The Fool and The Hanged Man as free spirits

This is just my opinion, but I have a tendency to read the cards for their specific meanings as well as how they blend together with the other cards to create a reading.
I have never really thought about the Hanged Man as a free spirit. Instead, I have always connected him to a mystic or ascetic; someone who is willing to go to the extreme for knowledge and understanding. Think of the Buddha meditating under the Bo tree for weeks until he reached Samsara, Odin crucifying himself to gain the knowledge of runelore, or the numerous Indian Sadhus who "torture" themselves in order to move closer to that ultimate understanding. I would even include Indian shamans.
In a reading, the hanged man might represent someone truly dedicated to something (perhaps at the expense of other important things in their life) Someone so focused on a task, idea, concept, etc that it becomes THE main focus of their life. Think addictions too!
The fool seems to be someone that prefers "a little bit of this and a little bit of that". Maybe not very focused right now, BUT has the ability to change if he/she wants to. Someone more interested in all of the various things that life has to offer and not satisfied with just a couple of things. The dreamer, writer or explorer (a photographer for Nat. Geo. magazine).

But then again, I might be wrong...or just nuts

Key 0 and Key 12

The fool and the hanged man seems totally different to me. The Fool is innocent and naive. He is just setting out on his journey. He is full of action and has no knowledge of anything.

The hanged man on the other hand is not innocent. He knows what he is doing. He is practicing patience and suspension. There is a lack of action. He is someone who already has spiritual knowledge.

The hanged man could also indicate someone who is involved with illusion, while the fool has a world in full color with nothing hidden at all.

Here are some word associations with each key:

Fool: traveler, pilot, adventurer, mountain climber, goat herder, circus performer, astrologer. youth. clairtestent. clean slate, park ranger, horse trainer,

Hanged Man: mystic, psychic, Saint, holy spirit, chemist, alchemist, marine life, swimmer, old soul, seer

I guess the only two things I can immediately think of about the two cards being similar is that both of them need to gain knowledge in order to move forward, but the way they both do it is completely different.

I have a hard time seeing the Hanged One as a manic pixie dream girl.

The Fool I agree with but the Hanged Man not. I had a 'hanged man year' last year and I was so trapped! I couldn't do anything to get out of my situation and so many changes were happening. I learnt by the end of the year that sometimes you cannot do anything, you are totally suspended and stuck! But in that situation you have to find acceptance and a way to deal with it, like to find a new way of looking at things. Have patience you will be able to move ahead at some point in future.

I think the Hanged Man could be a process to becoming a free spirit but it's by enduring a difficult time, I see it as the opposite of a free spirit.

fools journey

If viewed in context of a story, then I think the Fool and Hanged Man could be one and the same character (the protagonist), represented by the Fool at the start of his journey and then again by the Hanged Man at the midpoint "reversal" stage - when everything turns upside down and all that he thought was true at the beginning has suddenly become the exact opposite - or challenged by the dark side.

cbfdoll