Oh, friends. What to say? Where to begin?
I’ve been spending time lately with the Hanged One (or Hanged Man) card, which has always been one of my favorites.
Every tarot card is an archetype, a prompt, a tug at some hidden string in the psyche. The Hanged One’s message is relatively straightforward:
Surrender to this awful moment. Now surrender again. Repeat until your perspective changes.
The twelfth card in the deck, proceeded by Death, the Hanged One typically looks…pretty bad.
I really, really, really do not want things to be the way they are. I’m pretty sure you don’t want this, either. Unfortunately, this is the reality we inhabit right now.
By this I do not mean that we’re powerless. Accepting reality is not the same as liking it, or giving up. In fact, I think the opposite is true:
We cannot take meaningful or effective action until we understand what we’re up against.
This is both the bummer and the blessing of the Hanged One: the calling out of self-defeating fight-or-flight impulses.
Yes, yes, I say, things are bad, we have to do something, let’s go.
No, says the Hanged One. We will stay here until we re-enter our bodies and feel the gravity drawing down our bones. Until we stop fruitlessly twisting at our bonds, stop trying to escape. Until, upside down, awake in the underworld, we can at last perceive the true size and shape of the thing. Only then will we find the exit.
The Hanged One is not a fun card to encounter. I’m not exactly raring to sink deeper into my pain. Still, I am comforted every time I see it, because it reminds me that the truth is bigger than my stories—and that there are survivable paths forward I haven’t yet discovered.
Anyway. Here’s my latest poem.
XII. The Hanged One There comes a moment in the cartoon when the bully’s victim, dangled by one scrawny ankle, swears—swears!—on something comically sacred that he’s all out of lunch money. This moment invariably precedes a renewed shaking, a jingling release, a rain of coin on the pavement. Today I think I may have reached that stage of the catastrophe.
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For those of you interested in art history or history in general, I recommend this post about how the classic Hanged Man/Le Pendu/L’Appeso ended up suspended by an ankle. While I don’t enjoy drawing or looking at things that disgust me, I can see the political value of shaming bullies with too much money and power.
joy as resistance
It might seem oblivious to start a sticker shop while the world is caving in. For me, though, there’s never been a better time. I’ll explain more soon; today I just wanted to tell you that Big Challenges is here for you.
Thanks for staying alive with me. I am so, so glad you’re here.
There is such wisdom here Kate, especially on the importance of finding embodiment. Thank you for sharing it 💕
Nice Post ☺️
I actually like the hanged man card. I get frustrated when I see it, but the hanged man is relaxed on his cross, in suspension in time, knowing it'll come at the right time.