Letter: Lamed = Libra
Path: Between Chesed and Yesod
Quality: House of Coition
The Hanged Man is upended, suspended, and undefended, a willing sacrifice to the principle of non-resistance. With hands, arms, and heart open, the soul enters into the problem, embraces the opposites, and quenches their contrariety. In the ancient Hymn of the Pearl, this is the prince who must redeem himself before he can recapture the pearl and return to the world of Light; this is also the Christ/Sophia, both of whom self-sacrificially descend to the lowest level of Creation to harvest the Fallen and dormant soul-sparks before making the turn-around to begin the ascent again.
In Tarot, Trump 12 symbolizes Metanoia, the spiritual turn-around point, which marks the end of the Fall and the beginning of the upward path. The second, antithetical term of our responsive Fire trine presents Trump 12, the card of the martyr. This idea evokes many cruel and horrific associations because of the layers of pagan, gnostic, and Judeo-Christian spiritual politics that have become attached to it. In its purest form, however, the Hanged Man represents an initiatory exercise, a personal sacrifice undertaken by an individual at a certain level of spiritual development.
In this Trump the commitment is supreme: It will be an ordeal and there is no way to avoid the bodily and/or psychological agony involved. Through the extremity of the ordeal, the aspirants are driven out of their ordinary perspective of reality, which transforms the entire body of socio-cultural programming, turning their worldview upside down and inside-out.
The Hanged Man views the world through the inner or third eye from this awkward and helpless position. This Trump doesn’t always involve torture and martyrdom by any means, although that aspect is sometimes present. Better to see Trump 12 as the talisman of a voluntary awakening that involves upending one’s perspective by putting the consciousness of the crown chakra at the feet and putting the consciousness of the root chakra at the crown.
This is the idea of the Shaman’s Tree from deep antiquity, which has always served as a vehicle for moving between the worlds. Part of the value of this type of experience is that we must face the fact that communion with Spirit demands a sacrifice. Some of your personal comfort, trust, and feeling of safety will be sweated out in the process of having this experience.
Now that one has passed the previous Trump’s test by overcoming fears of the outer world, the next challenge emerges. The reciprocal fear of certain upsetting and unbalancing internal experiences is now under examination. This means overcoming the aversion to being shamed or made to look bad in the collective judgment. It means overcoming the fear of revealing any personal emotions that might pour out while upended and suspended.
It means overcoming the fear of pain or debility, as well as any fear or dread around the inevitable loss. This Trump counsels a total willingness to endure whatever it takes to serve the group good. Remember, the second Septenary addresses the collective consciousness, and this triangle within the Septenary relates to Earth’s response to a wave of incoming Light.
Therefore, this Trump exemplifies the willing sacrifice of matter to Spirit, the turned cheek and the soft answer, poured out into the Wrath to still its restlessness. In the process the seeker becomes a contributing member of a corps of self-evolving individuals who collectively devote themselves to raising the consciousness of humanity. Selflessness is the watchword here, doing the right thing just because it’s the right thing to do.
The Hanged Man lets go of personal interests and devotes his vitality and energies to the causes that the Universe will dictate. If he’s got his attitudes straight, he is willing to go through the process of relinquishment or even humiliation to advance the cause for the larger whole. Generally speaking, one cannot fight the role even though it means hanging on the martyr’s tree and letting the grapes of Wrath be distilled within your character.
Often times these situations utterly transcend what is “fair” or “deserved” from the individual point of view. What the person who is hanging has to remember is that they are atoning for collective sins, and only when the mass guilt is expiated will they be taken down from their cross.
Each one of us will be called to take our place on the hanging tree over the course of a lifetime, so there is no shame in being recruited for this role. If you participate in this world, you will find yourself hanging on this tree at some point; it is simply inevitable.
The above text is an excerpt from our book Tarot of the Holy Light: A Continental Esoteric Tarot - Volume One.
