The Hanged Man (Card of the Day)

Yesterday’s card was The Hanged Man. This card has always been a stumbling block for me and I think it’s because, to me, this card represents having inner peace in your situation. I very rarely feel like I have inner peace in my life.

The man on the card is hanging which probably offers a different perspective on his life than to which he is accustomed, but he is hanging by his foot rather than by his neck so I don’t think he’s being hanged to kill him. It’s more as though he is deliberately trying to change his perspective. I also don’t think he’s struggling, he looks like he’s content to stay there and learn what he needs to.

Once again, the card used for this entry is taken from the Morgan-Greer Tarot deck. I love the pictures in the cards of every Tarot deck—that’s why I buy them—but I find that The Hanged Man is too minimalist for my tastes in any deck. If you speak to anyone who knows me you will not hear minimalist listed amongst my traits, so it’s hardly surprising I would feel this way. I like the cards that are full of symbolism to be interpreted, but The Hanged Man is so stark and direct it makes me feel a little like I’m being put on the spot.

There are schools of thought in the Tarot world that are divided on The Hanged Man’s astrological affiliation—its planet can be Neptune or it can be affiliated with the element of Water—they are similar yet distinct. Neptune and Water are very fluid. Neptune is the modern planet affiliated with the sign of Pisces which is a beautiful, artistic sign, however, it has difficulties with boundaries when it comes to people and reality. I won’t write too much about Pisces because it is actually affiliated with the Moon card, but it is the Mutable Water sign of the Zodiac.

My favourite part of the card The Hanged Man is the cloud in the background. It is hard to tell if it’s a massive cloud or a mass of clouds. In Tarot, clouds often symbolize Air (the element associated with thought), and the shape of the clouds gives insight into what kind of thoughts the Querent is dealing with. In this card, the clouds are fluffy over a dark sky, and I see this as having gentle thoughts even if the situation you find yourself in is unclear or strange to you.

Peace and balance,

Erin