12. The Hanged Man




     The Hanged Man is the twelfth card of the Major Arcana, and the twelfth step on the journey of life. Hanging from the Tau (The Tree of Life) a young man comfortably ponders the path he is taking and the events in his life. His legs are positioned like an inverted (4), signifying a point of reaching a higher level of maturity, yet maintaining his childlike nature. This relates to the (4)The Emperor, because The Emperor inverted represents immaturity or irresponsibility. When this card comes into your spread, he is there to remind you "Change your perspective, change your reality."
     It's very easy for us to get caught up in today's "hurry up a wait" world. We are forever trying to improve our existance and improve our status in life, and we're always in such a rush to grow up. In doing so we become overly serious and forget that there is a time for work and a time for play. When The Hanged Man comes into our spreads he reminds us that there is a time to sit back and enjoy the show. A time to laugh and play, A time to relax and enjoy life, and yet a time to plan for our future. It's a card that reminds us to have some stability, yet enjoyment in our lives and never to take ourselves too seriously. Life can be an adventure and when percieved differently can be a totally unique world. We shouldn't get so caught up in worldy endeavors or affairs, that we loose track of our less serious side. At the same token, we need always think about the consequences of our actions, and be ready to face those consequences, treating them as periods of growth.

Keywords for Interpretation
Upright
Wisdom, circumspection, discernment,  trial, sacrifice, intuition, divination, prophecy
Inverted
Foolishness, snap decisions, thoughtlessness,  selfishness, the crowd, politics, laziness

     There is a myriad of symbolisms on this and many of the other cards in both the major and minor arcana. In order to present a comprehensive and easy to use as a reference source set of pages for this and other cards, I will refrain from going into great detail regarding the individual symbols on the cards. On a future date I will go over the more explicit aspects of them. If you have a question regarding a particular symbol you can email me at Tamerin. I would also like to hear from you on some of your interpretations of this particular card or any other that you would like to discuss. Please use above email link.
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