The Hanged Man XII

Hanged Man Keywords

Upright: New perspective, introspection, let go

Reversed: Breakthroughs, avoidance, stalling

Planet: Neptune

Numerology: 3

Element: Water

Next card: Death

Hanged Man Meaning

Love Reading

This card tells you that a love lesson is lurking beneath the surface of your love life. But it doesn’t have to do with the relationship as much as it has to do with you as an individual. Upright, this indicates that you're learning more about yourself in relationships. Reversed means that you need to identify cyclical relationship patterns.

Career Reading

Since this card is about embracing our darker sides, seeing the Hanged Man for career means that something might be missing in your career life. Upright, you may be identifying some things that are missing in career. Reversed can suggest that big changes happening in your career are for the better.

General Reading

In general, this card asks you to look at the parts of yourself you don't necessarily enjoy. This isn't to be torturous or anything; it's simply about being truthful. When you're truthful, you're looking at ALL sides of an issue—which is exactly what this card asks us to do. Be open-minded when you see it.

In the simplest terms, The Hanged Man asks you to get in touch with your soul.

The Hanged Man is represented by the number "12"—which breaks down to "3" in numerology. The number "3" is a very spiritual number. It appears when we are connecting to our esoteric or otherworldly sides. Just think about these trios in respect to the otherworldly:

The Father/The Son/The Holy Spirit
Mind/Body/Soul
Heaven/Hell/Earth

All the examples above prove that "3" brings together these elements: the physical, the otherworldly, and the spiritual. It's as if all three need to coexist in order for us to be whole. What's more is that this card is also represented by Neptune, the planet of spirituality.

So, the idea for The Hanged Man is this: You cannot be wholly yourself until you acknowledge and embrace the unseen. In the simplest terms, this card asks you to get in touch with your soul (not just your body). And because of that, I often see it as a card that asks us to reconcile with the dark parts of ourselves. It asks us to look in the mirror and acknowledge the things within ourselves that we despise. And in doing so, we find total, complete acceptance.

This card is also associated with the mutable water sign, Pisces. Pisces is known for its healing abilities and psychic prowess. Pisces literally has the gift of "seeing the unseen." It's for that reason The Hanged Man encourages us to recognize the unseen—in the world around us and in ourselves.

Hanged Man Upright

In an upright position, The Hanged Man represents a time when we have identified issues within ourselves that need attention. It's truly about self-acceptance because of this. Everyone wants to be a self-evolved person, but no one actually enjoys the experience of growth. That's what The Hanged Man is all about.

Seeing it appear in any spread in this position says that you're on the right track for growth. It's not necessarily about movement as much as it is about understanding. This is an inner experience. This experience also may take a lot of time. Growth is slow.

So, if you're seeing The Hanged Man when asking the cards how you should approach something, it's telling you to slow down. Get in touch with your soul... with what you truly want. Oftentimes, this card is about identifying with the truths that you haven't been willing to accept before. When upright then, it's a true sign of maturity.

Hanged Man Reversed

On the flip side, a reversed Hanged Man speaks to either a lack of maturity or even a complete lack of awareness. The reversed Hanged Man only appears when we have shirked the responsibility of self-growth for too long. It's a sign that it's time to grow up, to get serious, and to really embrace personal change.

There are times when this card speaks of immaturity. It can identify someone who is acting with a Peter Pan kind of mindset—who enjoys having zero responsibility or accountability for his actions. It can appear during a time where we may simply act with this mindset, because we fear what truths we will uncover about ourselves if we open that Pandora's Box. Thus, it's also a projection technique.

There are other times where this card speaks on literal unawareness. On a soul level, this speaks of someone who is seriously undeveloped. They will need to be pushed into maturity by something bigger than this influence. (Enter: Death XIII.)

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