The Suspended ~ The part of me that knows sometimes the only way forward is to stop moving and see everything from a completely different angle.
Keywords:
Surrender • Perspective • Suspension
Meaning:
The Hanged Man dangles upside down, voluntarily suspended. Nothing’s happening. Everything’s inverted. This card points to the moment when forward motion stops being useful and I have to just hang here and see what shifts. It’s asking me to notice where I’m fighting against suspension when surrender would serve me better. Where I’m trying to force movement when stillness is what’s needed.
The Hanged Man lives in the liminal space between effort and grace. Between doing and being. This energy isn’t about giving up, it’s about releasing the need to control the outcome. It’s about trusting that being stuck might actually be preparation. That seeing things upside down might reveal what right-side-up vision can’t.
The card invites me to stop struggling. To let myself hang here. To wait without knowing how long the wait will be. To trust that this suspension serves a purpose even when it feels like nothing’s happening.
Connection to Previous Cards:
Yesterday, the Nine of Pentacles had me standing alone in my garden, independent and self-sufficient. Today, the Hanged Man suspends all that forward motion. The contrast is jarring. The Nine is active mastery. The Hanged Man is passive surrender.
Three days ago, the Tower demolished everything built on false foundation. Two days ago, the Four of Wands celebrated what survived. Yesterday, the Nine stood in the abundance created afterward.
Today, the Hanged Man says: now stop. Just stop. The progression this week has been intense, destruction, celebration, independence. Now I’m being asked to suspend it all. To not build, not celebrate, not do anything. Just hang here and let my perspective shift.
The Hanged Man following the Nine suggests that even self-sufficiency can become a prison if I never stop long enough to question whether I’m building the right thing.
Actionable Advice:
The Hanged Man is asking me to practice surrender. It’s about stopping the forward push and letting myself be suspended without fighting it.
– Identify one thing I’ve been pushing hard on. Stop pushing for today. Just stop. See what happens when I release the effort.
– Literally turn something upside down. A picture. My perspective. Look at my life from a completely different angle. What becomes visible?
– Practice doing nothing for fifteen minutes. No phone. No productivity. No self-improvement. Just hanging in suspension.
– Notice where I’m fighting against what is. Write down what I’m resisting. Then ask: “What if I just let this be?”
– Trust that nothing happening might be exactly what needs to happen right now. Stop trying to make something occur.
Shadow-Side Warning:
The shadow of the Hanged Man is using surrender as an excuse for passivity. I might confuse waiting with avoiding, or mistake suspension for giving up entirely. Watch for the tendency to call inaction “trust” when it’s actually just fear of moving forward.
The Hanged Man can also pull me into martyrdom, performing suffering, romanticizing the sacrifice, making the suspension itself into an identity.
Another trap: staying suspended long after the lesson’s been learned. Using “I’m waiting for a sign” as permanent avoidance of choice or action. If I’m hanging here because it feels noble instead of necessary, that’s the shadow talking.
Journal Prompts:
• WATER (emotions, relationships): Where am I fighting against emotional suspension when surrender would actually bring clarity?
• EARTH (grounding, stability): What am I pushing forward that needs to stop so I can see if it’s even the right direction?
• FIRE (passion, drive): Where is my constant movement preventing me from seeing what only stillness can reveal?
• AIR (thoughts, communication): What perspective shift becomes available when I stop trying to control the outcome?
• SHADOW (hidden self, integration): Am I surrendering to what is, or am I using suspension as an excuse to avoid deciding anything?
Personal Journal:
Not today
Guiding Incantation:
I stop. I surrender. I hang in the liminal space.
What I see upside down reveals what standing upright could not.
Suspension is not failure. Stillness is not death.
I trust the pause. I trust the shift. I trust what comes from letting go.
If you find resonance in these personal tarot-based reflections, you can explore more of my work at www.oldtownwitch.
