The first aspect of The Hanged Man that requires our attention is the fact that the figure is upside down but resting comfortably in his position. He has not been hung by his throat at the hands of his enemies, but rather he has put himself in a position to see the world differently than he has in the past. The golden ring around the figure’s head indicates a consciousness that is expanding. This card could easily be titled The Changing Man as he is engaged in the act of enlightening his own consciousness which will lead to the material transformations he will achieve in the Death card that follows numerically in the Major Arcana.
Through his ordeals, Odin also gained the capacity for both prophecy and shapeshifting.
This figure could be Odin, who is often known as the god of war and death in Norse cosmology, hanging in the Yggdrasil tree. As some renditions of Odin’s tale go, he wanted to know everything. In order to gain the knowledge and wisdom he sought, Odin made a number of sacrifices. These acts included giving up one eye and impaling himself on his own sword. Afterward, he strung himself up in the tree of life for nine days and nine nights over the course of which he learned the secret language of the runes. Through his ordeals, Odin also gained the capacity for both prophecy and shapeshifting. He is often depicted with his two ravens, Thought and Memory (Hugin and Munin), who fly around the world and report back with what they see.
The experience of our own thoughts and memories are key to the value of The Hanged Man. We all require periods of reflection in order to grow and to meet challenges. We can and do change the past and navigate our futures by taking on the position of The Hanged Man who looks within his memories for what he has missed or resisted. This exercise might mean we recognize how our own behaviors contributed to the situation or simply grasp the experience of the others involved. These understandings can fundamentally decondtruct and reconstruct our past which impacts our future.
The arts of drumming and seership belonged to the realm of women and Odin was reviled in some quarters for his practices.
As for Odin, it could be said that his desire for wisdom was answered in part by his gifts creating a societal fate through which he would come to appreciate the hardships particular to women. The arts of drumming and seership belonged to the realm of women and Odin was reviled in some quarters for his practices.
What we might call the palace of wisdom does not generally offer the status or the riches we might like to gain for our mortal coil. Wisdom is only knowledge of various truths which we may use to trick our fellows or to offer them empathy, this is our choice. Wisdom for the sake of itself, however, is key to knowing which fork in our personal path will lead to ruin and which will lead to peace.
May we check it before we wreck it.
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