Yesterday’s post, the Nine of Wands Reversed, was basically about letting go of defensiveness. To carry on the theme of letting go, today’s draw is the Hanged Man, a person who has somehow managed to get tied by the ankle to danglie upside down from a wooden T cross. Yet he seems at peace with his predicament, glowing in fact. Maybe he knows something we don’t.
At 12, The Hanged Man comes in sequence between Justice and Death. To condense that down to one sentence: Reap what you have sewn, accept the results, change accordingly so you can move on up the spiral. The Hanged Man, of course, is the acceptance part. Change (Death) is coming whether you accept it or not. Wouldn’t it be to your advantage to go with it and not to fight it?
The Hanged Man can also indicate taking a step back, removing yourself from a situation, or at least the drama of a situation, and becoming more of an objective observer. Part of that is letting go of your own emotional baggage, expectations, or projections of a desired outcome to a situation. When you remove these filters to your perception the picture becomes clearer and you can better see the truth of what is, as opposed to what you wish it was or are pretending it might be.
Maybe you’re part of a perpetual cycle of conflict that seems to be going nowhere. Often the best way to break the cycle is to simply stop. It can be incredibly difficult to let go of a fight when you are right. If you are right you should win, right? Except the person who disagrees with you is also right, or at least thinks they are. You know they are wrong, but they know they are right. But you’re the one who is really right, right? Right! So why don’t you both agree? In fact, why doesn’t everyone agree with you? I’ll tell you why: it’s because everyone is right. Don’t believe me? Try finding someone who thinks they’re wrong. Even if they say they’re wrong, they’re right about being wrong.
So everybody is right. Now what do we do? Maybe the most effective thing you can do is to give up your need for everyone to know and acknowledge that you are right. Sacrifice your desire to be crowned king or queen of the right fighters. At first this may be confusing or disorienting for the people you’ve been arguing with—“This isn’t the expected bow back to my bluster.” The bluster will be taken out of them, or if it isn’t they will have to go somewhere else for their drama fix because they won’t be getting it from you. Be the bigger person, set the example, be consistent. Eventually people figure out who the bigger person is without you needing to tell them. (Hint: If you need to tell them, you’re probably not it). They might even come to realize that you’re…well, you know…
I know those last couple of paragraphs sounded a bit wandy. I guess I’m feeling the progression from yesterday’s Nine of Wands. On the other hand, yer man is tied to a big honking wand, of greater girth than any of the wands in the suit cards. More growth too, if you look at the edges.
Ultimately the message I’m getting today is take a step back to take two steps forward. Sacrifice your ego to fulfill your soul. Let go so you can have what you really want. You know it’s the right thing to do.
Reiki Flow 