XII. The Hanged Man

Where to begin? First a collection of information about this card/path was conducted. Then the data was synthesized and the impressions which emerged were tested against further data. That sums up the methodology of this path working project.

The letter מ is the 13th letter of the alphabet. Mem spelled in full is מים and its literal meaning is Water. The card signifies the element of Water.

The hanged man is bound by one leg to a living tree and appears to be unable (or unwilling) to move. His face is in a sort of a trance and does not appear to be suffering. The nimbus about his head indicates a divine sort of consciousness.

My first impression of the hanged man was that he represents the Ghost in the Machine, the consciousness, the spirit living in an inanimate object. But since the tree is alive it is got to be the spirit of living things, resigned to be forever bound to it... but then as water is the life giving substance for all living things, perhaps the hanged man is the one that makes the tree alive.

Therefore the original theory, impression of being a spirit of an inanimate object is not necessarily incorrect, but also not complete or comprehensive.

The element of surrender is a vitally important aspect of this path. It is the surrender, the sacrifice of the personal ego to the Self, to the greater existence beyond that which can me consciously comprehended. It is a spiritual experience also represented by the life and death of Jesus Christ. The fallacy of Christianity is the belief that experiencing this surrender vicariously by faith is equivalent to the actual surrender of the personal ego to one's destiny, true Self.

The letter מ is composed of 2 letters, כ and ו. Together they enumerate to 26, the value of יהוה. The value of מ is 40, a number which appears on numerous occasions in the Jewish and Christian folklore, and the western tradition. Most famous is the number of years of wandering in the desert by the Israelites after escaping Egypt.

Mentions of 40 from the Bible can be seen here. All are indications of trial and suffering. A baptism of sort.. therefore it is appropriate for the letter מ which means water to be enumerated to 40.

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Return to the tree of life traverse, in reverse

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Hermetic Laboratory

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