The Hanged Man as Advice: Pause and See It Differently

Written by Chaya the Medium.

The Hanged Man as advice asks you to stop pushing and turn the question round. Here is how, and when the reversal says stop waiting.

If you want the short answer, the Hanged Man as advice says: pause and look at it differently. Stop pushing. Let go of the outcome for now, and see the situation from another angle.

What the Hanged Man advises upright

Tina Gong's the Hanged Man guide at Labyrinthos associates the upright card with surrender, suspension, letting go and a new perspective. In an advice position I read those meanings as an instruction: the attitude or action the card is asking of you, rather than a description of what will happen. The Major Arcana overview at Biddy Tarot is a useful second reference.

Upright, the Hanged Man advises surrender of a useful kind: stop forcing, consider the other person's view, accept a delay, give something up to gain clarity.

What the Hanged Man is not asking you to do

The Hanged Man is not asking you to wait forever. The pause has a purpose.

The Hanged Man reversed as advice

Reversed, the Hanged Man as advice says the waiting has become stalling. Change something now. A reversed card in an advice position is usually pointing at the habit that is getting in your way, not at a punishment.

The Hanged Man as advice in love

In love, the Hanged Man advises seeing the relationship through the other person's eyes before deciding.

The Hanged Man as advice for work and money

For work and money, it advises reframing the problem before trying again. Advice from a card is reflection. For decisions with legal, medical or financial weight, take it to someone qualified as well.

One step to take this week

Rewrite your question from the point of view of someone else involved. Notice what changes.

For comparison, the Hermit as advice and Death as advice ask different things of you. The the Hanged Man card meaning page covers the card in full, and the Hanged Man as a yes or no, the Hanged Man as feelings and the Hanged Man as timing cover the other questions people most often ask of it. You can draw a card for yourself with the free daily tarot tool. For a personal interpretation, my guide to an online psychic reading explains how readings work, and the three-card tarot listing and customer reviews are worth reading before deciding whether to order.