THE HANGED ONE - GUIDE TO KNOWING WITH EMOTION

“WHO IS OUR GUIDE TO KNOWING WITH EMOTIONS?”

This post is part of a series based on both Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer and Walk Through a Forest of Souls by Rachel Pollack, and uses the Weird Wisdom Tarot by Novembre. For full context, read the original post here!

Appearing after Justice and before Death in the Major arcana, The Hanged One may be easily mistaken for a depiction of punishment. Trump twelve, however, is a card of changed perspective and enlightenment. The figure in the card is often holding an expression of peace or joy, as they dangle from the strong horizontal branch of a tree. This change in perspective is a necessary step toward the acceptance and embodiment that we see in Temperance. In order to accept their role in the world, and to make peace with the cycles of loss and life that exist outside of them, The Hanged One seeks a view of the world that is unlike anything they’ve seen before. 

“The Hanged One sees the sky as a vast ocean.”

Inverting, they place their root towards the sky, and place their mind and intuition toward the ground. They allow that which seems opposite to meet, and find wisdom in the intersection. Our brains would make quick sense of this world and we would not be confused why gravity was not pulling everything into the vast blue sky. But The Hanged One does not want you to think about it. They want you to feel it, to experience the emotional world from a brand new perspective.

Our media is constructed to give us alternating emotions; highs and lows. We are bombarded with visions of death and destruction, and then with humor. We are tossed back and forth to create emotional fatigue and confusion that leaves us unable to feel with our full empathy. We become complacent, and happy to judge quickly. We protect ourselves from the onslaught of emotional whiplash by deciphering as quickly as possible what we think is reasonable, and what is not. On an individual scale we are taught to seek escape, and to distrust or even hate those that cause us to confront our own difficult feelings.

I know we all know someone who we wish we could invert, just for a moment. Someone who could perhaps connect a plight back to their empathy and humanity, if only they were able to see past the structures and patterns ingrained in their hearts. Forcing inversion, however, hardly ever yields positive results. If we view The Hanged One as a punishment, we cannot advance to Death and Temperance for rebirth. Instead we dive deeper into shame or avoidance. We struggle against the position we are placed in against our will. As much as it may pain us to know it, our hearts do not respond to shame with growth, but grow sour and more withered instead.

Then how may we access the wisdom of The Hanged One? And how may we share this wisdom with those who do not share our perspectives? The Hanged One offers wisdom through example. As they first hoist themselves into the tree, the foundations are shaky. They scrape their skin and contort uncomfortably. They laugh, perhaps, at the strange sensation of inversion, as the world becomes new again for them. And as time goes on, they do not dream incessantly of leaving the tree to spread their gospel of self growth. They wonder at the world. They feel the ocean of sky holding all the dreams and love of every human being. They see infinite possibility, infinite love, infinite ways to feel, to be, and to see the world.

The branches of this tree appear to have grown straight through them, sprouting golden fruits and colorful foliage. Their commitment to this new perspective and relationship with the world shows in their relationship to their tree. The world responds to the love you give it, and the gifts of reciprocity flow back into their world continually. 

Those around them may laugh or heckle, allowing their fear and confusion to pour out in hate and rejection. But The Hanged One is unshaken. They know their emotional strength comes from resilience, and that their resilience is fed by the support of the world they are seeking to create. In order to take the great leap into a new perspective, it is natural to need a guide. The fearful and judging onlookers may simply need to see the reciprocity that nourishes the inverted to know it is safe to explore another way of living.

We are feeling creatures, and we want to feel good. We want love, compassion, and connection. We fear what we don’t understand, but mainly we fear being isolated from others. Systems of power encourage us to ostracize the “other”, and we learn that curiosity toward new ideas and perspectives will not be tolerated. We are taught gut reactions to defend against being thought of as “one of them” so we may keep our social support. This is especially relevant when we are sitting at intersections of privilege and marginalization.

Those who understand personally what that ostracization feels like, may fear it so much that they turn their backs on their values. They will turn away from curious engagement and education, seeking out reassurance from those structures that they are still worthy of love and connection. This is not just about wanting to have power or be in control. Sometimes we make decisions to continue in ignorance so we might have the comfort and safety of support, love, and connection.

Understanding and self compassion is necessary to overcome this, as shame and self-punishment does nothing but leave the heart craving comfort. We must fall in love again with curiosity, take in the world through new eyes, and share what we see. The Hanged One’s wisdom tells us that knowing with the heart does not come from polarized emotions and fear. It comes instead from our ability to be open to the diverse and beautiful world we live in, understanding our values, and not turning away from them when we are threatened. 

It is not possible for any one person to invert the whole world and change everyone’s perspectives. It is possible, and I would argue necessary, that we all begin living in alignment with our hearts, even when we fear losing love. The love we stand to gain in unity and humanity will heal the heartache of what we stand to lose. And the love that is predicated on compliance to ignorant and callus living carries the parasites of control and fear. May we sift that love from refuse in the great waters of the infinite sky. May the love those fearful people withdraw return to us again when we call to it with open, inverted arms, with no fear or judgment.