The Hanged Man
The Spirit of the Mighty Waters
Suspension: the view from upside down, a surrender that either redeems or only stalls.
| Trump | XII of the 22 (Atu) |
|---|---|
| Letter | מ Mem, “water”, value 40, Mother letter |
| Path | Path 23, Geburah to Hod |
| Astrology | Water, one of the three Mother elements (modern overlay: Neptune) |
| Old title | The Spirit of the Mighty Waters |
| Rider-Waite | The Hanged Man |
| Colour | Deep blue (King scale) |
In a reading
Sacrifice, suspension, surrender, a reversal of perspective; a pause that cannot be forced to end. Badly placed: loss, punishment, martyrdom held onto for its own sake.
Working with the card
| Do | Stop pushing; let go and look at it reversed. |
|---|---|
| Bring | Patience, willingness to lose a position. |
| Beware | Martyrdom, suffering as identity, waiting as a way of life. |
| Ask | What am I holding onto that is holding me here? |
Correspondences
On the card
A figure hangs upside-down by one foot from an ankh, his legs crossed and his arms held out to form a cross above a triangle. Nails pierce his hands and foot; a serpent rises beneath his head; the whole is drawn on a grid, the fixed matrix of the old Aeon.
Kabbalah
Mem, water, one of the three Mothers, on path 23 from Geburah to Hod: the great sea, and the descent of the severe power into intellect. Mem is the still water in which the light is reflected upside-down.
Astrology
Elemental Water. Modern practitioners overlay Neptune (dissolution, mystic surrender); this is not among Crowley's primary attributions.
Number
Twelve, the zodiac completed, and Mem's value 40, the number of the flood and of the years in the wilderness: the whole cycle passed through in suspension.
Depth psychology
The sacrifice of the ego's viewpoint that precedes rebirth: enantiodromia, the reversal of every value. Jungian readers see the descent into the unconscious and the crucifixion of the persona.
Thoth and Rider-Waite
Waite's hanged man is serene with a halo; Crowley's is a dying god of the old Aeon, pinned to the grid of a formula that has passed, and he warns that the card should no longer be read as the model of redemption.
The modern planet
Modern Thoth readers add Neptune to this trump as an overlay on the element. It is a later convention, not part of the Golden Dawn scheme.
| Keywords | Dreams, imagination, spirituality, transcendence, compassion, illusion, deception, confusion, glamour, film, music, drugs and alcohol, sacrifice, the unconscious, mysticism, fog, dissolution |
|---|---|
| Light | Compassion, artistic vision, spiritual devotion, intuition, imagination |
| Shadow | Escapism, addiction, self-deception, victimhood, martyrdom, manipulation through vagueness |
More in the astrology chapters: ♆︎ Neptune.
Related cards
Pairs with
Water in the small cards and courts
- הAce of Cups Root of Water
- ♓︎Queen of Wands Water of Fire
- ♊︎Queen of Cups Water of Water
- ♍︎Queen of Swords Water of Air
- ♐︎Queen of Disks Water of Earth
All Water cards are listed on the Water page.
Other paths touching Geburah
Other paths touching Hod
Correspondences follow the Golden Dawn system as used in Crowley's Book of Thoth and Liber 777. Paintings by Lady Frieda Harris, © Ordo Templi Orientis. Where sources differ.