Generally, seeing The Hanged Man in a Tarot reading gives us a head up about delays. However, this Arcanum has many layers and today, we are diving deep. But before we get to know the inner workings of The Hanged Man, let’s take a look at some of the traditional meanings associated with this card.
Positive Tarot Card Meanings for The Hanged Man
- Surrender and Trust: The Hanged Man encourages you to let go of control and trust in the divine plan. Surrendering to the flow of life can bring about a sense of peace and serenity.
- New Perspectives: This card invites you to see situations from a different angle. Embracing a new perspective can lead to profound insights and personal growth.
- Inner Reflection and Contemplation: The Hanged Man urges you to delve deep within yourself. Engaging in introspection and contemplation can bring clarity and a deeper understanding of your emotions and desires.
- Spiritual Awakening: The Hanged Man represents a spiritual awakening or a time of profound spiritual transformation. It invites you to connect with your higher self and explore the depths of your spiritual journey.
Negative Tarot Card Meanings for The Hanged Man
- Feeling Stuck: The Hanged Man may indicate a period of feeling stuck or stagnant. You may feel unable to make progress or move forward in certain areas of your life.
- Delays and Waiting: This card suggests that you may need to exercise patience and wait for the right timing. Delays and obstacles may slow down your progress, requiring you to trust in divine timing.
- Sacrifice and Letting Go: The Hanged Man may symbolise the need to let go of attachments or old patterns that no longer serve you. It can be a time of making sacrifices or releasing what no longer aligns with your highest good.
- Inner Turmoil and Confusion: This card can represent a period of inner turmoil or confusion. You may be grappling with conflicting emotions or finding it challenging to gain clarity in a particular situation.
Remember, interpretations may vary depending on the context of your Tarot reading. Trust your intuition when exploring the meanings of The Hanged Man in your personal readings.
Getting to Know the Hanged Man
When the Hanged Man shows up we may find ourselves in a position with no viable options for moving forward in the world. It is a time of waiting, of being in limbo. But it can also be a time of deep contemplation once we are spiritually awakened. Or it can be the beginning of a new initiatory process in the form of a Dark Night of the Soul.
Either way, the focus is on the inner and subconscious realms, such as when we are sleeping dreamlessly, dreaming or meditating deeply. The reason for our inability to move forward is that a new perspective is being born.
There are parallels between The Hanged Man and Odin who hung on the World Tree ‘nine long nights’ in order to retrieve the wisdom of the Runes from the realms of the subconscious. The number 9 (3 x 3) is a metaphor for spiritual awakening, enlightenment and completion.
The 3s in the Major Arcana
The XII Hanged Man vibrates to the numbers 1+2=3 and is therefore related to both III The Empress and XXI The World. This triumvirate of Tarot Major Arcana cards applies especially to anyone on a 3 Life Path (i.e. your day+month+year of birth add up to a number that reduces to the single digit 3). The new perspective waiting to be born through anyone on a 3 Life Path is one of being able to see through the eyes of the heart.
The Hanged Man teaches us to look at the world around us with compassion and to avoid the temptation of the Empress which is to seek acclaim and adoration in the world around us. Neptune, the Planetary ruler of the Hanged Man, is said to be the higher octave of Venus, the Planetary ruler of The Empress.
While the Planetary correspondence for the Hanged Man is Neptune, the Golden Dawn system of correspondences leaves out the latecomers Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. The Golden Dawn assigns the Element of Water to The Hanged Man.
Correspondences
Angelic Correspondences: Archangel Gabriel (Element of Water) and Asariel (Neptune)
Element: Water
Planet: Neptune
Chakra: Crown chakra
Colour: White, violet, purple, sea green, blue, silver
Crystal: Amethyst, Lepidolite, Coral, Aquamarine
Metal: Tin
Body: Hydration, sleep
Exercise: N/A Deep relaxation and traction apply instead
Stance: Headstand, shoulder stand, resting with legs up against the wall
Magickal Tool/Ingredient: Trident, crystal ball, valerian (induces sleep and relaxation), a conch
Associated Major Arcana Cards (through numerology): The Empress and The World
Associated Minor Arcana Cards: N/A since this card represents the Element of Water and has no direct planetary correspondences in the Minor Arcana in the Golden Dawn system. However, you may choose to pull one card from the Suit of Cups for clarification when you work with The Healing Key Spread.
Remedies to increase the energy of the Hanged Man in your life
- You can make a tarot essence to harness and increase the energy of The Hanged Man, using a card from the deck of your choice, along with any of the crystals above that you feel drawn to work with.
- Relax with the card under your pillow at the level of your crown chakra.
- Be as receptive and ‘Yin’ as possible
- Keep a dream journal
- Ask yourself if action is really necessary or if the situation you are facing may resolve itself if you just relax, trust and surrender
- Allow your intuition to guide you
- Wait patiently for an answer to arise from your heart – be OK with not knowing for now
Affirmation: “I surrender to the love and wisdom of the Divine.”
Angelic Invocation to Archangel Asariel
Dear Archangel Asariel, thank you for guiding my heart to go deeper into the ocean of unconditional love. Help me to look at every single living being, including myself, through the eyes of love. Amen and so it is!
CLICK HERE for a channelled message by Archangel Asariel and an Angelic activation of Arcanum XII.
Grounding/Balancing/Banishing the energy of The Hanged Man
To counteract or balance the influence of the Hanged Man, you simply need to take action – pretty much any action will do. If The Hanged Man shows up in the negative position of the Healing Key Spread, you simply need to take the action indicated by the card(s) in the positive position.
Love and Relationships
OK, so The Hanged Man is not the most fun fellow in the deck and there is almost always a feeling of being stuck when he shows up. Trust me, I know – The Hanged Man is my Shadow Birth Card!
But it’s not all doom and gloom and in a relationship reading The Hanged Man offers a chance of gaining a new perspective that can help move the relationship onward to the next level.
Intuitive and Dreamy
Relating to dreamy Neptune, The Hanged Man urges us to pay close attention to our gut feelings, dreams and synchronicities.
Spiritually, this is a card of surrender… of letting go and letting God. This goes for the relationship too. There is no idea to even attempt pushing for change if this is the card that describes your main current relationship theme. In that case, it is all about learning to accept yourself and your partner just as you are, warts and all. Then, when you fully accept each other, the two of you can decide on a new direction together.
Check your blame and judgment levels when this card shows up. The higher they are, the longer you will spend in the suspended limbo state portrayed by the Hanged Man.
On the other hand, the quicker you let go of blame and judgment and allow your imagination and higher ideals to inspire you, the sooner you will be back on your feet again.
In a Process of Realignment
Usually, this card relates more to the inner journey of an individual than to the state of the relationship but because this person is ‘on hold’ so to speak, it does affect the whole relationship.
The real reason why we experience the Hanged Man Space every now and again is so that we can realign with our Higher Self and let go of any limitations or fears imposed by the ego.
That said, The Hanged Man is not an uncommon visitor in readings about soul mate relationships. He can show up as a sign of mutual realignment in order to harmonise one’s energies with those of the beloved. Let it be known (in case you ever doubted it): soul mate relationships are not easy.
Unrealistic Expectations
Because of its correspondence with Neptune, The Hanged Man deals with our highest ideals… and in love and romance, no one is more heavily subjected to those ideals than the one we perceive to be our soul mate. Beware of unrealistic expectations!
When The Hanged Man shows up with distinctly romantic cards such as the Soul Mate 6 of Cups, the 2 of Cups or The Lovers, you are urged to be patient. This is indeed the real deal, you and/or your partner just need some time to adjust, realign and open up…
Opening up to new ways of seeing love, relationships and the beloved is definitely part of this card’s lessons in a love and relationship reading. Now is a good time to let go of any fears that stem from bad experiences in the past. This is especially true if you are single and recovering from a bad breakup. Remind yourself often that you are free to create a brand new and much happier future for yourself. Oh, and forgive everyone from your past, including yourself!
Surrender
Just let go of all you think you know, surrender and you’ll be OK. Sounds scary, huh? Do it anyway!
Complete surrender and trust in your partner can propel you to new heights of ecstasy when it comes to lovemaking.
Emotionally, if you manage to surrender, the Neptunian energy of the Hanged Man can create an overwhelming sense of oneness and unconditional love in a love relationship… See, I told you it wasn’t all bad!
Take me to the Angelic Tarot Card Meanings Index
Comments 5
The exploration of The Hanged Man in this Tarot reading provides a comprehensive understanding of its multifaceted meanings. The delineation of positive and negative aspects sheds light on the duality inherent in this card, encompassing surrender, trust, new perspectives, inner reflection, and spiritual awakening on one hand, and feelings of being stuck, delays, sacrifice, inner turmoil, and confusion on the other.
The reference to Odin’s ordeal and the association of The Hanged Man with the number 9 and the Elements of Water contribute to a deeper appreciation of its symbolism and its connection to spiritual awakening and enlightenment. Thank You for that post. It`s inspiring
Author
Thank you for reading and commenting, Otylia. I’m so pleased you found it inspiring.
The Hanged man was haunting me a couple of months ago in my personal readings. I was in the process of setting up new things but I was super unsure how they will evolve, whether I am doing the right thing, will this turn out to be a disaster…. Well, to be honest I still don’t know if this is going to be a disaster, but I perceived the card as wait and see, consider new perspectives and hopefully things will turn out for the best.
Author
If you survive, it’s a learning experience, not a disaster 😉 All the best! x
Well said! A learning experience. Glass half full! Thanks 🙂