Tabitha
This is my first longish post, so I hope I read the rules correctly, and that this is acceptable for this forum. So, here goes. I have long been fascinated by the Hanged Man card. I have read many interpretations of this card, including the lengthy Kabbalist-influenced one by Rachel Pollack. Numerology isn't my thing, so I will cut through all that in framing my questions about the card. First, the name--"The Hanged Man," grammatically, implies that someone else has "hanged" him. He is not hanging of his own volition. If he were, the title would be "The Hanging Man," at least in English. I am aware that this may be a translation issue vis a vis French, so perhaps it's not that urgent a question. Still, it has always bothered me, since many people see this card as representing a person who is unafraid to see the world upside down--a visionary, of sorts. A person who is creative, brave, and non-conforming. Yet one could also see, I think, a person with "hang-ups," if you will--a person who can't see the world as it is, because s/he is always looking at things upside down. In the Wild Unknown deck, the hanged man is a bat--interesting, because a bat sleeps upside down. It is a natural pose for a bat, and a resting one. The bat is "hanging," however--not "hanged" by someone else, or someone else's ideas, if you want to see it that way. I am curious to hear what you all--many of whom have much more Tarot experience than I--think of my Hanged Man dilemma. (Aside: My 16-year-old son recently got this card in the 10th position of a CC spread. He is a rebel sort--very political--but sometimes I think he is not seeing things as they are, and may make mistakes later in life, as a result). I trust you won't leave me hanging with all this confusion. (Sorry, couldn't resist some punning).