THE HANGED MAN (XII)

The Hanged Man (XII) design has been incubating for several days, again prompted by my dream world. In early April, I had a dream in which a young woman was suspended on an upright mattress in a doorway. Later at the end of that dream I saw a series of drawings/paintings and what was emphasized most was that there were 12 of them. Of course, when I awoke I thought of The Hanged Man. I let XII simmer in "suspended animation" for a few days and woke in the wee hours of yesterday morning knowing it was time to produce it. I sketched out the design and tanka on my dream-notes pad right then.

The tanka for XII, by the way, is taken from the last lines of a lengthy old "failed" dream-based poem of mine, called "The Seal From Beneath The Sea." I'd been trying to revise it only a day or so before the dream I mention above. That sea image in the poem and title is also intriguing in light of The Hanged Man as the Hebrew letter associated with him is often "Mem," which means sea or waters in noun form.

Here's my Hanged Man design:



Here's XII in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck for comparison:



The Hanged Man is one of the cards that people not familiar with The Tarot tend to be somewhat unnerved by. And although what this card can suggest are not easy tasks (suspension of ego; staying in the moment; complete reversal of viewpoint; etc.), nor is what it tends to portend (hang ups, snafus, delays, etc.) much fun, it is not a card of death or punishment. Rather, at its deepest and highest it can be a card of enlightenment, of "Letting go and letting God/dess," of trusting in the Higher Self's connection to the All to be the bridge from now to now.

BRIEF BACKGROUND ON THE TAIGA TAROT (Click here for additional background on the Taiga Tarot.):

Please note: This deck is not necessarily being designed for use in divination, but rather to share taiga based on each of 78 Tarot cards.

When I decided the name of the deck would be The Taiga Tarot, I liked not only the alliteration but the resemblance of the word “taiga” to “tiger.” One of my power animals is the Siberian Tiger (and by extension, all tigers), which first appeared as three tiger kittens in a dream. What I had completely forgotten at the time was that the area of Siberia in which the tiger ranges is called “The Taiga”!

A “taiga” (briefly put) is an illustrated tanka. A “tanka” is a mood poem written in five lines, that usually references natural images and human emotions. Also, there is often a contrast or conclusion or response in the last two lines to the first three. I recognize that the tanka/taiga I’m developing for The Taiga Tarot are non-traditional. As with the dream haiku I write, I am not only attempting to bridge two things – with this deck, Tarot and taiga – but also bringing my own experimental slant to it all.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

Roswila
[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Tarot Gallery & Journal and Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm.****