When everything, including yourself seems to be turned upside down, then you begin to understand the laws of the Universe. Although you generally think you can reason your way through life, at times you find that the only thing that works is to give up and give in.
Sometimes you feel suspended in time, waiting for good things to come to you, and wondering just how long the wait may be. You have suffered disappointment when you didn’t get what you desired. Patience may not be your middle name, not by a long shot.
Even when you feel the greatest limitations on your movement and choices, you will find that you can still choose to forgive others. In the throes of difficulty, forgiveness may not be the first thought, but eventually come around to this concept. When you do, you find that your own light shines much brighter, and you perceive the light within other more easily.
The Hanged Man is "the sign of a violent
death ... As a symbol of religious devotion, or for the expiation
of sin, it was anciently the custom to offer a sacrifice ...
Its higher import was the implication of the sacrifice of
the animal part of one's nature upon the altar of devotion
to cosmic welfare."
"... the hero is pictured here ...
suspended between the twin poles of all existence: birth and
death. We have all felt the loneliness and helplessness of
our suspension over this eternal abyss ... Isolation or trial
by endurance plays an important part in all initiation rites
[from which one] emerges indeed as one reborn.
"In our modern culture we have almost
no such specific initiation rites so that young [people] have
difficulty in making the transition [to adulthood] ... An
initiation of this sort can occur at various times in life,
usually whenever we have reached the end of a certain phase
or stage of existence and life demands a transition to new
ways."
"From water do all forms have their
beginning,
Even as it is declared in Genesis.
"All this is held in the primal WATER,
That element of creative potency
Is the matrix of all things.
"Absorb thyself in this Great Sea
of the Waters of Life.
Dive deep in it until thou hast lost thyself."
When we examine this card turned,
so that the figure is right side up, we find that he exhibits
a peace and repose we all may desire to attain. The upside
down quality in the card can be disturbing, but it is only
appearance. The truth lies deeper within us, and we can cultivate
the peace to be found in knowing that we emanate from One
Source and that we can surely return to it through a harmonious
life.
Sources
Zain, C. C., The Sacred Tarot. Los Angeles, The Church of
Light, 1936.
Nichols, Sallie, Jung and Tarot:
An Archetypal Journey. York Beach, Maine, Samuel Weiser, 1980.
Case, Paul Foster, The Book of Tokens: 22 Meditations on the Ageless Wisdom. Los Angeles, Builder of the Adytum, 1968. Quoted with permission from Builders of the Adytum, 5101 North Figueroa St., Los Angeles, CA. 90042; http://www.bota.org/. Permission to use Builders of the Adytum images in no way constitutes endorsement of the material on this site.
De Angelis, Roberto, Universal Tarot Deck. Torino, Italy: Lo Scarabeo, 2003. Lo Scarabeo has graciously granted permission for the use of the Tarot images on this site. Copying the images without their permission wuld be a violation of copyright law.
