The Hanged Man is card XII of the Major Arcana in the Thoth Tarot. In a reading it speaks of sacrifice, surrender, suspension and reversal. In the Golden Dawn system it corresponds to the Hebrew letter Mem, path 23 of the Tree of Life between Geburah and Hod, the element Water and Water in astrology.
sacrifice · surrender · suspension · reversal · redemption
What does The Hanged Man mean?
Let go of control and look at the situation from another angle; a conscious renunciation can open the way.
Everyday meaning
Sacrifice, waiting, suspension, voluntary renunciation for the sake of a greater good. It points to a stuck situation that asks for a change of perspective.
Psychological meaning
It represents the ego's surrender before what it cannot control; the overturning of values that precedes a new understanding.
Initiatic meaning
Path 23 from Geburah to Hod, the letter Mem (water, 40) and elemental Water: the baptismal immersion in which individual form dissolves. It is the formula of the sacrificed god, belonging to the previous Aeon.
The shadow side
Ill-dignified, it signals victimhood, pointless sacrifice, passivity, a stalemate without meaning.
The Hanged Man reversed
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading:
Sacrifice that is imposed or dragged out beyond what is necessary; resistance to changing your point of view, a feeling of being trapped.
The Hanged Man in love, work and spirit
In love
Renunciations and waiting; watch relationships in which you give without receiving.
At work and career
Suspended projects and delays; a time to rethink methods and priorities.
In spiritual practice
The surrender of the ego as an offering; immersion in the waters of transformation.
Kabbalah, astrology and the Hebrew letter of The Hanged Man
Mem מ (40) · path 23: Geburah – Hod · Water · Water
Crowley on The Hanged Man
For Crowley the Hanged Man expresses the formula of Osiris, the god who dies in order to rise again, which the new Aeon considers outdated: the man hangs from an ankh, nailed to a green grid, with a serpent at his feet announcing new life.
Frequently asked questions
What does The Hanged Man mean in the Thoth Tarot?
Let go of control and look at the situation from another angle; a conscious renunciation can open the way.
What does The Hanged Man mean in love?
Renunciations and waiting; watch relationships in which you give without receiving.
What does The Hanged Man mean for work and career?
Suspended projects and delays; a time to rethink methods and priorities.
What does The Hanged Man mean reversed?
The Thoth Tarot is traditionally read without reversed cards: the reader judges from the cards around it whether a card is well or ill dignified. This is its ill-dignified or blocked reading: Sacrifice that is imposed or dragged out beyond what is necessary; resistance to changing your point of view, a feeling of being trapped.
What are the Kabbalah and astrology correspondences of The Hanged Man?
In the Golden Dawn system The Hanged Man corresponds to the Hebrew letter Mem, path 23 of the Tree of Life between Geburah and Hod, the element Water and Water in astrology.
