am releasing.
Martyrdom and Sacrifice
There is more than one religion that speaks of a man hanged from a tree. Mithras in Roman mythology, Odin from Norse, Jesus in Christianity, and Osiris from Egypt. This card is often interpreted as representative of martyrdom, as several saints chose to be hung or crucified upside down rather than replicate the manner in which Jesus died. The more accurate word, other than martyr, would be sacrifice. In each of the cases, the self is sacrificed for the sake of humankind. The expression on the man’s face is serene. His leg is tied, and he looks like he could free himself if he wanted to. He doesn’t want to—he’s going into this willingly.
Surrender as a Choice
One of my friends recently shared this with me: “Remember that surrender is an act of will. It is a choice to unclench one’s fists and to hang oneself upside down and stay there.” The Hanged Man is about potential rather than kinetic energy. It’s healing, becoming prepared to act, observing. This isn’t the stillness of one who is lazy or afraid; this is the stillness of someone collecting their resources and getting ready to act.
Release and Acceptance
When this card comes up in a reading, it’s about release. Letting go of all perceived control of your life and allowing the lessons to be absorbed. It’s a good time for learning, because soon he’ll have to let himself down from the tree (note the leaves: it’s not a cross) and face the new realities that surround him. He is truly suspended, in the air and in time. Sometimes if you don’t know what to do or where to go, the best thing is to just sit down.
The Dogpile Effect
Let’s say that my client is having a hard time. Hard time at work, at home, emotionally, physically, with family members, and in his relationship. This happens a lot, guys. I call it dogpiling. One bad thing hits you, then another, and another, and the next you know, you’re just covered in crap. I get a lot of calls from people when they’re in the middle of a dogpile. They never ask about all of the things that are going wrong at once. They only ask one question. “Should I leave my relationship?” “Should I move?” Or “Should I get a new job?” They are looking for one thing to fix in order to change their whole lives.
Seeing Clearly
Sometimes it’s hard to see the trees for the forest. If your whole life has gone weird, it’s very easy to scapegoat a part of your life and make that the problem. “I’m unhappy, so I’ll leave this relationship and everything will get better.” I’ve actually done this before. The relationship ended, and I was still unhappy and stuck. Except now I was lonely, too. Boo.
The Importance of Stillness
There doesn’t seem to be a good answer, really, but the one that seems to be the most effective is this: Sit. Down. Stop. Moving. You don’t have to decide everything in your life right this second. The world isn’t going to stop spinning, nor will you turn to dust if you just sit down and be still for a damned second.
Perception vs. Reality
If your life is exploding and all of the dust is flying around, you can’t see things that clearly anyway. What could actually be a medical issue could seem like an intolerant partner. What could seem like jerkfaces at work could actually be that you’re feeling terribly vulnerable at the moment and really are taking things too seriously. This is a thing. Rather than going completely scorched earth on your life, the Hanged Man encourages you to stop, rest, confirm that the decision you’re going to make is a good one, and move forward.
Self-Responsibility
I know that sometimes it’s easier to point in one direction and say that this thing right here is ruining everything. Unfortunately, because we’re people and we’re fallible, we are often the ones who ruint it. (That’s a word in southern Missouri. Ruint: to have ruined a thing in the past.) Through indecisiveness, inaction, not caring for ourselves properly, or putting our fingers in our ears and singing “la la la,” we set ourselves up for the dreaded dogpile.
Being Kind to Ourselves
Let’s try to be a little more self-aware and a lot kinder to ourselves, shall we? The thing to remember about dogpiles is that if you’re on the bottom, you don’t get to move until everything else is gone. Might as well be productive with that still time, right?
Confidence
I have faith in you.
The Hanged Man Inverted
Kate Hill of www.aeclectic.net has a great line to help remember what the reversed Hanged Man represents: “No pain, no gain.” You have to put forth effort in order to make strides. You have to have some sort of clarity in order to see the best way to go. I also see the reversed Hanged Man come up a lot when people are standing still and blaming all of the action on other people. It’s a reminder to take responsibility for yourself and your life.
Exotic Cancer Tarot
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