Tarot of Prague Café Club - The Hanged Man

I would support both views - and what interests me such a lot is how much our personal experience impacts on how we read an image.

I think also that one thing worth saying is that Alex and I very much associate the images with the places where we found them. This figure is from the Strahov library, a place that I see as strange (it has a very strong collection of early herbals for example) but also as very spiritual. So this runs through and through the card - for us. Of course, if the image stands on its own - as it must for 95% of users of the deck - then it may well read (and, like I say, in a very valid way) differently. I think Moongold has made me more aware of this - and it's good to think more about it. Thank-you for that.

It may make you smile if I say that recently the deck has begun to be discovered by local Czechs (really for almost a year it has sold mainly to expats and visitors I think). Now THEY may have another whole different set of associations. So far, all we've heard is that the symbols are "right" and that the Hermit is particularly appropriate to Prague. But that's just one small group of readers. I am sure that later there will be other feedback, both good and bad. One person I know found it funny - but she liked it fortunately - that we used small statues from the front of a government office for the Two of Cups - there are just a whole heap of different impressions when you live among these symbols.

SO - please don't hold back in saying what you really think of the cards. That's what the group is for after all. ALL opinions and impressions of the cards help to build understanding.

Hi!
I "came by" totally unexpectedly, since I 'm usually not in these woods, of study groups...

I must add, to le pendu's opinion, that The ToP hanged man, really did it for me too!
It wasa the FIRST card that cought my attention, that mede me fall in love with the deck too! (yap, these are my words, just the same, too...)

For the record, I'm not a Hanged man person. i hardly get that card, so it's not teh symbolism of it that spoke to me, but the composition, colors and shapes...
it also has a hidden humor to it, like the legs are probabaly through the wall, hanging on the other side... I also liked the round belly...
definitely my ToP favorite card!

I just see him as stuck . That huge fascinating knot implies that he is tied up. The knot is an ancient heraldic symbol of longevity. If you follow the path of this knot, you can see the lemniscate or infinity symbol. The past, present and future all cross each other many times. Whilst thinking of the Hanged Man's life in suspension, it is easy to see that he represents all of those time-scales.

Usually the Sun is bright yellow, the colour of consciousness and usually we see it at the top of the card, but here it is black and placed the right side up at the bottom of a card which is usually presented upside-down. What an enigma? The Hanged Man has reversed his consciousness too! I too love the orange and gold as an indication of enlightenment and spirituality.

This discussion has been really useful for me and I've spent considerable time in the last two days reading about the mythological background to the Hanged Man and in reflecting on interpretations others have given the card.

I stress again that my initial response was because the imagery in this particular card struck chords of memory and association with me and brought some difficult feelings - probably something to do with vicarious traumatization.

The Hanged Man image is probably the quintessential image of needing to let go - to turn things around completely and to see them differently. The Nordic hero, Odin, became a Magician after his sacrificial hanging, for example.

The notion of major change can imply a change in gravitational or dimensional field - hence the Hanged Man seemingly defying gravity by looking peaceful despite being in such a physically difficult position. If we consider the Tree of Life as well - it grows from "heaven" downwards, which is consistent with the position of the Hanged Man.

So I can therefore see the Hanged Man as a image of liberation - at least of putting oneself in a position where one can be liberated. We sometimes must let go, must see things from an entirely different perspective if we are going to be able to move forward. Sometimes one can get so stuck in old pain or damage, there is no way forward than to turn it all completely around.

To build on my earlier comments, this is what many people who have been sexually abused or who have developed addictions of any kind ultimately must do if they wish to recover. Pain , grief and sadness can be released only be letting go completely, thus creating a space where a new sense of self can be created.

A critical element of this, of course, is the waiting. Sometimes one simply has to wait for this mystical emptiness ~ a space where Grace can do its healing work. In this sense the Hanged Man develops a most poignant sense of mystery and faith. Mourning becomes morning but there is a period of not knowing.

So, using these thoughts and the image itself, I wrote another of my poor haiku to make sense of it: ~

Grace? Wait in quiet.
What is known must become unknown ~
Dawn embracing night.


Moongold

Thank you Moongold, for that incredible haiku. I'm going to copy it into my reading diary.

Like Le Pendu and M-Press, it was the Hanged Man that really sold me on the TofP.

And like M-Press, I'm not big on the card. I never know what to make of it. I understand the spiritual side of the card, but usually I just see someone in a very uncomfortable state.

But this card... the spiritual comes shining through. He has transended his sitiuation by merging and taking it into himself. It is like he is being "reborn" out of his trial as higher being.

Just got him as todays card.

These are my journal notes.

The black sun - an expression of surprise. A reversed kind of halo???

The Hanged Man have no legs or feet. He is merged to the tree and fruits are entwined around his torso. He has given himself over to the tree.

He hangs over a door - passage - transformation.
Knocking on the door.
How do I knock on the door to transformation - by meditation perhaps.

Not much yet, but it is only 9.24 am and my day just started

I admit I also thought that the feet where dangling on the other side of the wall. It can be seen as an extreme photo (there is so much extreme in many thing I see lately). But this hanged man decided to go the original route. And the black sun is a nice addition. For me, it is almost my focused point in the card (the other focus point being the hanged man itself).

Moongold said:

Hello Baba ~


The image reminds me very much of young boys who are sexually abused. I currently work in the alcohol & other drug treatment area where perhaps 90% of our clients come from some kind of background of sexual abuse – young women and men. I also worked as a counselor for some time on Gay Liberation Switchboard, and frequently listened to horrible stories from young men who had been sexually abused as children and teenagers by other men.

So it is this combination of things that evoked such a powerful response of distaste from me. I have been thinking about it quite a lot since the initial discussion and in the context of my love for the Tarot of Prague and am moving from the first feelings of nausea to something different but I has been quite a process. I have never drawn the Hanged Man in a TOP reading and I wonder what my impression will be when this actually occurs.

Click to expand...

Dear Moongold,

I totally understand your having this reaction to the card, although it is not mine. (I like the card, and see it as baba describes it in the book -- a voluntary spiritual practice that results in a complete turn-around in perception.)

Although you dislike the card, and your strong reaction to it will give it a strong personal meaning that may be very useful to you. Perhaps it will come up in readings when there are issues of abuse. I have a very personal response to the five of Pentacles in the Morgan Greer deck, which for me is connected with enabling, co-dependency issues. That's just what it said to me because of my experiences. It has proved very accurate in readings. So although you don't like the images and what they bring up for you, it may be that you will need this card as a reader.

I think this is one of the ways we bond with our decks -- our subconscious chooses certain images, sees them in certain ways, and knows when to choose them in a reading. A strong emotional response, either way, is usually a sign to me that a connection has been made. (Even though the initial emotional reaction may be very unpleasant, as with your reaction to this card.) I actually worry more about the cards I have no response to, as they may prove hardest to read.

I hope this makes some sort of sense to you.

Best, RedMaple