Changing Perspectives - Hanged Man Medicine

For today’s collective reading we have the Chariot, shadowed by the Hanged Man

The Chariot has shown up a lot recently, I think it’s a sign of the times that we are forging the way to new ways of living our lives. Chariot represents control and will power: control of our emotions and our actions, and the will power to pursue our goals. He also demonstrates victory and ego. Number seven of the Major arcana is at the end of the first sepentaries; he is about to embark on the lessons of the unconscious and the superconscious after mastering his maturity and lessons of society. He is the developed ego, and feels accomplished and confident in his life and achievements. He appears for people who are successfully controlling a situation through the force of his or her own personality.

But he has much to learn.

On this card; the Chariot of the Wild Unknown Tarot, he is depicted as a horse. Horses are noble creatures and have been symbols of power for centuries. But what’s also interesting is that horses were also associated once with funerals and death, especially in India. They were used to pull the funeral pyre of great leaders, and also sacrificed in place of kings, or killed and buried with their owners. These symbols of control and power were kept close and honoured even in death.

This perspective is especially interesting when paired with the Hanged Man.

The first thing most people notice about the hanged man is that he is upside down. Followed by his sombre name. He comes directly before the Death card in the Tarot, and is often thought of as a ‘scary’ card.

The Hanged Man is a highly spiritual card, and among his many meanings he is a self-sacrificing martyr. He is refusing to follow a path set out by religion or society and as a result he is persecuted. The very act of hanging upside down is something that was thought to bring one closer to spiritual awakening. By placing your head and crown chakra closest to the ground we can better connect to the earth and serves as symbol of reversal of attitude and ex