Archetypes of the Tarot - The Hanged Man

 

Here's an odd entry for the archetype discussion in that to many the Hanged Man isn't a living person yet it has it's place in this discussion in several respects. First let's look at the divinatory meaning; Surrender to a higher power (being) causing a reversal in one's way of life by becoming spiritually connected.  This speaks of a person at a point in their life where they are examining the meaning of "God" in relationship to "self".  This is generally accomplished by reflection, meditation, study, prayer, or any form of worship that makes that person work to attain the whole connection with their "God", whether this be the Christian God, Jehovah, any of the goddesses or any form of God/Goddess that homo sapien sapiens has or can imagine.  The person is or is becoming enlightened to the true meaning of life and by so doing completing the connection to their spiritual essence.  Perhaps this is an acolyte who has accepted their devotion in their hearts.  This may be an agnostic who finally finds the reality of a God Being as a personal higher power.  In each case this is a person who is undergoing the metamorphosis from one who sees the world as under their control into a person who acknowledges that there is an Universal Higher Power with a functioning plan that we are all a part of and integral to it's purpose.

 

All this gives us a person who is reflective, thoughtful, inner directed, open to the possibility of God's intervention in our personal lives, willing to learn and motivated to work towards a specific goal. So we discover that we do have a personality that goes with this card.   The important difference between the Hermit and the Hanged Man (as a personality type) is that the Hermit is reclusive by temperament while the Hanged Man is often inner directed by circumstance imposed by outer circumstance.  The seeming reclusivity of the Hanged Man is generally a withdrawal from current activities and companions rather than from all humanity.