Summary of Hanged Man Tarot Card Meaning

Once the Fool develops their beliefs, they are keen to share those beliefs with others. However, they are faced with the harsh stinging reality that not everyone shares their philosophy. At first, the Fool spends all their energy trying to convince others that their way is the right way, but little changes. The Fool begins to learn that oftentimes, it is impossible for us to change another person’s beliefs. Letting go of that conviction, and that desire to persuade can take a heavy toll. It takes some vulnerability and openness for the Fool to try and see the world from the perspective of another.

Light: Perspective, adaptation, surrender, waiting, sacrifice
Shadow: Rigidity, inflexibility, stalling

To learn more, read the full Hanged Man tarot card meaning.

When to Use This Tarot Spread

• When you need help seeing something from another person’s point of view.
• When you’re having strong emotions stemming from conflict, and you’re unsure of how to cope with them.
• It’s not for decision making amidst a conflict or disagreement (see Justice Tarot Spread for that), but really meant to examine your emotions around that conflict and why it affects you.

Hanged Man Tarot Card Spread

1. Challenge - What viewpoint is challenging you right now? What is the conflict about?
2. Feelings - What feelings does this viewpoint create for you?
3. Origins - Where is the source of these feelings? What are you taking personally? Where does it come from?
4. Sacrifice - What do you need to let go of? What is preventing you from accepting a different perspective?
5. Awakening - If you learn to put your defensiveness behind, what message awaits you when you do?

A Note on the Fool's Journey Tarot Spreads: This is part of a series of tarot spreads inspired by the lessons of the Fool’s Journey, represented by the major arcana of the tarot. Since each major arcana card embodies a stage in one’s life journey, a lesson, or an archetype, we can use them as the foundations to explore moments of our own personal journeys. They also happen to be great ways to explore the meanings of each of these tarot cards in a very personal way.

For more of these spreads, please head here.

And if you'd like to purchase the deck depicted in these spreads, you can click here to purchase it! You can also purchase its Marseille cousin.