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What happened!?! Our hero is hanging upside down! In the thirteenth edition of the Archetypal Tarot Podcast Julienne Givot and Cyndera Quackenbush help to dispel the superstition that often surrounds cards such as The Hanged Man, card number twelve in the Major Arcana. After an exploration of the Hanged Man’s symbolic imagery and the martyr archetype, this podcast illuminates an invitation to test the inner strength gained in the previous card and make valuable sacrifices during this period of “hang time” (yes, a sports reference made its way into the podcast). Also join the discussion of movies featuring the martyr archetype – you may just find a new perspective, or your world turned upside down!

Cyndera also references this animation of a talk by Alan Watts done by the creators of South Park.

Julienne’s rendition of The Hanged Man
(watercolor on paper)

Julienne’s article goes deeper into the myth and motivation of the Martyr Archetype.

Key Words:

  • Sacrifice – Letting go – Surrendering – Passivity
  • Suspension – Acceptance – Renunciation – Patience
  • New point of view – Contemplation – Inner harmony
  • Conformism – Non-action – Waiting – Giving up

Film References:
For the Hanged Man – pay attention to the course that Paul Giamatti’s character takes in  The Lady In The Water (2006) as he is pulled out of his self-induced isolation to become a Hero and what he needs to sacrifice to do so.

The Martyr in Film:
Meryl Streep in Silkwood
Ben Kingsley in Gandhi
Sean Penn in Milk

The Martyr in Books:
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

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Rider Waite Hanged Man card