Post by Empress Palpatine on Dec 31, 2009 17:29:20 GMT -6
The 12th card of the Major Arcana is the Hanged Man. Most decks show a man hanging upside down from one foot, which is tied to a crossbeam made of wood. The wood is alive and not dead, more like a tree. The man is not dead, just stuck in this predicament. There is a common theme in many old myths where the god or hero sacrifices something to gain something of greater value (like Jesus or Odin). The idea of hanging from a "tree" is not unique to Christianity. Many religions have a dying god and a resurrection theme.
The hanging figure has a calm expression. He is not upset. He is just seeing things through a new perspective. "Unlearn all that you have learned," says Yoda.
If you get this card in a reading it is not really about death. (This will be the next card). It is about being on hold or stuck. Things are in suspension like Han Solo in carbonite. This can happen in two ways: voluntary or involuntary.
A voluntary example would be like what many would did in old India. A householder relinquished his possessions and position to become a monk to seek enlightenment. Ego and possession were given up to attain something greater, like the Buddha. Another example of such would be the time when Jesus collected his 12 disciples. As Jesus approached each person, they dropped out of their previous life leaving all behind to gain what Jesus had to offer. These people gave up the world to gain the Force.
For a Jedi it would mean to give up attachment and possession and live for the Force. For a Sith, the exact voluntary path for this is less clear since a Sith can be as worldly as he or she needs to be; yet even a Sith may have to sacrifice something to gain something better.
Often, however, it is not so voluntary. Life throws a curve ball at you. You are stuck somehow. The bright meaning would be that in the long run, it will work out for the best. The negative meaning would be that you are just plain cornered. The next logical step would be to ask how to get out of such a corner. Draw another card with this in mind to tell you the way out of the situation. The next card may hint at simply waiting the situation out or suggest some sort of action to take.
The current culture has a taboo about being stuck. One is supposed to never admit it. It is not cool to admit to being stuck in a place you do not wish to be. I have seen it over and over: women stuck in bad marriages, people stuck in dead end jobs or living in a town they hate, students stuck with teachers or peers they can't stand. Often times people avoid admitting it because our culture insists that we all choose our settings and circumstances. The new agers even insist that we choose who and where to be born in this current incarnation. Hogwash! There is, actually, such a thing as being just plain stuck.
Anakin fits here. He was born a slave. He had to serve Watto. There were a number of occasions where he got cornered by circumstance. These very circumstances were the reason he went Sith. Sith and Jedi have a lot to do with circumstance. Both are Force followers, but Sith tend to have a less gleamy view of things and often come from less fortunate circumstances than Jedi. Much of Anakin's anger came from his slave background. Sith often have had to play harder ball because they come from behind. They have to do more drastic means to achieve a goal. There is no room to give play to bourgeois morality. The Sith uses any means necessary.
A Sith is usually very happy with himself/herself when they manage to fight their way out of a corner. For a Sith to get "Hanged Man," it would mean to fight like crazy and tap into the Dark Side to get free.
If, perhaps, there is no move to make, a Sith would wait, conserve strength and wait for a better moment. Do not waste your power. Sometimes it is a waiting game, as Palpatine well knew.
So the next time you get this card, ask yourself, "What would Palpatine do?" (WWPD?)
The hanging figure has a calm expression. He is not upset. He is just seeing things through a new perspective. "Unlearn all that you have learned," says Yoda.
If you get this card in a reading it is not really about death. (This will be the next card). It is about being on hold or stuck. Things are in suspension like Han Solo in carbonite. This can happen in two ways: voluntary or involuntary.
A voluntary example would be like what many would did in old India. A householder relinquished his possessions and position to become a monk to seek enlightenment. Ego and possession were given up to attain something greater, like the Buddha. Another example of such would be the time when Jesus collected his 12 disciples. As Jesus approached each person, they dropped out of their previous life leaving all behind to gain what Jesus had to offer. These people gave up the world to gain the Force.
For a Jedi it would mean to give up attachment and possession and live for the Force. For a Sith, the exact voluntary path for this is less clear since a Sith can be as worldly as he or she needs to be; yet even a Sith may have to sacrifice something to gain something better.
Often, however, it is not so voluntary. Life throws a curve ball at you. You are stuck somehow. The bright meaning would be that in the long run, it will work out for the best. The negative meaning would be that you are just plain cornered. The next logical step would be to ask how to get out of such a corner. Draw another card with this in mind to tell you the way out of the situation. The next card may hint at simply waiting the situation out or suggest some sort of action to take.
The current culture has a taboo about being stuck. One is supposed to never admit it. It is not cool to admit to being stuck in a place you do not wish to be. I have seen it over and over: women stuck in bad marriages, people stuck in dead end jobs or living in a town they hate, students stuck with teachers or peers they can't stand. Often times people avoid admitting it because our culture insists that we all choose our settings and circumstances. The new agers even insist that we choose who and where to be born in this current incarnation. Hogwash! There is, actually, such a thing as being just plain stuck.
Anakin fits here. He was born a slave. He had to serve Watto. There were a number of occasions where he got cornered by circumstance. These very circumstances were the reason he went Sith. Sith and Jedi have a lot to do with circumstance. Both are Force followers, but Sith tend to have a less gleamy view of things and often come from less fortunate circumstances than Jedi. Much of Anakin's anger came from his slave background. Sith often have had to play harder ball because they come from behind. They have to do more drastic means to achieve a goal. There is no room to give play to bourgeois morality. The Sith uses any means necessary.
A Sith is usually very happy with himself/herself when they manage to fight their way out of a corner. For a Sith to get "Hanged Man," it would mean to fight like crazy and tap into the Dark Side to get free.
If, perhaps, there is no move to make, a Sith would wait, conserve strength and wait for a better moment. Do not waste your power. Sometimes it is a waiting game, as Palpatine well knew.
So the next time you get this card, ask yourself, "What would Palpatine do?" (WWPD?)
