The Tarot of Eli, LLC: The Thoth Tarot-Key/ATU 12-The Hanged Man

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The Thoth-HANGED MAN- ATU 12, displays a curious image of Severity, as well as the implications are quite different from the previous paths that connect the Personality and the Higher Self; Severity, because this is the Path of Mem (Hebrew letter-meaning-Water) that connects Hod (Splendor) and Geburah (Severity) on the Pillar of Severity.

The Hebrew word/letter-MEM, (Water) is a one of the three Maternal letters, and implies a Baptism in Maternal Waters, as the other two: The Path of Shin (Art) is a baptism in Fire, and The Path of Aleph-The Fool, is a baptism in Air. Of all these three Baptisms, the Baptism in Water (Unconsciousness, intuition, and emotions) is the central and pivotal experience of the entire Qabalistic Tree of Life.

Unconsciousness is the Alchemical First Principle, also called the Thinking Principle and is referred to the physical image of Water because it is like water in wave motion, and fluid flow.

The lowest expression of the First Principle is first found, by the upward traveling initiate, as the Astral Fluid that is drawn down the Path of the Universe into Yesod, the Foundation Sephiroth. This Thinking Principle, the Astral Fluid, is found as the Stable Intelligence, by virtue of consistency, in all Sephiroth and Paths as it underlies everything that is.

Pointing downward. Hence, the Spirit is "drowned" in the Maternal Waters where upon, perceiving itself as a Soul, as an intrinsic and inseparable part of the One Consciousness. Carl Jung, who coined the phrase. Collective Unconscious, describe this Water of Mem as a "...boundless expanse full of unprecedented uncertainty, with apparently no inside and no outside, no above and no below, no here and no there, no mine and no thine, no good and no bad.". To him the First Principle of the Alchemists was also described as Water, as he states, "It is the world of water, where all life floats in suspension: where the realm of the sympathetic system, the soul of everything living begins; where I am individually this and that; where I experience the other in myself and the other-than-myself experiences me.....the collective conscious is anything but an encapsulated personal system; it is sheer objectivity, as wide as the world and open to all the world."

I would highly recommend that the aspirant reads the works of Carl Jung, on the Universal Collective Unconscious, thus gaining a modern understanding of ancient wisdom. To put it another way, in the state of consciousness of which the Unconscious is the "first state", we are "always the subject that has an object", a reality that is totally turned around in the Universal Collective Unconscious where, we are "the object of every subject", as stated by Carl Jung. This totally agrees with Qabalah, as we are the object of every Subjective Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life. What flees from the mind of the Religiously educated who seek "holy Spirit", is the fact, that it has taken the "I-mage-nation", the Realm of the Creatrix, about 14 billion years to produce a condensed Spiritual Self, which can be intimate with both subjective and objective worlds. We, each of us, are that Whole Condensed Spiritual Self, who is a condensed version of all the Tree of Life and therefore, the Universe! The object of "Above all things know thyself", is to do you "religiously." There is no other religion as a point of worship since you are the image of the Divine Creative and religion is manmade! Hence, above all things be true to thyself!

In other words, our subjective Self, "I AM" becomes objective Self, "Me", when immersed in the Maternal Waters on the Path of Mem. THE HANGED MAN is where the invisible becomes visible.

The Serpent Path.

The initiate knows that we must move constantly upward (upward is inward in Qabalah) on the Serpent Path of the Tree of Life, for only through the hindsight gained by going to a higher Sephiroth, can we experience an understanding of the qualities of the lower Sephiroth.

The Path of Mem leads to Geburah (Severity) which is directly above Tiphareth (Beauty); Geburah is the Fiery or Active part of the Higher Self and is shown as Red in color; the color of Mars. This further illustrates the point that Geburah is the fiery-blood- energy on the Pillar of Water below Binah. In the Thoth Tarot card of the HANGED MAN, the Womb of Binah is where the hanging figure's foot is held; from the oval of the Egyptian Ankh, which is the cross like symbol (also called the Tau cross) of both Divine Androgyny and Infinity.

To the one who has inwardly traveled the Paths to this point, it is to be noted that the Path of Mem, the HANGED MAN, must be approached very differently than the lower paths. Here, the mediator becomes the object of one's own meditation. The individual becomes the "other" which was previously the object of pursuit; the "other" now becomes the initiate. Thus, it can be said, that the personality meditates in pursuit of the Higher Self, who then becomes or envelopes the Personality of the pursuer creating a Higher Sensual Self....A self often stated as having "Magic Abilities".

Therefore, The Hanged Man symbolizes the savior-God- man or Hanged God of many religions; Odin (hung on a giant Ash tree called Yggdrasil) Jesus on a cross, and Prometheus hung on a mountain, as painted by Paul Rubens. The Moon symbolizes-Mensis (Latin), Mona (Mona Lisa is old English for The Moon), month, money, menopause, Menstruation, manna, menat (amulet) and much more. It shows us that the Moon is about the Womb and the regeneration of form. That is why the Violet-reds are primary colors for all living things and are "of Mother's blood", as every baby can attest.

Hence, Mem is a Maternal letter meaning the Element Water and the Amniotic Fluid of the Womb. This is of no surprise, since the Gnostic believe that the Homo-Sapient is a G.M.O., manipulated evolution of a marine mammal, rather than ape, and that Noah's Ark and the Flood is a hierarchic presentation of the facts of life. The Sumerian's, believed our "angelic" forefathers, the Anunnaki (Meaning: "Those who from the Sky came") spliced their DNA with a marine amphibian, which at time was the most intelligent species on the earth. Then there are those who think Homo Erectus was GMO'd.

There are many scientists that also believe the marine mammal theory because of the fact we have more in common with marine mammals than apes. I would suggest you research this argument over theory, as I am about the Tarot here and not seeking to become an anthropologist.

To continue: The Hanged Man represents the baptism that is also a death. Death being a transformation from one reality to another, as is birth where the Water Mammal, must become a land-mammal and therefore, "dead" to the Sea: a death in one area and birth into another. The symbolism of the Hanged Man is often attributed to Self-Sacrifice without recourse, but this is really an errant idea. In the last Aeon of Osiris, the Hanged Man represented the supreme formula for adept-ship for the figure that is hung is the Spirit "drowning"(baptized) in the Astral Fluid, before becoming manifest in form. The Astral are flowing layers of "light" where all the Forces and Forms of the "Above Sephira" meet to combine in a manifestation as a physical birth in the material world.

To the flesh-o-phobe, this material birth, would be the effect of spiritual purity being sacrificed to fleshy debasement. However, often the greatest flesh-o-phobe knows unconditional love as the trinity of love, Eros-love of flesh, Philos-love of family/brotherly love, and Agapé-Love of Spirit/Spiritual love. Love of the body is part of the whole spirit that is love.

To the Spirit, this is the way of transforming from idea of experience of Self, to an intimate Self-Awareness: from any-thought to discerning thought. Being in the flesh requires the Spirit to become aware of its thoughts and how they affect living simply by the reactions of those thoughts in the very living form that "cloaks it". Think ill, be ill, think well be well etc.

Ideas or visions, in the Aeon of Osiris, were considered more important than the flesh, and the destruction of bodies in the name of idea/visions (Commonly called, "...For the Greater Good") seemed a just cause. In the Aeon of Osiris, it could be said that the foundation of thought was the ruling of definition by the few who enforced definition on the many.

In this new Aeon/ Age of Horus, the idea must "expand and liberate the living from their own self-imposed limits, allowing the Foundation of Love ("Love thy neighbor as thyself') to become the "common mind", a state of Psyche, where union rather than divisionism becomes the conscious foundation of all action. As shown on the Thoth Devil card, the foundation of Earth intelligence, the "instinctual mind", is built on the foundation of "forget me not", I.e., Fear of rejection. The Soul Psyche is founded on the foundation of "I AM", a fearless statement of Presence.

Simply stated, the self in manifestation is more important than the ideas forged by self, no matter how utopian the ideas are. However, the caveat here is that you must first love yourself....as you can't give to another what you don't have, thus requiring that above all things you must know yourself!

The Aeon of Horus is the age where the *Hu (God) man (mind) realizes it is the child of God, a Spiritual Sacrament, and becomes the Christ/Buddha consciousness on Earth, uniting the Above and the Below which means Body and Spirit. That union is seen in the Thoth-Hanged Man, whose foot is connected to the Ankh (symbolized in the West as the Rosy Cross) which is a combination of Goddess- God/Womb and Phallus and is known as a symbol for eternal universe in a sigil of Mankind (head- arms and torso). The ancients knew that if it was made manifest, it was a truth, because Creation made it. Ideas are not a truth unless they can become "made manifest" by the Power of Creation and/or the ability to do work. In a more personal note, you exist because you're supposed to! The judgment of "you" has already been made by The Divine Creative, who obviously approved your manifestation! In other words, the obviousness of your presence proves you are worthy of being! This kind of thinking doesn't bode well for those who wish to "rule you", so dividing you from your "good" by a religion made of flesh hating rules, will pervert the Sacrament of "Will to be" and will assure your enslavement. The Hanged Man illustrates that being born into the World is a baptism, not a trial to prove your worth!

*Hu is Chinese for "God" and "Man" came from the Hindu Manas, meaning "Mind": However, to be noted, this was before Latin was appointed as our official scientific language by the Military Industrial Complex and/or Patriarchy.

The Hanged Man presents a special meaning to the adept, the legs are crossed so the right leg forms a right angle to the left leg, and on the Thoth tarot card, the arms are stretched out at an angle of 60 degrees, to form an equilateral triangle. The symbol thus presented is that of the Triangle surmounted by the Cross which represents the descent of light, into matter, to redeem it! To the Alchemist, the descent of light into matter was seen as the chemical known as Sulphur.

I AM is the name of Existence and must become aware of itself "as being"! The process of redemption continues in the symbolism of the green disks terminating at the head and limbs, representing the influence of Venus which is the planetary symbol of love, grace, and beauty. You may note that the Central Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, is called both Beauty and the Christ Conscious/The Son. The Hang Man represents the redeeming value of baptizing idea in flesh, so that it may Live and "Know itself"!

Correspondences: Key-12- The Hanged Man & Key 18-The Moon:

This card association represents the High Androgynous Self. The Moon represents the Feminine-magnetic- sub-conscious and the Hanged Man represents the Masculine-electric- reasoning conscious; their perfect union producing the Super-conscious. To the Greeks, the sub-conscious was known as Aphrodite and the masculine reasoning conscious as Hermes, together they are known as the Divine Hermaphrodite.
 

• The Astrological sign: Moon-Pisces
• The astrological planet: The Hanged Man-Neptune
• Form: Moon-I believe
• Motion: The Hanged Man- I seek myself and I don't seek myself. (Again, Form is Female, and motion is Male---The Qabalah is all about polarities.)
• The Associated Rune-stones: Moon-Isa, the rune that impedes, a standstill, said to be born of ice: The Goddess Isis. (Woman is magnetic---containment and container so that energy can become form.)
• Rune-stone for The Hanged Man: Perth, the rune of mystery, initiation, becoming whole, forces beyond our control.
• Primary colors: Violet-Red----(secondary: magenta, mauve, deep rose, wine).
• Corresponding Chakra: The Brow Chakra or Third eye (6th chakra),which is the energy point of intuition, light, color, seeing (color-seeing as in Auric Seer), thought, information, inner and outer meditation (our bodies are Meditated into being), visualization, imagination, spiritual perception, dreams, fantasy, clairvoyance, oneiromancy (the ability to see through dreams)...The Chakra of purpose and patience.
• Minerals and Stones: Rubies, garnets, sugalite, rubellite (violet-red tourmaline), and violet-red chalcedonies.
• Corresponding Musical Notes: Moon-B. The Hanged Man-G#.
• The Hebrew letters Qabalahh): Moon-Simple Letter--Sleep.  The Hanged Man-- Maternal Letter--Water.
• The Tree of Life Paths: Moon-Qoph, Corporal Intelligence.  The Handed Man-Mem, The Stable Intelligence
• Symbols of Meaning: Moon-Back of head, Ear.  The Hanged Man-Water
• Associated Plant Essences: The Moon- Sandalwood, Marjoram, Melissa, or Lemon Balm.  The Hanged Man-Mugwort, Spikenard, or Valerian, Myrrh.

The Psychic abilities

gathered from Meditating/scrying on The Moon and The Hanged Man: Clairvoyance- the art of "clear-seeing" which is the ability to see beyond the veils imposed by the physical eyes or time-space. Oneiromancy- the ability to see through dreams---such as an Oracle and/or Oracular -sight.

The Thoth Key 12-The Hanged Man the Universal Principle of Surrender, Breaking Old Patterns.

The Hanged Man represents a state of consciousness that recognizes a need for a pattern break; where we recognize that we need to change our mental posture, a kind of reverse thinking, to get out of a mental rut that is "Baffling" us. The image is a metaphor for "upside down" thinking, as Baffling, was a medieval practice of hanging a debtor or thief with one foot from a scaffolding.

Therefore, this card may be seen as a kind of crucifixion of the self-conscious personality to get rid of egoistic patterns that are no longer constructive. On the Thoth Tarot card, the repetitive patterns of rutted thought are represented by the background of squares within squares.

Rather than being a card of baneful potencies, when viewing the Hanged Man, we are reminded that our "hang-ups" are preventing our growth, and we need to free ourselves from undue self-imposed limitations. The reversed cross holding the foot of the Thoth Hanged man is known as the Egyptian Ankh which is a symbol of universal life force (Union of Female and Male force) and is an inheritance constantly accessible to us for creative making (a magic term for manifesting). We often bind our creativity by thinking and doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. This is a form of insanity brought on by denial, which rejects our divine inheritance and bleeds us dry of our energy as our life force is constantly being used to repress our own motion. Therefore, in this state of blindness, we feel bound, or nailed in place and can see no way out. The solution is in surrendering to our inner self, knowing that we weren't created to be anything other than a Divine being and that in us all is a Great Mind that creates, sees error, and corrects it. Trust in oneself is not that hard to do, because we are good enough for The Divine Creative to create as It's Image--we ought to be good enough for ourselves!

Therefore, The Hanged Man of Tarot

, represents the Principle of Surrender to break old habits. The Thoth Path of Mem, THE HANGED MAN- Key 12, has a reverse figure on the card that represents the Higher Self

imposing a complete reversal of perspective which is a suspension of individual consciousness.

Much like the reflected image in the mirror, where one is looking at the Real non-reflected image that is now the reversed object of reflection. This is however, a willing suspension, done by an initiate's conscious effort, a type of sacrifice or baptism, where the perspective of "I Am" is cleansed of the illusions of the material world.

Because of this sacrificing

of one's individual perspectives to the Greater Self perspective of the Universal Collective Unconscious, the Thoth Deck HANGED MAN is shown in a suspected state of crucifixion that images the myth of the Dying God. (Dionysus. Osiris, Odin, Christ etc.).

Some of my more observant students

have asked why the Hanged Man is crucified on the Left-hand Path or one side of the Tree of Life as it would seem logical to have him spanning the Tree. The reasoning behind this one-sided nonfiction, is because this is an intellectual experience, as shown by the legs positioned into the upside don number 4 which is suspended above the Triangle (3) implied by the positioning of the arms. Four is the number of the

Emperor

Key-4 of the Thoth Deck Tarot and represents the Rational qualities of the Mind while 3 is the number of the Empress, the imaginative qualities of the mind (also seen in the number 12,1+2=3). The hung image is just a positioning the rational qualities of the mind over the desire principle.

The HANGED MAN is also a form of repose, while the WHEEL OF FORTUNE is activity both of which form a balance that is known as the activity and passivity of the ONE THING.

Therefor the HANGED MAN represents openness without end, while THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE, is the exact opposite, as it encloses in eternal motion, i.e. making a limited thought pattern and/or Form. When Mem (Water-consciousness) is closed, it becomes the Ankh (a form of the Tau cross) Therefore the Ankh, shown in the Thoth card also represents Mem reversed or "consciousness turned inward".

In Crowley's card of the HANGED MAN, the figure emphasizes the cross-triangle, and is suspended from the Ankh, being attached to this form of the Tau Cross, by a coiled serpent that symbolizes: "The creator and destroyer who operates all change". There is also a lower coiled serpent that represents the effect of the Work of God: As Crowley states in his book of Thoth: "Through his work a Child is begotten, as shown by the Serpent stirring in the Darkness of the Abyss below him." 

As I have stated before, this is the card that shows the reversal of perspective, where the individual self-conscious, reflected in the light of Solar consciousness (reflecting Psyche), becomes the Universal Identity of the Real Person and/or Soul/Psyche that has manifested "selves" as individual identities that mimic the maker of things, i.e., the Divine Universal collective Unconscious. This reversal of self-binding thoughts removes the caged thoughts of indoctrination. Successful scrying of this card will reverse perspective.

When the Hanged Man Tarot Card is thrown in a divination, the Querent is:

• Experiencing moments of enforced sacrifice, even punishment.
•  Enforced sacrifice such as forced by the State.
• Punishment, Loss of an often-fatal involuntary nature.
•  General suffering.
• However, if the accompanying cards are of a deeply metaphysical/spiritual nature, this card is about giving up old, unhealthy habits, for new regenerative habits.
• To the immortal Soul/Psyche, sacrifice is an illusion, simply because, loss is before gain, error is before correction; ignorance is before knowledge; unknown is before understanding and sacrificing an errant identity to gain the Real Persona ""I sight" that is the Soul....you get the picture!
• The Principle of Surrender to break old patterns.

•  A time when one must accept reversals.
• Depending on the dignity of the accompanying cards, THE HANGED MAN, represents a state of mystical death in the form of a change of consciousness.
• If Ill defined: Loss that may not be voluntary and general suffering.

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