The Hanged Man card is all about taking responsibility for your actions and accepting the consequences with grace. This card also represents letting go of control. You must accept your circumstances and deal with the situation at hand.
This card encourages you to take charge of the situation by accepting it and recognizing what you do and don’t have control over. Think of the first part of The Serenity Prayer when you see The Hanged Man: “Please grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.”
The upright Hanged Man card can also show that there’s a pause in your life – something is out of your hands – and you must accept that fact.
The reversed Hanged Man card can encourage you to slow things down in your life. It’s okay to take a break and rest. Time off will allow you to take a step back and reevaluate things with fresh eyes.
On the other hand, if you’re already taking some time off, the reversed Hanged Man card can encourage you to get back out there and move forward with renewed energy. Take the new perspective you’ve gained during your downtime and make the changes you want to see.
The reversed Hanged Man card can also indicate a lack of change and how frustrating it can be. It may seem like you’re putting in a lot of effort and not seeing any improvement. You feel like things are blocking you from making changes in your life, despite all your efforts.
Again, the reversed Hanged Man card encourages you to look at things from a new perspective. If you’re not seeing the improvement you want, take another approach. Now is the time for action, but it has to be the right kind to see the changes you want.
Reading this reversed card using the “blocked/restricted” meaning
Let’s talk about the different ways you can read your reversed Hanged Man card. First, you can use the “blocked/restricted” reversed card meaning. When you read your cards like this, you’re looking for an obstacle that’s standing in front of the upright meaning of the card.
For The Hanged Man, this means something is blocking your ability to give up control or see things from a new perspective. What’s keeping you from taking a step back and evaluating your situation with fresh eyes?
Say you pulled the reversed Hanged Man card when thinking about your career. You work for a small company, and in the time you’ve been there, you haven’t had a direct manager. In your weekly meetings, there’s no obvious structure or hierarchy, and you all go with the flow.
Now they’ve hired a manager for you to report to, and they;ve started running your weekly meetings. You’re having a hard time relinquishing your freedom to them and following their lead. What’s blocking you from giving up your control here? Is your manager doing a poor job, or is your pride standing in the way of you adjusting?
The reversed Hanged Man card will encourage you to step back and consider if your pride is the thing keeping you from seeing the good in this new arrangement. There will be less instability, and you’ll know how your meetings will go each week.
This shift can be excellent for organizing your work life and will make things run more smoothly. You can be more productive and feel more secure knowing there’s someone you can go to with questions. Try giving this new arrangement a real chance. The benefits might surprise you!
Reading this reversed card using the “opposite” meaning
You can also read your reversed Hanged Man card using the “opposite” reversed card meaning. When you read your cards like this, you’re looking for the opposite of the card’s upright meaning. For The Hanged Man, this means instead of waiting, sacrificing, and relinquishing control, you’re rushing around and holding on to things.
Say you pull the reversed Hanged Man card when thinking about a financial decision. Maybe you’ve been wanting to build a new computer, and you’ve told your family all about it. You’ve researched the parts you need and have even bought a few little things. But now you’re realizing the custom build is very expensive, and it’s not what you should invest in right now. You can buy an already-built PC on sale for much less that will do everything you want.
The reversed Hanged Man card can serve as a warning that you’ve rushed into this project before you thought it through. It can also remind you you don’t have to do something just because you said you would. Sometimes we follow through with things even though we’ve changed our mind because we don’t want to disappoint the people in our lives.
But the reversed Hanged Man card can remind you it’s okay to change your mind and let go of your original idea. If a pre-built PC matches your current budget and needs, change your plans and go with that instead. Your family will admire your smart decision and should not judge you for making the right choice for your situation.
Reading this reversed card using the “worse” meaning
You can also read your reversed Hanged Man card using the “worse” reversed card meaning. When you read your cards like this, you take the card’s upright meaning and put it in a negative light.
So, for the reversed Hanged Man, this means you’ve relinquished control and made sacrifices, but these actions have not been positive. You might need to take hold of the situation to meet your needs and get what you want.
For example, say you pull the reversed Hanged Man card when thinking about your personal development. Maybe you’ve been through a tragedy, like the loss of a loved one, and it’s made you feel as if you have no control. You’ve accepted this and have been living the past few months just letting things happen in your life.
You’ve been avoiding making major decisions or activating change in your life because you figure, “What’s the point? I can’t do anything.” It’s completely normal to have a period of depression and feelings of powerlessness after losing someone. But you can’t stay like that forever.
There are indeed some things that you can’t change, but that doesn’t mean you can’t control anything. Take the first step to regain power in your life by doing something for yourself. Plan a new adventure, or sign up for a class you’ve always wanted to take. If you take steps to feel good every day, you can control a lot more than you think. Create positivity in your life, and you’ll feel your personal power return in no time.
Reading this reversed card using the “no/not” meaning
You can also read your reversed Hanged Man card using the “no/not” reversed card meaning. When you read your reversed cards like this, you put a “no” or a “not” in front of the card’s upright meaning.
For The Hanged Man, this means “not relinquishing control,” “no waiting,” or “no new perspective.” You’re trying to control something you have no power over and not looking at the situation in a thoughtful way.
Say you pull the reversed Hanged Man card when thinking about your love life. You’re dating someone, and they’ve canceled on you a few times. They have a very busy life with work and personal obligations, and sometimes it keeps them from being able to see you.
You want to fix the situation for them. They tell you they’re tired, and you tell them you’ll take care of everything. They tell you they have work to do tonight, and you tell them you can help them figure it out. It’s admirable that you want to help your partner, but you also need to recognize that some things are just out of your hands.
No matter how much you want to see them, you need to recognize that they have other obligations in their life, and frankly, they need to handle those on their own. The reversed Hanged Man card can remind you that not everything is in your control, and you need to accept that fact.
Communicate with your partner and let them know you’re here to help, but you can wait until they have the time to devote their full attention to you. They will appreciate that you recognize their strength and capability, and the time you spend together will mean even more to you both.