Phantasmagoric - The Hanged Man 12

Little Baron

Todays draw is the Hanged Man (The submissive).

The Hanged Man hangs from one foot on a three-piece wooden construction. Hanging from it are also what seems to be two meat hooks (what is it with these meat hooks?), a spillin bucket, a mask and a coiled snake. In the background, there us water. The big yellow circle, at first, I thought was a Sun but now, I can see that the Hanged Man is attatched to it. Is it a big button?
The Hanged Man wears an all in one white outfit and a kind of black (rubber?) gimp mask. Another construction like this one is shown in the distance but nobody is hanging from it. On closer inspection, I can now see that the white outfit is like some sort of strait-jacket. The threads from it are all loose and hanging.

Graham Cameron says of this card -
"The Hanged Man is governed by the element of water.
A man hangs upside down, his arms are bound within a strait jacket. One leg is tied, the other forms a downward triangle. A rubber mask covers his head. The Hanged Man is detatched from the outer world. He lives in his dreams, suspended between heaven and earth, and hovers in willing submission, allowing himself to be controlled by constraints and discomforts of his own choosing.
Because the Hanged Man's mental powers are confined, he achieves very little as he hange in isolation and solitude. A mask beside him represents a time when he was active in the theatre, and also serves as a reminder that he may have the opportunity to join the theatre again. A snake appears, symbolising that it is his own fantasies the Hanged Man is bound.
This card warns us of the dangers of living life in the role of the martyr.
A change is immine, but a great sacrifice must be made, a period of transition, sacrifice is necessary for effectiveness. A pause in life.
Reverse: too absorbed in one's own problems, self-centred, victim of the opinions of others".

I read a biography of the famous Madam, Cynthia Payne recently, who was raided and jailed for running a 'disorderly house' in the 80's. Within the book, she spoke about many of her clients and their sexual needs. Some men would like to be driven into the countryside, stripped naked and tied up. Cynthia would then drive away and leave them there. She also told how some would want to be locked in cuboards for days on end.
Cameron talks about the Hanged Man's willing submission and being controlled by the constraints and discomforts of his own choosing. This can be linked to people that like to be controlled, dominated and humiliated for sexual pleasure. I have never thought about the general Hanged Man in this way before. I always took the card to mean a suspension in time which would be beneficial and to advice that to be non-active would be the best course of action. I can see the link when I view this man as someone who has recognised this and has willingly allowed himself to be strung up.

Looking at this card, I am now wondering why there are two breaks in the left purple part of the frame and one in the right. What do you think the two empty hooks should hold? Company? Is the snake leaving - he looks like he is on his way out. What does he symbolise? I may be wrong but thought that they symbolised some kind of 'knowlege'.

Look forward to your responses on this one. Apologies for not posting yesterday. I have not been around much for the last couple of days.

Best wishes

Yaboot
 

darwinia

Yes, well, the rubber mask reminds me of a particular scene in the movie Pulp Fiction. Captured prey, meat on a hook, your face hidden. People can be dominated similarly by their own thoughts, obsessed by props, to the exclusion of a freeing way.

The stand he's hanging from reminds me of a roasting spit from The Flintstones and there is another in the distance. Calvary as a roasting spit from Bedrock. The bucket of water is unreachable but it is spilling. It seems to have more negative connotations than I usually attach to this card. The two empty hooks may have held food that has since rotted and fallen away since he's been hanging for so long. The breaks in the supports--if he wasn't so balanced in the centre, so still, so stuck, he might shift himself and the whole thing would come tumbling down and he could escape and move on.

Perhaps tempted (snake) by the ease of hanging without making a decision, drifting without seeing, not able to touch or move, the Hanged Man rests for a time and lets go of responsibility. He is like a baby wearing pinned diapers, safe in his encasement, drifting in his faceless world, and behind him planets collide and the universe winks, smoothly going on with life while he stays safe in his cocoon.

Yab, you saw the background as water, I see it as the galaxy. I saw the shapes as planets--the beige one could be an asteroid. You see he is pinned to the yellow orb, you might be right that he is pinned there. If he is pinned to it, then it can't move either, the whole atmosphere is in stasis. The funny thing about that background is the perception--could be mountains or water (except water is not jagged like that) with a beige sky and sun, or could be the blue is behind the beige like I saw it.

Perception of freedom: is freedom not having to make the choice, to be dominated?
 

galadrial

Snakes can represent spiritual renewal since they shed their old skins in order to grow. I see him as taking time out from theatre life because he had grown stale in his role; he was stuck and not growing. Now he is in the human equivalent of a cocoon. He allows his concious "self", ego, his "I" to die. He is willing to reverse the position of his head, from up and in charge to down and open to suggestion, in the universe. His head is pointing toward the water, the collective unconcious, and is illuminated by the Sun- the concious of the universe. By voluntarily constraining his physical and mental processes and temporarily suspending all action, he becomes a vessel for enlightenment. Freed from the ego's constraints, he can see things from a 180 degree different perspective. The universe not only enlightens him but magically supports him- he is not even aware that his ties to earth have been severed; he calmly hangs, unafraid, his concerns with the material suspended- the small pentacle hanging in the air. He feels emotionally fulfilled- his cup runs over. The hooks for his sword and wand are empty because his previous mental state and passions were no longer any use and have been removed. When he is renewed and ready to return to the theatre, his new sword and wand will be sharper and hotter than ever. He will be ready to play new roles with understanding and passion. A second set of hanging poles wait in the future, for he will need to undergo this process periodically along his spiritual path if he is not to stagnate.
 

darwinia

Cokune for Coco Puffs

Gadfry, I spelled cocoon as "coccoon" and had to go in to change it.

Is this what happens when you eat processed cereal for breakfast with soy milk? Dr. Lock tried to reason with me, tried to tell me it wouldn't be good for me, but I was too busy planning my next purchase from Tom Tom's Garden Centre (a lovely verdigris-coloured pot for a chocolate geranium.)

Apparently verdigris was much in favour as a colour in the middle ages but lost favour in the Renaissance because it changed colour and became transparent when mixed with linseed oil.

Back in the 15th century, Dr. Lock tried to tell me that too, but I pooh-poohed it as so much alchemistic bafflegab and carried on painting with it. Now all my paintings in galleries look brown instead of green.

People say I was "cocooning" but I was merely grinding and binding pigment with my own imperfect formula, a fact which haunts me today.

Well, now that we have the root of spelling errors sorted out......
 

Little Baron

Originally posted by freesiaskye Yab, you saw the background as water, I see it as the galaxy. I saw the shapes as planets--the beige one could be an asteroid.


Yes! ... I see what you mean. I didn't see it that way at all and I had been looking at the card for ages. Now I have clicked in to what you said, I can no longer see water; just the little view of the galaxy behind. Thanks for that Freesiaskye. It will be interesting when i pull this card again to see which backdrop see first.
 

Little Baron

Excellent perceptions Galladrial! You say that the bucket represents an overflowing of his good emotional state (have I got that right?). There is something about that bucket which doesn't feel possitive to me. If it was overflowing from both sides I might think that but since it is tipped like it is, it feels a bit clumsy. Maybe there has been too many emotional and tempramental things happening in his personal life and it is that overload that has had to be suspended with him for a while so he can cool off.

Yaboot
 

darwinia

The other thing I thought about that water in the bucket is that because it's not full, evaporation has occurred.

Water equalling emotions, and the emotions are evaporating over the time he is hanging.

Right.
 

galadrial

It reminded me of the Ace of Cups, which is sloshing it's water out, but I see that the Death card has some turbulent water as well. The death of self, the martyr aspect of the card; could be that he first will experience some pretty negative emotions before any positive ones. Maybe bad reviews drove him to realize that it was time to leave the stage for awhile.
 

Maan

freesiaskye said:
The other thing I thought about that water in the bucket is that because it's not full, evaporation has occurred.

Water equalling emotions, and the emotions are evaporating over the time he is hanging.

Right.

I like that one. than the reason of him hanging in there is to work through some pretty harsh emotions.
 

Little Baron

Originally posted by galadrial A second set of hanging poles wait in the future, for he will need to undergo this process periodically along his spiritual path if he is not to stagnate. [/B]


Forgot to draw attention to this bit. Really like that idea and it is not one that I had considered before.

I also thought, due to the mask, this hanged man could be one of the other characters from the Phantasmagoric that we have already met or are yet to. I wonder if the mask is one of Felix's creations.

I also wonder how he gets down when that water has evaporated. Does somebody cut him down? Maybe it is the Death guy with the scythe that does the honours in the next card!

Yaboot