The Hanged man ( Tarot card ) - wikipedia The Hanged man ( Tarot card ) The Hanged Man ( XII ) The Hanged Man ( XII ) is the twelfth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination. It depicts a pittura infamante ( pronounced ( pitˈtuːra iɱfaˈmante ) ), an image of a man being hung upside - down by one ankle. This method of hanging was a common punishment at the time for traitors in Italy. However, the solemn expression on his face traditionally suggests that he is there by his own accord, and the card is meant to represent self - sacrifice more so than it does corporal punishment or criminality. In other interpretations, The Hanged Man is a depiction of the Norse god Odin, who suspended himself from a tree in order to gain knowledge. There is also a Christian interpretation that portrays Judas, and include the bags of silver in his hands. Description A 1393 decree for Milan and Lombardy of the punishment for traitors : `` Let him be drug ( dragged ) on a ( wooden ) plank at a horse 's tail to the place of execution, and there be suspended by one foot to the gallows, and be left there until he is dead. As long as he lives let him be given food and drink. '' The Cross of St. Peter is shown in this French stained glass window. Saint Peter is conventionally shown as having been crucified upside - down. Modern versions of the tarot deck depict a man hanging upside - down by one foot. The figure is most often suspended from a wooden beam ( as in a cross or gallows ) or a tree. Ambiguity results from the fact that the card itself may be viewed inverted. In his book The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A.E. Waite, the designer of the Rider - Waite tarot deck, wrote of the symbol : The gallows from which he is suspended forms a Tau cross, while the figure -- from the position of the legs -- forms a fylfot cross. There is a nimbus about the head of the seeming martyr. It should be noted ( 1 ) that the tree of sacrifice is living wood, with leaves thereon ; ( 2 ) that the face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering ; ( 3 ) that the figure, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, but life and not death. (... ) It has been called falsely a card of martyrdom, a card of prudence, a card of the Great Work, a card of duty (... ) I will say very simply on my own part that it expresses the relation, in one of its aspects, between the Divine and the Universe. There is a halo burning brightly around the hanged man 's head, signifying a higher learning or an enlightenment. References Jump up ^ A Modern Catholic Looks at the Tarot, Pre-Gebelin Tarot History Jump up ^ Waite, A.E. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, ill. by Pamela Colman Smith ( 1911 ), at sacred-texts.com Jump up ^ Gray, Eden. `` Complete Guide to the Tarot. '' 1970. Crown Publishers, New York, NY. Further reading Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hanged Man ( Major Arcana ). A.E. Waite 's 1910 Pictorial Key to the Tarot Hajo Banzhaf, Tarot and the Journey of the Hero ( 2000 ) Wood, Juliette. ( 1998 ) `` The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition : A Study in Modern Legend Making ''. Folklore 109 : 15 -- 24 Francesca Lia Block, The Hanged Man ( 1999 ) Tarot Tarot games Bauerntarock Cego French tarot Königrufen Minchiate Scarto Tapp - Tarock Tarocchini Troccas Troggu Occult tarot Antoine Court de Gébelin Etteilla Éliphas Levi Arthur Edward Waite Manly P. Hall Paul Foster Case Major Arcana Trump cards The Fool I The Magician II The High Priestess III The Empress IV The Emperor V The Hierophant VI The Lovers VII The Chariot VIII ( XI ) Justice IX The Hermit X Wheel of Fortune XI ( VIII ) Strength XII The Hanged Man XIII Death XIV Temperance XV The Devil XVI The Tower XVII The Star XVIII The Moon XIX The Sun XX Judgement XXI The World Minor Arcana Suit cards Coins / Pentacles / Diamonds Wands / Staves / Rods / Clubs Ace Three Four Five Seven Six Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King Cups / Goblets / Hearts Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King Swords / Spades Ace Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Page Knight Queen King Knight Decks ( French suits ) Cego Industrie und Glück Tarot Nouveau Tiertarock Decks ( Latin suits ) Bolognese Marseilles Minchiate Piemontese Rider - Waite Siciliano Swiss 1JJ Thoth Visconti - Sforza Related articles Cartomancy Hermetic Qabalah Mantegna Tarocchi Playing card Trick - taking game Triomphe Trionfo Trionfi Triumphs WikiProject Card Games WikiProject Occult Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Hanged_Man_(Tarot_card)&oldid=784222733 '' Categories : Major Arcana Talk About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Español Français 한국어 Italiano 日本 語 Polski Português Русский 中文 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 7 June 2017, at 03 : 28. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the meaning of the hanged man
Answer: self-sacrifice more so than it does corporal punishment or criminality