The hanged man is the card of sacrifice, before you get worried, and think I mean of the horror/slash variety or in the style of the ‘Wicker Man’. It is more of a letting go, a release of a part of us that we no longer need. Waite himself stresses that the “expression on his face is one of deep entrancement, not suffering”. It is about the process of a temporary release from physical restrictions and connection to a more spiritual way of being. It is a dreamy Neptunian state.

In a reading this card being prominent may indicate a blockage, a limbo, being stuck in a situation where you feel you cannot escape. This could be described as a ‘stalemate’ situation, where we cannot make a move. This card is a little topsy-turvy, in that the usual rules of play may not apply. It may be advising you to do the complete opposite to what you may normally do. The action required has to literally ‘Stop somebody’s World’, in that you need to surprise them by not being your usual predictable side. As Frank Herbert author of Dune so wisely said “Seek freedom and become captive of your desires. Seek discipline and find your liberty.”