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THE PRINCIPLE OF FREEDOM, SURRENDER &
BREAKING OLD LIMITING STAGNANT PATTERNS
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"The
world would have you agree with its dismal dream
of limitation, but the light would have you soar like
the eagle of your sacred visions."
- Alan Cohen |
The Hanged Man represents the
Worldly Principle and
Universal Archetype of Recognizing and
Awakening to
Repetitive Patterns that
bind, limit and
restrict our
growth and evolution. It is about
living a life of
adventure,
mystery and
excitement, allowing your Life to
be happily interrupted by positive change which will
steer you to realize your
true and
Beautiful potential!
The inner search for Truth has always been a
worthy
journey to undertake and The Hanged Man reminds us to
grasp our own unique wisdom in
Occult matters, and
sacrifice the ego for a
phenomenal change in our
point
of view, recognizing the
Divine sage within.
The Hanged Man is known as ‘the pattern breaker’. In
order to break limiting patterns that we carry, it is
necessary to take a distinctly different posture or
stance, such as
turning ourselves up-side down to get
another view of a restrictive pattern or
stuck in a web
of our own consciousness that is being
experienced.
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"The Hanged Man represents that state of
consciousness which requires that we move beyond
ego and trust the deeper aspects of who we are.
This is the state of surrender and acceptance
which is the preliminary step required before we
can free ourselves from destructive and limiting
patterns that we experience in our lives. Often
this symbol might be viewed as the crucifixion
of the ego or of egoic patterns which are no
longer constructive. The universal symbol
associated with repetitive patterns is the
labyrinth, represented by the squares within the
squares within the background of this card. To
use modern-day terms, the Hanged Man reminds us
that our ‘hang-ups’ can either prevent our
growth and evolution or they can serve to teach
us where we need to free ourselves from undue
self-imposed limitations. This symbol ultimately
teaches us that there are always many more
options, solutions, and perspectives to consider
than those in which we are currently invested."
- Angeles
Arrien (The Tarot Handbook) |
When we experience ourselves being
bound, limited and
blocked, there is a sense of
being numb, asleep,
depressed and blind. The
sleeping snake is a reminder symbol for us
to take note that nothing is renewed or
regenerated when we are
fixated or stuck.
The Egyptian Ankh is the
Universal
symbol of unlimited life force, always accessible for
creative use.
Self-imposed limitations or
repetitive patterns will make us feel
bound and nailed within
impossible situations, the feeling of
having
no options, no way out.
The solution is
found in our
willingness to surrender to a greater sense of faith and
trust
within our Beautiful Divine Nature’s.
Within the marvellous
Shadowscapes
Companion Tarot by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, the
beautiful imagery of the card reminds us to
let go and surrender to
experience and emotional release. As the saying goes ‘Accept what is
and willingly give up control’. Through suspending action and
‘sacrificing’ ourselves we
learn the truth of our
hidden wisdoms.
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"In the foggy depths of the woods, he
dips his fingers into the red clay, and with a
careful hand he trails the patterns across his
skin, across chest and arms and face. The
spirals of red draw his mind into that place of
deep meditation where thought becomes action and
where the stillness speaks with the voices of
the gods.
When the silence in his soul is absolute, he
rises to his feet. The spirits of the forest
watch as he passes, in mute witness and respect.
They reach out tentatively to touch his hallowed
flesh and fall into his footsteps. With solemn
dignity, the procession arrives at the great
oak.
The Hanged Man makes his choice of
self-sacrifice. He goes willingly to his fate,
unhinges his grip on control, and endures for
the sake of the rewards such knowing sacrifice
may bring. Ivy creeps along his body, binding
and entwining him physically to the tree, until
they are as one. Ivy, symbol of determination
and the unbreakable strength and will of the
human spirit.
In an echo of his action of faith and
sacrifice, the fey fold back their wings and
free-fall from their perches in the tree,
entrusting themselves to the winds."
- Stephanie
Pui-Mun Law & Barbara Moore
(Shadowscapes
Companion) |
As the
Great Norse god
Odin hung upon the world tree,
Yggdrasil in his
quest
for knowledge, his sacrifice
taught him the secret of
the 'runes'. In the same order, to
attain the greatest rewards,
we must be willing to give up the Self.
This idea is explored in
the excellent movie
Conan the Barbarian, with
Arnold
Schwarzenegger, directed by
John Milius.
Conan is hung
on the 'Tree of Woe' by the
Sorcerer Thulsa Doom, played
by the magnificent
James Earl Jones. After
Conan
survives the ordeal, he is ever
wiser and
learns the
secret of steel.
With this in
heart and
mind,
The Hanged Man urges to
reverse your view of the
world and see things
with a new light. During these
sacred
times, a change in one’s perception of the world is
required, a subtle inner shift!
In the
sparkling
Animals
Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt,
The Hanged Man shares the
same rhythm as that of the Native American ‘Spider
Woman’. The facets that are taught are
letting go of
stagnation, moving gracefully with inertia,
being aware
of the repetitive cycle of our own Nature, the
blessed
need to grow on our path of excellence. At times when a
crisis affects us then we are
forced to make changes. If
we do not heed the call of change then
great disaster
may befall. Sacrificing our ego is called for.
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"The web is a matrix of all life. Our
actions have a karmic effect and can affect
other lives in far-reaching ways. The stars help
to illuminate our progress as we contribute our
own unique threads to the ever-changing design.
The spider is the Great Mother, our teacher,
guide and the weaver of destiny. A feather
signifies her ability to expose truth despite
our possible resistance to acknowledging it. The
circular motif reminds us that life is
continuous and ever-evolving. Changes are
inevitable."
- Lisa Hunt (Animals
Divine) |
The learned and
wise Spider Woman’s
influence expanded throughout native
tribes;
Navaho,
Pueblo and
Hopi.
In an
Anasazi-Pueblo myth,
Spider Woman is the
creator and
goddess of the people.
Her threads were spun in four directions:
north, south,
east and west. She created
direction out of a
primordial
void. The sun and
moon were created using
elements of
earth, and placed in the vast sky. The
darkness
surrounding the moon was illuminated by scattering stars
in the night sky.
Living beings were then
created, including man and woman. They were
blessed with
power to consider her
web of wisdom. From the first
humans grew an entire race of people, each one
inheriting the
web of wisdom. Over time, the people
became disillusioned and
forgot about the
gift of
insight, so Spider Woman
transferred them to the second
world. In this second world,
evil overwhelmed the
sensibilities of the people and they were forced to make
an exodus into the
third world.
With Spider Woman as their
divine teacher, they learned how to
plant,
make fire and
weave. Over time they yet again
ignored the
web of wisdom, so
Spider Woman intervened and
instructed the
wise members of the people to
make the journey into the
fourth world. They learnt to
start over.
With the help of a
squirrel, a
reed was planted so that those
willing to
leave evil behind could
make the journey to the
fourth
world using the growing plant as a
ladder.
The people who transferred
to the fourth world learned
language and
prayer and
finally remembered to
reflect upon the
web of wisdom.
Somehow evil also ascended to the
fourth
world, so the
Spirit of Death flourished, making the people
mortal and
human. The
web of life may need to be
repaired if
neglect and
imbalance begin to permeate its
delicate
threads.
Spider Woman
reminds us to
take a detailed look at our
current situations and make sure that
we do not lose sight of our sacred and
divine journey,
otherwise we may become lost,
entangled in an
uninspired
state of being. The Hanged Man
asks us to keep true
to our own secret of Nature.
Written in the
gorgeous
Fantastical Creatures Tarot, written by
Lisa Hunt and
illustrated by D.J. Conway,
The Hanged Man is
personified by
Medusa from the
ancient tome of
Greek
Legend!
As a beautiful princess in
the
temple of Athena,
Medusa was
seduced by
Poseidon,
thus profaning her
religious position and the
temple
itself. As punishment,
Athena changed
Medusa into a
terrible monster with
snake-scales,
hair of writhing
venomous serpents, a protruding tongue, and a
deadly
gaze that turned
humans into stone.
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"In this card, Medusa sits along a path
bordered with large rocks, the spiral at her
feet anchors any forward movement. The spirals
on the rocks are half-formed, presenting no
clear patterns to follow, but many
possibilities. Medusa’s stare has frozen all
ability to see what needs to be done to break
the impasse. One must wait, endure, and learn
patience."
- Lisa Hunt (Fantastical
Creatures) |
Everything is frozen. A
barrier in your life keeps you from
moving forward.
Living through tremendously stressful conditions, but
managing to survive by
waiting for the right time. In
order to thrive you must sacrifice the ego and
connect
deep into your spiritual Self, hence the
blocks and
obstacles will
make themselves clear and can be
released!
You can also use this card
as a defensive spell to
freeze someone else’s actions if
they are doing you harm. Always remember
Karma will come
back if you use this technique maliciously!
In the
wholesome text,
Learning the Tarot by Joan Bunning, the deck which is
referenced is the excellent
Rider-Waite. The author
reminds us that The Hanged Man is one of the most
mysterious cards in the sacred pack,
simple yet
infinitely curious. It has the
subtle edge to attract,
yet also disturb, lending itself to
contradiction in
countless ways.
The action of paradox is
phenomenally healthy and this is
infinitely true for The Hanged
Man, as it presents certain truths,
hidden in opposites.
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"The main lesson of the Hanged Man is
that we ‘control’ by letting go – we ‘win’ by
surrendering. The figure on Card Twelve has made
the ultimate surrender – to die on the cross of
his own travails – yet he shines with the glory
of divine understanding. He has sacrificed
himself, but he emerges the victor. The Hanged
Man also tells us that we can ‘move forward’ by
standing still. By suspending time, we can have
all the time in the world."
- Joan
Bunning (Learning the Tarot) |
The best approach is not
always the most obvious one. When we most want to
force
our will on someone or something, that is when we should
release. When we
most want to have our own way, then we
should sacrifice. When we
most want to act, that is when
to wait. The irony is that by
making these contradictory
moves, we find what we are looking for.
Be warned that there is a
danger to be
shallowly content with your
present
environment and circumstances, to give yourself over to
pre-occupation with material matters, which
steer you
away from the secrets within!
The keyword of
RELEASE is
highlighted in the Fabulous
Connolly Tarot, created by
Eileen Connolly and illustrated by Peter Paul Connolly.
It is possible to pierce the barrier of limited
consciousness and avail yourself of
higher wisdom.
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"A young man with a halo of gold and a
look of contentment on his face hangs from a
living tree. Clothed in various shades of blue,
the Hanged Man obviously has a deep sense of his
own spirituality. His shoes, tunic and belt are
the vivid red of individuality. He draws
energies from the living wood. An air of
self-satisfaction surrounds him. The cherub
brings to his attention that the ropes are not
tied. He brings wisdom to the Hanged Man and
advises him that the time to act is now."
- Eileen
Connolly (Connolly Tarot) |
This powerful symbolic
concept is explored in
Star Wars: A New Hope when
Ben
‘Obi-Wan’ Kenobi advises Luke to “let go your conscious
self and act on instinct” while
Luke (the Sun) is
lightsabre training on board the
Falcon.
The delightful
Haindl
Tarot by Hermann Haindl personifies
The Hanged Man with
a host of ancient gods from sacred mythology, most
notably
Tyr and
Tewaz who are
gods of War and
Law,
Neptune the
god of the Sea and
Odin
, the Allfather from
Norse myth.
On the
Haindl
representation, the rainbow implies
water; colours
correspond on The Hanged Man’s body to
chakras,
yogic
points of energy in the human physique.
The Hanged Man’s
hair merges into the ground like the
roots of a tree. On
one side shines a crescent moon, symbol of
The High
Priestess, goddess of Mystery. On the other appear
Odin’s twin ravens
Huginn (thought) and
Muninn (memory).
Ravens signify the
realm of the Dead and thus
bring
information from the ‘other side’. These
manifestations
reveal an attachment to deep spiritual awareness and
independence.
As with all
learned truths
and mysteries, be careful that you do not
fold to
conformity by influencing pressure from others and
not
conform to outside ideas and
demands. This
negativity
can lead to lack of purpose and
make the card moot in
point. In order to get past hang-ups a
sacrifice must be
made, just as
Odin
hung from the tree of Life to
reveal
secrets from his sanctum, known only to the
Beholder.
Looking at
The Hanged Man
from an astrological perspective as shown by the
learned
and excellent researcher
Michael Tsarion, the number of
the card is twelve, its element is
water and modality is
fixed. The house of
Scorpio has
great affluence and the
planet rulers are
Neptune and
Pluto. The season when
The
Hanged Man is most prevalent is
Winter. In
alchemy the
term closely associated is Dissolutio. From a
Kabalistic
perspective the path walked is
Kether –
twenty three.
The mythical forms associated are
Odin,
Balder,
Buddha,
Jesus,
Horus,
Prometheus and
Dionysus.
From an
Occult
perspective, Aleister Crowley’s
splendid
Thoth Tarot
deck is invaluable, having been
painted by the
remarkable
Lady Frieda Harris.
The Master Therion
himself states;
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"This card, attributed to the letter
Mem, represents the element of Water. It would
perhaps be better to say that it represents the
spiritual function of water in the economy of
initiation; it is a baptism which is also a
death. In the Aeon of Osiris, this card
represented the supreme formula of adeptship;
for the figure of the drowned or hanged man has
its own special meaning. The legs are crossed so
that the right leg forms a right angle with the
left leg, and the arms are stretched out at an
angle of 60°, so as to form an equilateral
triangle; this gives the symbol of the Triangle
surmounted by the Cross, which represents the
descent of the light into the darkness in order
to redeem it. For this reason there are green
disks – green, the colour of Venus, signifies
Grace – at the terminations of the limbs and of
the head. The air above the surface of the water
is also green, infiltrated by rays of the white
light of Kether. The whole figure is suspended
from the Ankh, another way of figuring the
formula of the Rose and Cross, while around the
left foot is the Serpent, creator and destroyer,
who operates all change.
It is notable that there is an apparent
increase in darkness and solidity in proportion
as the redeeming element manifests itself; but
the colour of green is the colour of Venus, of
the hope that lies in love. That depends upon
the formulation of the Rose and Cross, of the
annihilation of the self in the Belovèd, the
condition of progress. In this inferior darkness
of death, the serpent of new life begins to
stir.
In the former Aeon, that of Osiris, the
element of Air, which is the nature of that
Aeon, is not unsympathetic either to Water or to
Fire; compromise was a mark of that period. But
now, under a Fiery lord of the Aeon, the watery
element, so far as water is below the Abyss, is
definitely hostile, unless the opposition is the
right opposition implied in marriage. But in
this card the only question is the 'submerged' element, and therefore everything is
reversed. This idea of sacrifice is, in the
final analysis, a wrong idea."
- Aleister
Crowley (The Book of Thoth) |
‘I give unimaginable joys
on earth: certainty, not faith, while in life, upon
death; peace unutterable, rest, ecstacy; nor do I demand
aught in sacrifice.’
The idea presented is that
every man and
woman is a
star unto
themselves, having
been exemplified in the texture,
shape and
colour of
The
Hanged Man.
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"This card is beautiful in a strange,
immemorial, moribund manner. It is the card of
the Dying God; its importance in the present
pack is merely that of the Cenotaph. It says:
‘If ever things get bad like that again, in the
new Dark Ages which appear to threaten, this is
the way to put things right.’ But if things have
to be put right, it shows that they are very
wrong. It should be the chiefest aim of the wise
to rid mankind of the insolence of
self-sacrifice, of the calamity of chastity;
faith must be slain by certainty, and chastity
by ecstacy."
- Aleister
Crowley (The Book of Thoth) |
The card is especially
sacred to the
Mystic, and the attitude of the figure is
a ritual posture in the Practice called ‘The Sleep of
Shiloam’.
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"The Atu represents the sacrifice of ‘a
male child of perfect innocence and high
intelligence’ – these words were chosen with the
utmost care. The meaning of his attitude has
already been described, and of the fact that he
is hanged from an Ankh, an equivalent of the
Rosy Cross; in some early cards the gallows is a
Pylon, or the branch of a Tree, by shape
suggesting the letter Daleth, Venus, Love.
His background is an unbounded grill of small
squares; these are the Elemental Tablets which
exhibit the names and sigilla of all the
energies of Nature. Through his Work a Child is
begotten, as shewn by the Serpent stirring in
the Darkness of the Abyss below him.
Yet the card in itself is essentially a glyph of
Water; Mem is one of the three great Mother
Letters, and its value is 40, the might of
Tetragrammaton fully developed by Malkuth, the
symbol of the Universe under the Demiourgos.
Moreover, Water is peculiarly the Mother Letter,
for both Shin and Alpeh (the other two)
represent masculine ideas; and, in Nature, Homo
Sapiens is a marine mammal, and our
intra-uterine existence is passed in the
Amniotic Fluid. The legend of Noah, the Ark and
the Flood, is no more than a hieratic
presentation of the facts of life. It is then to
Water that the Adepts have always looked for the
continuation (in some sense or other) and to the
prolongation and perhaps renovation of life.
The legend of the Gospels, dealing with the
Greater Mysteries of the Lance and the Cup
(those of the god Iacchus = Iao) as superior to
the Lesser Mysteries (those of the God Ion =
Noah, and the N-gods in general) in which the
Sword slays the god that his head may be offered
on a Plate, or Disk, says: And a soldier with a
spear pierced his side, and therefore there came
out blood and water. This Wine, collected by the
Beloved Disciple and the Virgin-Mother, waiting
beneath the Cross or Tree for that purpose, in a
Cup or Chalice; this is the Holy Grail or
Sangrél (Sangraal) of Monsalvat, the Mountain of
Salvation. [Grail (gréal) actually means a dish:
O.F. grail, greal, grasal, probably corrupted
from the late Latin gradale, itself a corrupt
form of crater, a bowl.] This Sacrament is
exalted in the Zenith in Cancer; see Atu VII."
- Aleister
Crowley (The Book of Thoth) |
Crowley further states;
“It is most necessary for the Student to go
round and
round this Wheel of symbolism until the figures
melt
imperceptibly the one into the other in an
intoxicating
dance of ecstacy; not until he has
attained that is he
able to partake of the Sacrament, and
accomplish for
himself – and for all men! –
The Great Work.
But let him also
remember
the practical secret cloistered in all these
wind-swept
corridors of music, the actual preparation of
The Stone
of the Wise, the Medicine of Metals, and the
Elixir of
Life!”
The dedicated scholar
Lon
Milo DuQuette in his thesis ‘Understanding Aleister
Crowley’s Thoth Tarot’ sheds more light on the
Magician’s work. He refers to
The Hanged Man as ‘The
Spirit of the Mighty Waters’ and ‘Elemental Trump of
Water’, and further states; “Let not the water whereon
thou journeyest wet thee! And, being come to shore,
plant thou the Vine and rejoice without shame.”
An interesting note from
Harris to Crowley in the
Fall of 1939 states - “We will
finish like Alice through the Looking Glass by having
the whole pack on our heads. Goodnight.” A
few months later on December 19th
1939, Crowley replied with - “I
have long foreseen the “Alice in Wonderland” conclusion
of our labours, but that if you remember was the signal
for the awakening to the beauty of life.”
This enlightening exchange
between writer and
painter gives tremendous
insight into the sacred pact
which both made to bring
understanding to Light.
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"Crowley identifies the Aeon of Isis
with the element water. This was an age when it
was universally perceived that human life came
from woman alone. The sacrifice was made by the
woman on the altar of her own body, and the
Hanged Man was the unborn baby who floated
upside down in the water of the womb just prior
to birth."
- Lon Milo
DuQuette
(Understanding Crowley’s Thoth
Tarot) |
The author continues;
The
Aeon of Osiris is identified with the
element air, which
is sympathetic to both
water and
fire. Therefore, in the
Aeon of Osiris, the
sacrifice was one of
compromise.
This was the age of the dying god, when an
individual just
couldn’t be a real savior unless
they first came out of
the water (baptized) and then
compromised their own
body by allowing themselves to be
tortured,
murdered, then
hung or
nailed to a tree to
redeem the lives of the
people. A couple of thousand years ago, this
selfless
gesture was a big step forward in
spiritual politeness.
As a matter of fact, for The Aeon
of Osiris, it became
the supreme formula of adeptship expressed by
INRI/IAO.
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"The Hanged Man of the Thoth Tarot still
symbolizes the descent of light into the
darkness in order to redeem it, but the word
“redeem” no longer implies an existing debt that
needs to be paid. Instead, redemption in the
Aeon of Horus is the noble duty of the
enlightened to bring enlightenment to the
unenlightened."
- Lon Milo
DuQuette
(Understanding Crowley’s Thoth
Tarot) |
Please note how
Lady
Harris ingeniously uses
projective geometry to link this
card with other water-related cards.
Place The
Hanged Man top-to-top with
The High Priestess and
The
Queen of Cups. Other items of interest include her
stylized Enochian tablets in the background, and her use
of the color green to inject a
Venusian influence.
When
The Hanged Man shows
its serene and
secret face, then it is time to
connect
deep into your eternal reservoir and
explore the
mysteries which only you can
scribe and
decode. In order
to learn the hidden truths, one must take a
unique
perspective to view the world. Those
nail-biting blocks
and obstacles will be
made clear and
washed away with
the waters of purity. Be as
the
Great Odin and hang from the tree
of Knowledge and Life!
POSITIVE PATH
-
Letting Go
-
having an emotional release
accepting what is
surrendering to experience
ending the struggle
being vulnerable and open
giving up control
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-
Reversing -
turning the world around
changing your mind
overturning old priorities
seeing from a new angle
upending the old order
doing an about-face
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-
Suspending Action
-
pausing to reflect
feeling outside of time
taking time to just be
giving up urgency
living in the moment
waiting for the best opportunity
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-
Sacrificing
-
being a martyr
renouncing a claim
putting self-interest aside
one step back - two steps forward
giving up for a higher cause
putting others first
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WORLD AND
OCCUPATION
- Fantasy & Fertile Imagination -
independence, maturation, willpower, courage,
sacrifice,
contemplation, meditation, new perspectives,
strength,
unmoved by upsets and vagaries, deeper understanding,
overcoming tests with quiet resolve, willing
abstinence,
confronting the dark side, introspection, resistance,
identification with the suffering of others,
endurance,
stamina, individuality, discipleship, seeing the
unseen,
overcoming limitation and difficulty, uncovering
secrets,
psychological analysis, quantum development,
idealism
conquering fears and habits, constancy, renunciation,
patience, doing things our own way, search, trials,
individuals of talent and genius, austerity,
surrender,
defending idiosyncrasies, advancement, wisdom, yoga,
turning away from shallow pursuits, circumspection,
inclined to abstain from material difficulties,
prophecy,
empathy, discernment, intuition, divination,
altruism,
magicians , artists , jesters, eccentrics, playboys,
mimics,
visionaries, performers, acrobats, thieves, gymnasts,
hermaphrodites, criminals, transsexuals, androgyny |
NEGATIVE
PATH
- Unwilling to Connect -
confusion , sacrifice, inversion,
entanglement,
impotency, powerlessness, loss of possessions,
suffering, disruption, bizarre occurrences,
stasis,
penance, limbo, low self-esteem, disorientation,
dissolution, incompetence, reversals, delay
despondency, nebulousness, hypochondria, self-flagellation, mood swings, impersonation,
suspension, loss of security, misrepresentation,
loss of privilege, unpredictability, betrayal,
rare disease , let down, self-sabotage,
abstraction
compulsive behaviour, depression, pretence,
paranoia, immorality, malpractice, iconoclasm,
falsehood, disobedience, fraud, toxicity,
infection, obsession, fanaticism, clandestine activity,
worry,
physical or mental incapacity, insanity, secrets,
depravity, perversion, mind altering substances,
crime, invalidism, remedialism, poison,
allergies,
regression, substance abuse, primitivism,
alcoholism,
negative habits, unwilling to connect into
sacred self |
REVERSED
-
Exiting from the Underworld -
conventionality , improving
times, reprieve,
lack of individuality, ending of
self-delusion,
end of an uncomfortable period, release,
end of an ordeal, refusing to better oneself, lack of self-control and discipline, shallowness,
a wasteful search, return of sanity,
mendacity,
impatience, violation of the natural order, lack of psychological insight, a useless
gesture
spiritual vacuity, moral leprosy,
selfishness,
lack of effort needed to achieve a goal,
the crowd, body politic, self-abuse |
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"The reversal asks to strengthen the positive and
release the negative. Any path will always lead
to both being fulfilled."
- Michael
Tsarion |
BIO-ENERGETIC
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- Identifying Symptoms -
hypochondria , medication problems,
poisoning , immune system deficiency,
problems with lymphatics, schizophrenia,
hormonal imbalance, physical handicap,
emotional instability, sexual disease |
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The
Hanged Man as
a
Life-Time Personality Symbol
For those individuals whose birthday adds up to
twelve, The Hanged Man is your life-time
personality symbol. You will always be committed
to looking at situations and people from many
different postures and perspectives. You will be
the kind of person who does not limit or
restrict themselves in any way. You are a
natural pattern-breaker. It is your gift to be
able to assist others to look at life and their
problems from different angles.
Comedians are natural pattern-breakers. Through
humour, you will assist others to take a
different view and perspective of their
current
fixations and stuck situations. Also, just as a
psychologist does, you can 'reframe' a problem
and issue in such a way that solutions can be
found. You have the ability to constantly free
yourself from self-imposed limitations and
because of this, be able to help others.
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The
Hanged Man as a
Growth Symbol
The Hanged Man is your Growth symbol during the
year that your birthday and the current year add
up to twelve. During this year, people from the
past will make contact with you. These
individuals will function as important mirrors
to show you those patterns from the
past that
you need to release.
Hanged Man years are the best years to
actively
break destructive patterns that bind,
limit or
restrict growth and development. It is a year
where you will experience greater compassion and
acceptance of self by releasing limiting egoic
needs and surrendering to the deeper love and
wisdom that wants to be expressed within your
spiritual nature.
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The Hanged Man as an
Outer Mirror
When you pull this wonderful card and find
yourself drawn to it, this means that you have
awakened to and have recognized limiting
patterns that need to be broken.
Since this is a Major Arcana card, you are
determined to triumph in being unstuck and in
releasing yourself from self-imposed
limitations, fixed perspectives and
unresolved
'hang-ups'.
Within the next twelve weeks, twelve months, you
will see clearly restrictive patterns in
yourself that you will be resolved to
act upon
and break. You will have the need to free
yourself from destructive personal patterns and
relationships. The Hanged Man represents a
time
to surrender and move beyond egoic needs in
order to trust the deeper spiritual wisdom
within your nature that desires to be expressed.
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The Hanged Man as a
Visual Affirmation & Meditative Symbol
The Hanged Man reinforces the personal intention
to break old patterns that bind,
limit or
restrict nature in any way. This is the
best
symbol to use in meditation and creative
visualization processes to assist your ability
to take a different posture and stance on
old
and outdated issues and trains of thought.
The Hanged Man, when consciously used, is an
archetype that allows you to see who you are
beyond ego. It is the symbol that facilitates
freedom from limiting and unconstructive
patterns.
Sample Affirmations
I
enjoy looking at the same situation
from as many different perspectives as possible.
I
value breaking ineffective old patterns.
I
trust and have faith in the deep essence of who
I am.
I
surrender to the higher design and to God’s
will.
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Symbols
that are facets of The
Hanged Man
The Hanged Man is The Empress archetype (love
with wisdom) that is expressed externally
towards ourselves and applied to the world
without limitation or restriction.
The Hanged Man reveals that part of our being
that is willing to love ourselves enough to
break limiting or destructive patterns within
our personality. The Hanged Man is willing to
sacrifice 'make sacred', egoic needs in order to
surrender to the divine love and
wisdom within
us that wants to be expressed in the world in
unlimited and undistorted ways.
The Hanged Man (number twelve adds up to
three) is the outer expression of the
internal Empress (number three) that is
within us. By releasing the wounded parts of the
past that we still hold in our minds (Three
of Swords), we are able to express our
feelings abundantly (Three of Cups) from
a place of knowing our priorities and
commitments (Three of Disks). Loving with
wisdom (The Empress) comes from a place
of integrity, which is the alignment of mind,
heart and action in all that we do (Three of
Wands). When we release our limiting and
destructive patterns (The Hanged Man) we
are free to openly express our inherent love
with wisdom (The Empress) into the world
(The Universe).
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Gifts &
Challenges of The Chariot -
Gifts
The
Empress (Love with Wisdom)
The Three of Cups (Abundance)
The Three of Wands (Integrity, Virtue)
The Three of Disks ('Works', Priorities)
The Universe
(The Expression of Love in the World)
Challenges
The Three
of Swords (Past Sorrow)
The Hanged Man (Breaking Patterns) |
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Opposing Cards: some possibilities -
The Magician
acting, doing
The Chariot
self assertion
The Seven of Wands
defiance, struggling against
The Ten of Wands
struggle
The Four of Pentacles
holding on, control
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- Reinforcing Cards: some possibilities
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The Fool
faith in what is, going with the flow
The High
Priestess
suspending activity, waiting
Strength
patience, taking time
The Four of Swords
rest, suspended activity
The Ten of Swords
sacrifice, martyrdom
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- Research sources -
Taroscopes
by
Michael Tsarion
Röhrig
Tarot by
Carl-W. Röhrig
Arcus Arcanum Tarot by
Hager Gunter
The Tarot Handbook by
Angeles Arrien
The Book of Thoth by
Aleister Crowley
Animals Divine Companion
by Lisa Hunt
Fantastical Creatures
by Lisa Hunt
&
D.J. Conway
Thoth
Tarot by
Aleister Crowley &
Lady Frieda Harris
Radiant Rider-Waite Tarot by
Pamela Colman Smith
Shadowscapes
by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
& Barbara Moore
Understanding Crowley’s Thoth Tarot
by Lon Milo DuQuette
Robin Wood Tarot
by Robin Wood
& Michael Short
Kleopatra Tarot
by Etta Stoico
& Silvana Alasia
Connolly Tarot
by Eileen
& Peter Paul
Connolly
Learning the Tarot
by Joan Bunning
Haindl Tarot by
Hermann Haindl
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