{"id":11506,"date":"2018-07-27T17:58:34","date_gmt":"2018-07-27T17:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.citytarot.com\/?p=11506"},"modified":"2022-06-22T13:20:08","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T17:20:08","slug":"tarot-card-meanings-the-hanged-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citytarot.com\/tarot-card-meanings-the-hanged-man\/","title":{"rendered":"THE HANGED MAN"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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MISUNDERSTOOD<\/span><\/h2>

The Hanged Man is probably one of the most (if not THE most) misunderstood characters of the Major Arcana.\u00a0He is a walking (or hanging) contradiction.\u00a0 On the one hand he is hanged.\u00a0 That\u2019s bad.\u00a0On the other hand, he looks happy in most Tarot<\/a> decks.\u00a0 That\u2019s good. To add to confusion, the card meaning is often listed as \u201cSacrifice\u201d \u2013 that\u2019s bad, right, unless it\u2019s good?<\/p>

So, who is the Hanged Man and why don\u2019t we get him?<\/p>

So, to begin with, let\u2019s identify his place in the Major Arcana.\u00a0 The Hanged Man\u2019s place is smack in the middle of the deck at number twelve.\u00a0That gives us an important hint about the Hanged Man\u2019s identity.\u00a0 He is at the half-point of the Fool\u2019s Spiritual Journey.\u00a0 The half at which the cardinal lessons of Father<\/a>-Mother-Teacher<\/a>-Right-Wrong are behind him.\u00a0 Looming ahead is the spiritual climb.\u00a0<\/p>

The Hanged Man is the Fool<\/a> <\/span>himself at the half-point of his Journey.\u00a0<\/p>

BRING IN ASTROLOGY AND KABBALAH<\/span><\/h2>

Further clues into the Hanged Man are provided by Astrological<\/a><\/span> and Kabbalistic<\/span><\/a> Associations.\u00a0On the Kabbalistic Tree of Life, the path of the Hanged Man is identified by the letter Mem \u2013 water. Water is all about meditation and contemplation.<\/p>

Astrologically, the Hanged Man is ruled by the planet Neptune \u2013 water. Neptune was the God of the Seas and on the zodiac chart, he rules the sign of Pisces, which is associated with the twelfth house \u2013 the house of secrets.<\/p>

Furthermore, the path of the Hanged Man on the Tree of life is from the Sephirah Hod (Splendor) to Sephirah Gevurah (Strength).\u00a0 Hod is the intellect of man. It is very deceptive, as we are often deceived that we are mere victims to circumstances in our world. \u00a0The tendency in that case is to give up spirituality for the day-to-day mundane existence.<\/p>

Hence, The Hanged Man’s bent leg faces West for unconscious action.\u00a0 And thus, his lower mind becomes transformed into a higher consciousness and understanding as he moves up to Gevurah.\u00a0 Gevurah is the Sephirah of Strength, ruled by Mars, that is connected to man\u2019s energy, which is finite.\u00a0 By destroying old misconceptions and notions, Gevurah demonstrates that as humans, we have limitations that need to be destroyed in order for new (and true) reality to be formed.\u00a0 It is Gevurah that destroys all that’s holding us back emotionally and spiritually.<\/p>

FORCE OR CHOICE?<\/span><\/h2>

So, the Hanged man is not hanged by force, but by choice. He is the Fool at the point of his journey where, after having learned the \u2018basics\u2019 \u2013 he now needs to walk away from the perceived truths and contemplate an alternate reality.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he is hanging upside down \u2013 to reflect on a different perception \u2013 a different reality.<\/p>

Suspended upside down, the Fool in the Hanged Man can perceive a different view. He is peering into the true reality \u2013 the Spirit World.<\/p>

Thus, in a Tarot Reading<\/a>, the Hanged Man can represent any of the following:<\/span><\/p>