The Hanged Man - Meaning of The Hanged Man in Tarot Cards

The titles on The Hanged Man Tarot card is, ‘The spirit of the mighty waters’. The image seen on the front of the card is that of a hanged man or a crucified man. This card can be associated with sacrifice. That is, the sacrifice of the higher into the lower to sublimate the lower. This card can be explained to be the descent of soul into matter or maybe the incarnation of God as a man. The colours that are related to The Hanged Man Tarot card are deep blue, white, olive, green, greenish fawn and black.

Things that can be related to The Hanged Man Tarot card are enforced sacrifice, punishment, loss, fatal and general suffering. Other things that can be related to The Hanged Man Tarot card are discretion, wisdom, circumspection, restrained, discernment, foresight, reserve, presentiment, prognostication and prophet. Some scholars believe that this card can be related with the pain of higher consciousness bound by the limitations of the body and the mind.

In divination, much depends on the nature of the question whenever this card appears in a layout. If the question is concerned with spiritual matters, the Hanged Man represents wisdom, but a wisdom that is just the reverse of what the world commonly accepts. The card also stands for surrender to the inevitable, but in spiritual things this is surrender to the spiritual perception of universal laws, while in material affairs it is involuntary submission to the force of circumstances.

Suspension and loss can be more closely related with The Hanged Man Tarot card. This card usually means that the person is either doing too little to achieve something or he is waiting for someone else to do it for him. Such a person usually lives a life of self sacrifice and is usually disappointed in the end. The only solution is to work for others and also yourself and not just working for the benefits of others. When The Hanged Man Tarot card is prominent, a person may feel that there is no point to anything as whatever is done there is guaranteed to be a loss.

The gallows from which he is suspended forms a Tau cross, while the figure - from the position of the legs - forms an inverted cross. There is a nimbus about the head of the seeming martyr. It should be noted that the tree of sacrifice is living wood, with leaves thereon. The face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering and the figure, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, but life and not death. It is a card of profound significance, but all the significance is veiled.

The Hanged Man Tarot card can only be related with vanity rather than the common notions of martyrdom, sacrifice, duty etc. This card expresses a relation between the divine and the universe. He who can understand that the story of his higher nature is embedded in this symbolism will receive intimations concerning a great awakening that is possible, and will know that after the sacred Mystery of Death there is a glorious Mystery of Resurrection.