LET'S GET SPIRITUAL!
I have been teaching in recent months that there are some cards where the "modus operandi" (method of operation) in the card is in some ways more important than the entity itself and the Hanged Man would fall into this category albeit in a subtle way. In this card that method is rest- a man is walking along the path, takes a break and hangs himself upside down on a tree to gain ILLUMINATION and when he's done, he'll get back up and continue along on his journey. Being a human, he is a living entity, so the card metaphorically represents life literally being suspended while the illumination takes place.
The Golden Dawn correspondence for this card is WATER because the Hebrew letter attached to the card is Mem which means water and the card represents in a way a Baptism in Water. Again, a suspended animation is taking place and this is a state of meditation which is intensely self-examining. Self-sacrifice is crucial to anyone who aspires to the higher realms of spirituality. (Of course the Golden Dawn saw the Tree of Life as being this spirituality which is why the man's posture with his legs and arms are in the figure of the diagram of the Tree and why he's shown hanging from one.)
It's meanings in a spread are less important than what's mentioned in the last two paragraphs but include prudence, sacrifice, devotion, wisdom, discernment, and renunciation. Also note this card has a Minor Arcana "kissing cousin" which is the Four Of Swords also known as "rest from strife."
No comments:
Post a Comment