The Hanging Man
Related material
Images
The Marseilles cards
The Waite-Smith card
Summary - a "Hell" card
Our position in the ordinary world corresponds to the Hanging Man. I have changed the name of this card from the Hanged Man to emphasize that the situation the card represents is an ongoing one that we all exist in. We are far from the Golden Age as depicted by the World card. Our task, and the purpose of this journey, is to “right” ourselves, and so return to that Age within ourselves. In fact, the same upside down figure of the Hanging Man is shown right side up on the World card—an unmistakable meaning.
The Image
Much emphasis has been placed on the positions of this guy's legs. The position is called a Flyfot Cross, and is surrounded in a mystery that Waite declined to explain.
It's really a simple matter to understand, though. It's not the exact leg position that's important, but that the figure on the World card has his/her legs in exactly the same configuration. Only there, the figure is right side up. So the meaning is that the Hanging Man - that is, all of us - is oriented to reality upside down. This is why our task is to "right" ourselves, which is the purpose of the FJ, don't cha know.