Curious Christian

Reflections on culture, nature, and spirituality from a Christian perspective

Meditations on the Tarot – The Hanged Man

Published by

Matt Stone

2007-01-21

In sitting with this card the verse that comes to me is Philippians 2:1-11:

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

   Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
   Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
   but made himself nothing,
   taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
   And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
   Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
   that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
   and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

It is interesting to actually look up Arthur Edward Waite’s comments on the Hanged Man. In The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, his famous work from 1911, from he writes:

“He who can understand that the story of his higher nature is imbedded in this symbolism will receive intimations concerning a great awakening that is possible, and will know that after the sacred Mystery of Death there is a glorious Mystery of Resurrection.”

This in turn leads me to meditate on Romans 6:3-8:

Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to karma— because anyone who has died has been freed from karma.

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Tags Tarot

3 responses to “Meditations on the Tarot – The Hanged Man”

Sun Warrior

2007-01-22

Trying to find ourselves as truly human through Spirit and an encounter with ‘death’ while living is Christ’s challenge to us.
I’ve been having a heated debate with an adherent with the Adi Da. He believes that his spiritual master is the tenth, and last, Avatar in history.
But the Adi Da has failed to have any greater impact on the 6 billion souls walking the planet as all the other religions have.
It’s a personal journey to let go and ‘fall.’ It’s a human-centered enterprise to attain spirituality in the Present.
It is interesting that the biggest challenge facing all religions is not the individual’s sacrifice, but the isolation of humans from everything outside of them. It’s just a God/Avatar-human enterprise. But to be truly human and spiritual you must be connected to ‘reality’ beyond humans, and we ignore so much that is right here in front of our faces.
It is funny how Christianity is struggling to get up-to-date with the eco-challenge. There must be something in the Bible. We’ve found everything else. But we have no relationship with the Earth, which every pre-modern society did have. So we become more isolated as humans living in the equivalent of inert matter, still struggling to die to realize spiritual reality while still alive.
Pre-modern society had a relationship with the Earth for their survival, and so focused on the human element in that context. Today, all we have is a manufactured existence, with no relationship with Nature.
We see that human nature does not change. Just human context. Our context is within an isolation of humans from their natural context like never before. Religion is still struggling to have an impact on society at large. Human isolation and God isolation go hand-in-hand. Jesus didn’t really say much. He isolated our problem, and we have focused on that every since.
What death is asked of us now? Our context is so strange collectively. How do we care for the Earth as a thing, and in so doing enhance our spirituality? We let go of this Earth and die to reach God now. But we have never had a situation like climate change before; humans relationship with the Earth is so stark. Does our personal death and sacrifice, and spiritual awakening with God have anything to do with Creation, or just souls worried about making-the-grade spiritually?
Perhaps our journey as a world society could use some death of our human species self-centeredness to awaken a reintroduction to something more whole – not religion’s human-isolation with God, but a humanity that is greater because it is not so self-centered, but connected with God through non-human forms, besides the soul of Christ.
Perhaps we can use what Christ has taught us about relating to other humans and death to a wider context of what Creation actually is. What would we have to sacrifice, die, in our own religion, to find a greater humanity beyond simply humans striving for ‘God’ within an isolated human context. And in that death find so much more that we never thought was there. It is a tidal change to our human focus. But I fear all religions great discoveries are at risk if we cannot crucify the civilized structure that we have lived with for 12,000 years, to re-connect spiritually, as humans, outside of our isolation as civilized humans from both God and our ‘environment.’

LikeLike

Reply
sally

2007-01-22

Interesting reflection Matt- I’d love to know why you were drawn to that card today- Rachel Pollack (78 degrees of wisdom) talks of the great peace in this card- how the hanged man has actively submitted himself to the rhythms of life- pointing to the need in modern folk for a relaese of emotions…
Picking up on Sun warriors thoughts- I suspect this surrender challenges us about lifestyle- if we surrender ourselves to the rhythms of life and season we might just find ourselves more whole… as Christians we are generally bad at acknowledging seasons expecting things now… as westerners we are worse-
The trump reversed says Pollack indicates an inability to get free of social pressure. Rather than listen to our inner selves we do what others expect or demand of us.
That is a huge challenge- brings to mind
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longe live but Christ lives in me, the life I now live in the body I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)-
we are not good at surrender are we…
Peace and blessings
Sally

LikeLike

Reply
Matt Stone

2007-01-25

Sun Warrior
The apostle Paul once wrote:
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
Now it is a bit cryptic but I see this teaching as interesting, not only because he indicates quite explicitly that the Kingdom of God involves more than just God and humans, but also because Paul obviously sees what he calls the ‘creation’ as a living entity and not merely inert matter. Pity so few Christians listen to Paul on this but there you go. I agree with you that the death called for extends beyond the death to self. If God so loved the world that he’d suffer on it’s behalf then surly those of us who call ourselves children of God should share this attitude.

LikeLike

Reply