The Hanged Man - Tarot - Major Arcana 12

The Hanged Man is associated with water and Neptune, the god who oversees the vast ocean of the collective unconscious, the planet associated with mystery, illusion, and imagination. In his seas, the visionary life can be more vital than reality. Crowned with a halo of wisdom, the enlightened Hanged Man, upside down, sees reality from a new perspective. His faraway eyes pierce beyond the conventional, the immediate. He sees the need for the sacrifice of the present for the growth of the future. He knows sacrifice is vital to growth, the greater good - and the suspended time he embraces here is not wasted as he transforms. In these seas, water takes on the spiritual meaning of a baptism, possibly even death - the end of one life and beginning of a next life. The Hanged Man is immersed deep in these unconscious waters, translating currents of psychological and emotional wisdom far under the sea, transcending what was visible on the surface. He hangs from the branches of a world tree with roots deep in the underworld and branches tangled in heavens. The strong perfume of juniper bark and berry represents strength, resolve, to endure the discomfort of the present. As the light of wisdom spills from his chrysalis, the moths flit around him, symbolizing transformation and new life; the juniper berries ripen for harvest. Upright - the card symbolizes: sacrifice, wisdom, discernment, surrender, delayed gratification, transformation Reversed - the card symbolizes: stalling, indecision, stagnation, selfishness, fear of sacrifice, as well as needless sacrifice