The Hanged Man as An Important Part of the Growth Process

Posted October 26, 2019 by Hazellie Wong in Tarot and Numerology / 0 Comments

2019 is the Universal Year of 3, and the number 3 energies of creativity, communication, and expression have been strong this year.

I have seen a dominance in the topics of expansion and growth – also energies of the number 3 – in general on social media, and in my own conversations with several clients and colleagues.

Now the interesting thing is that the conversations I have had were not so much about steady or obvious growth and expansion, as I had initially expected.

It wasn’t all about increasing forward movement, gradual growth, and so on, when my clients shared their stories with me. There were plenty of that, yes, but the issues we talked about were usually more focused on the periods where there seemed to be no movement at all.

There was this expectation of growth, this knowledge that they were on the brink of something new, but there was a resistance – they couldn’t seem to move forward, it was like they were stuck in molasses and unable yet to move past that barrier into a brighter future that they knew were waiting for them.

If this is the Universal year for growth and expansion, why aren’t we growing and expanding?

Why aren’t we moving?

Why do we feel so stuck?

Well, because it’s part of the process of growth, which The Hanged Man eloquently demonstrates.

Traditionally, The Hanged Man represents a delay, a pause, or a stagnancy of some kind. Things are being tied up, creativity is blocked, and it seems like nothing is happening.

It is also card number 12 in the Major Arcana, which in numerology breaks down to the number 3. There is a reason The Hanged Man corresponds to the number 3 energies in numerology.

Incidentally, this card has also been stalking me and my clients in the last few months. It has probably turned up about 90% of the time in my client readings as well as my own personal readings for myself, so of course I have to pay attention to its message and talk about it a bit.

Here is an excerpt of the meaning of The Hanged Man, taken from the course, Charting Your Future with Tarot and Numerology:

The Hanged Man – 12

The upside-down hanging of The Hanged Man symbolizes being hung up on a project or getting stuck in finding a solution to a problem. Creativity is blocked. At the same time, the act of being hung upside down forces us to look at things from a different perspective. This card reminds us to take a break whenever we get stuck, and try to think outside of the box to find the solutions.

Look out for:

Do not become so discouraged when we encounter a block to the point of giving up on the project and never coming back to it. It is normal to encounter blocks occasionally, and we must learn to take them as part of the process and not a reason to give up.

To more clearly explain this, I’d like to share the analogy of the caterpillar turning into a butterfly.

I’ve seen this screenshot going around, and I thought it was such an apt description of the process.

The growth process of the butterfly includes the very important chrysalis stage.

This is not just a couple of minutes in a changing room, throwing off your old clothes and wearing the new ones.

It is a process.

In fact, they sometimes spend as much time in the cocoon as they do as caterpillars and butterflies, which really says something about how important the chrysalis stage is.

I also think it is so cool how the image of The Hanged Man hanging upside down from the tree is so visually similar to the image of the chrysalis hanging from a branch, and I think it is absolutely not a coincidence.

After all these years using the cards, I never stop being amazed by how much wisdom and magic there is still to find in Tarot.

I’ve referenced the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the butterfly in almost every reading with my clients where The Hanged Man has turned up. How the chrysalis is an important part of the butterfly’s growth process, how it is important that they honor where they are now in their own growth process.

If you find yourself in this stage of your own growth, remember the wisdom of The Hanged Man and the importance of the chrysalis.

We cannot rush the process, we must allow it, and trust that when we are ready, we will reemerge as the butterfly.

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Hazellie Wong

Hazellie Wong is a professional tarot diviner, numerologist, and spiritual coach. She is also the founder of MynasMoon.com and a certified Master Herbalist. She is a third-generation healer, and is passionate about helping people achieve optimum spiritual and emotional health through spiritual guidance.