For the version of The Hanged Man here, i.e., Hanging Ghost (scroll up and click on the image if you want a close-up view), I wanted to chat a bit about artistic interpretations of Key 12. I’ve always construed the “hanging by the foot” part of the pictorial depiction for The Hanged Man to be essential. And emotionally, the card doesn’t give off that sense of pain and punishment, full-on suffering.
The Hanged Man depiction I tend to prefer is– okay you could argue it’s nice-washed, where they’re hung up by a foot, not looking terribly bothered by their situation, and there’s no noose around their necks. It’s implied that the one being hung wields the power to get out of the situation, but willfully chooses to be suspended there, for divine reasons beyond our human comprehension. When contemporary tarot decks opt for the depiction of a hanging person, in that the imagery denotes disempowerment, suffering, punishing, suffocating-around-the-neck sort of way, which wow. I just… I don’t know if I’ve been tarot-naive or what, but it’s not something I vibe with. Anyway. Moving on. |
