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XII - The Hanged Man...The VisionaryDescription of the Illustration:A swashbuckling pirate holds a blindfolded man's ankles as he dangles the doomed man upside down over the side of his pirate ship; one of the legs of the upside down man is bent perpendicular, causing his legs to form a cross. His arms are outstretched, each hand in a purple halo, making a reversed triangle with his head as the apex, encircled by a golden halo. Thus, the cross surmounts the triangle. Sharks eagerly wait in the waters below the blindfolded man's head; the man foolishly smiles as though unaware of his impending fate. Oddly enough, The Hanged Man's reflection in the water beneath him is brighter than the murky depths. In place of the traditional skull and cross bones, the billowing sail boasts the image of the planet Neptune with crossed bones behind it. Everything is covered by wisps of fog that make it difficult to see various parts of the scene. The upper left sphere is yellow (Tiphereth) while the lower right sphere is purple (Yesod). Element: Water, Androgynous
The Baptism of InitiationDescent Into the Under (Inner) WorldThe Fool begins his descent into the world beneath the lies, apparencies, and dualities of the physical universe; he enters a fog and must be content to face not knowing. He “takes up his cross” and must endure.The Fool’s apparent sacrifice, however, is actually his redemption, for he meets the grinning Hanged Man, His True Self, for the first time as he sacrifices his Ego and surrenders to Life itself. The Fool joins the Hanged Man as all that he thought was so, is turned upside down by his new visions. The Hanged Man demonstrates the power of redeeming love in contrast to self-sacrifice, as he tells the Fool, “This is my body which I destroy, in order that it may be renewed.” The Hanged Man demonstrates to the Fool that sometimes light must descend into the darkness in order to redeem or enlighten it.
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