Twinn Swan

Sometimes, if you want to progress in life, you have to stop doing whatever you were doing till that point. You have to let go. Not completely let go… But let go just enough. The Hanged Man Archetype is one that I personally became familiar with around 2022. While the image itself tells a compelling story, the interpretation of this card isn’t as straightforward as some of the others.

The image portrays a man who, despite his upside-down appearance, appears to be calm and peaceful. But is he? Or is he in a lot of pain–pain that he is trying to overcome and come to peace with? Mindfulness and mental training are two themes that often come up when the Hanged Man card come up. We want to go beyond the conditioning of the body and the mind. We want to discover ‘that’ which exists beyond ‘this’.

The Self

We know, for a fact, that there is a ‘Self’ that exists beyond the body and it is that ‘Self that we are seeking. Most of us, however, never get that far ahead. We never fully renounce what we are doing and choose that path.

The Hanged Man’s hands are positioned behind his back in the shape of an inverted triangle. The colours he is wearing are significant. The red represents the full spectrum of our human emotions and blue symbolises peace and serenity. Additionally, a halo of some sort is around his head, signifying enlightenment and newfound awareness.

Through his austerities, tapasyas and spiritual disciplines, The Hanged Man is moving beyond body consciousness. He begins to realise the Self, the self that exists beyond the body. This Self, unlike the small self-constructed self, is limitless. The body, itself, is a limitation. Most of us are completely identified with our body and our possessions.

But what exactly is beyond that?

The Saint

First things first, the Hanged Man usually, but not always, signifies the presence of a Saint. Can you think of a Saint or two that you learnt about growing up? Who comes to mind? Why did they come to mind? What particular contribution did they make to their community? What realisation did they have and how did they share it with their community?

Some saints are known for the mystical visions they had, other saints are known for travelling far and wide with some new teachings; and lastly, some saints are revered and honoured for their work in interfaith and religious harmony.

When the Hanged Man appears, it urges us to really think about why we are here. Many, if not all of the saints that I can think of, accepted or even embraced poverty as a lifestyle choice. They somehow knew that challenging financial circumstances can be opportunities in disguise. Somehow or another, these men and women–these saints–were simply not interested in pursuing money as the goal of their life. They knew that even if they let go of all that striving, there could still lead a meaningful existence on earth.

Saints exist in virtually all religious traditions that I can think of. Some of them were powerful healers, some of them were religious leaders and some of them were authors. In many ways, they held occupations like you and me. Unlike most of us, however, they were not self-focused in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, they were focused on realising the Self. They had decided to surrender, let go and let God.

Perhaps, we, too, can learn from their innumerable examples and learn to let go and let God.