The Hanged Man is the only tarot card that is visibly based on a mythological figure. It’s Odin, the Scandinavian God who hung on the Tree of the World for nine days to gain the wisdom of the runes. Of all the characters, which in the myths of different cultures embody the pursuit for knowledge, only Odin pursued his quest without moving, at least in the physical sense. The real quest is internal, not external. At first it may seem confusing, but only because this is the tarot card of the paradox. Her mysteries are among the rarest. It is as if his teachings could not be known through the physical world, only in our own inner world.
The lessons are easy to understand, but hard to accept when you apply to yourself. The most obvious answer to a problem may be the simplest, but rarely the best. Admitting that you are afraid will give you the strength to conquer this fear. When the desire for control is abandoned, everything begins to function as it should. In a world where you must run as fast as you can to stay in your place, this card says stop fighting and you can move forward. Telling this to others is easy, but try to do it yourself and you will find that’s almost impossible.
Why is it like this? Telling others that they have to themselves in a tree is simple. No one wants to hang himself. Although in its uncomfortable position, it’s often depicted smiling and with a golden halo around the head to show inspiration and divine power. Is totally vulnerable to the world and our vulnerability found the strength. The sacrifice he made was his freedom and his power in the physical world; in return, he was granted spiritual freedom and power on the spiritual plane. He abandoned his old ways of research and is now the lucky possessor of new eyes.
But of course not all sacrifices have to be like this; when deciding to eat with a friend instead of eating alone, it sacrifices his solitude. If you choose to practice a sport in a professional manner, it means you can’t practice another with the same frequency. By choosing one job, it sacrifices any desire for another, at least at the moment. The only common trait to all sacrifices is that you renounce something you have in exchange for something you want, of equal or greater value. Because it is the paradox card, it urges you to see things in a new and different Perspective. If your mind yells at you to do something, doing nothing could be better. If something is has an emotional significance to you, but without any purpose, maybe you should think before doing. Don’t try to force things to make something happen while this card is still around. If you push them, you are just making sure they will never happen. Relax and let things happen rather than interfering in it. Instead of fighting against mainstream, let it take you with it.
When the Hanged Man appears, wisdom and a greater happiness are imminent, but only if you’re prepared to sacrifice something in return. Sometimes you will be deprived of something physical, but in most cases it is a perspective or a point of view that should be left behind. It can be a fantasy that could never be achieved, or be in love with someone who is out of your reach. Inevitably sacrifice something that you value will always take you to something even more valuable. When you wake up from an unattainable dream, you’ll find something within your reach. The fact of forgetting a love allows you to open up your heart to someone more important and precious.
Text from the book “O Tarô Universal de Waite – Edith Waite (ISIS publisher)“ and translated to English.
