Major Arcana
The Hanged Man
Upright
- ·surrender
- ·new perspective
- ·pause
- ·letting go
Reversed
- ·stalling
- ·resistance
- ·indecision
- ·wasted time
Upright
A man hung upside-down from a tree by one foot, his other leg bent behind him, a halo around his head. He doesn't look uncomfortable. The Hanged Man is the moment you stop fighting and let the new perspective in. Surrender in this card is not defeat. It's the realization that the way you were trying to see the situation wasn't the way the situation was. Hang there. Let the blood rush to your head. The view from upside-down is the one you needed.
Reversed
Same hanging, but you're squirming. The Hanged Man reversed is the pause that became procrastination — the long inhale that never exhaled. Sometimes it's the opposite: you've been so still you've gone numb. The card asks you to either let go or come down. Either move. The middle place was supposed to teach you something, not become a place to live.
In the imagery
A young man hangs upside-down from a green wooden T-shape, suspended by his right ankle. His left leg crosses behind his right knee. His hands are bound behind his back. His face is calm. A bright yellow halo radiates around his head. Red leggings, blue tunic, leaves on the cross. He chose this position. The light is in his hair.
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