Thought it would be interesting if we discussed the cards in the major arcana, so I thought I would share my thoughts on one of my personal favorites, The Hanged Man.
This card may appear when there is a need to self sacrifice in order to move forward to develop. A need to make adjustments and sacrifices in order to gain the improvement we seek. The most obvious answer to a problem may be the simplest, but it is rarely the easiest. To admit you are afraid, you gain the strength to conquer your fear. When you relinquish your desire for control, everything begins to work as it should. In a world in which you must constantly struggle to maintain your current position, the Hanged Man tells you to stop and you can move forward. Tell this to others and it seems obvious; try to do it yourself and it becomes impossible. Each moment of your life you make sacrifices. By choosing to eat with a friend rather than eating alone, you sacrifice your solitude. The sacrifice is meaningless unless there is balance and purpose behind it. To give without intent is worse than giving too much or too little. The Hanged Man also urges you to look at things in a new and different way. If your mind is yelling at you to take action, then doing nothing could be the best thing to do. If something is important to you emotionally but it no longer serves a purpose, this card suggest a need to let it go. If you try to force change, it will backfire, and never occur. Relax and let things happen instead of trying to interfere. When the Hanged Man appears, know that greater wisdom and happiness is at hand, but only if you are prepared to sacrifice something of value for that wisdom. Sometimes it's material or physical you must be deprived of, but in most cases it is a perspective or a viewpoint that must be left behind. Inevitably, sacrificing something you value will always lead you to something even more valuable.
