XII. The Hanged Man
Correspondences
Water
Keywords
The dying god, the sin-eater, the sacrifice, acceptance of fate, release, being
caught in a blind alley, complete exposure and helplessness, loss of control, passivity, waiting, a releasing crisis, being stuck, letting go, disregard for one’s own well-being
Meaning
The Hanged Man is an uncomfortable card, but one that has to teach much. We are typically in a crisis where we realize that our old habits and view-points have lost their significance, old safeguards have become meaningless, we feel helpless as our world is turned on its head and we lose traction with the ground, but insight may come when we surrender, give up control and wait with patience. We may have to bide our time and make sacrifices to endure this card.
If drawn there is also a danger that we relish making martyrs out of ourselves to send others on a guilt trip or that that we abandon control in order to evade responsibilities. We may also have to confront our deepest fears about being powerless to do something about a situation.
Sometimes the card can also indicate the need for some contrary thinking. Take a chance, don’t follow your usual blind instincts, do the opposite of what everyone and everything urges you to think. Perhaps you just decide it doesn’t matter so much right now. Take a dangle and enjoy the unexpected view…
Exploring the Card
There is too much of an iconographic overlap for Snape’s worst memory not to make the image for this card, even though it emphasizes all that is uncomfortable and unhappy about this card, and less of the positive aspects that can be found in it as well.
Still Snape teaches us a valuable lesson as the subject of this card. If we fight it (by lashing out and calling a good friend a mudblood, for example) we’re only making it worse. This card can only be effectively dealt with by accepting a certain amount of humiliation and loss of control and bearing it with patience. The Sin- eater or the Sacrifice are better archetypes to tap into when we are in Hanged Man mode, than Pride and Wrath.
Bộ bài Harry Potter Tarot – Eleonore Pieper