Shadowscapes Tarot

THE HANGED MAN

IN THE FOGGY depths of the woods, he dips his fingers into the red clay and with a careful hand he trails the patterns across his skin, across chest and arms and face. The spirals of red draw his mind into that place of deep meditation where thought becomes action and where the stillness speaks with the voices of the gods.

When the silence in his soul is absolute, he rises to his feet. The spirits of the forest watch as he passes, in mute witness and respect. They reach out tentatively to touch his hallowed flesh and fall into his footsteps. With solemn dignity, the procession arrives at the great oak.

The Hanged Man makes his choice of self-sacrifice. He goes willingly to his fate, unhinges his grip on control, and endures for the sake of the rewards such knowing sacrifice may bring. Ivy creeps along his body binding and entwining him physically to the tree, until they are as one. Ivy, symbol of determination and the unbreakable strength and will of the human spirit.

In an echo of his action of faith and sacrifice, the fey fold back their wings and free-fall from their perches in the tree, entrusting themselves to the winds.

Meaning:

Letting go and surrendering to experience and emotional release. Accepting what is, and giving up control. Suspending action. Sacrifice. As Odin hung upon the World Tree, Yggdrasil, in his quest for knowledge, thus to attain the greatest rewards, one must be willing to give up the self. The Hanged Man also urges you to reverse your view of the world and see things in a new light. Sometimes a change in one's perception of the world is required, a subtle shifting of the state of mind.