My theory on the 11:11 phenomenon

[Michael Sternbach]

Both combined. This year, I intend to heavily explore tantric sex in a way that I never have before, in order to purify and divinize my sex life to the highest levels of spiritual sex. My partner and I are working on dual cultivation techniques more seriously now and possibly exploring adding a partner or two as well, basically creating some Earth shaking sexual magic, healing, etc.....

 

Sounds more than the Lust card then which, on its advanced level of expression, clearly relates to Tantra and "spiritual sexuality", respectively.

[Songtsan]

I view physical partners as the first stage in Tantra....I am also co-practicing the internal Tantra with Dakinis at the same time. I aim to get an initiation into the practices within the next few years....Have a bucket list of things including Chod Powha and Vajrasattva....

[Michael Sternbach]

 

Michael - my birthday is approaching and will shortly enter a '12' year - the 'hanging man'!  That doesn't sound good?

 

Nikolai,

 

Tarot teaches, perhaps more than anything else that I know of, to see life as an great game. It transcends the dualism of "good" and "bad".  - If a deck had only "good" cards, it would be pretty much useless.

 

But let's talk a little about The Hanged Man.

 

 

So, you will likely find yourself stuck somehow. (Based on what you said earlier, it will probably have to do with your return to England.) But what is the deeper message of this card?

 

It is telling you that some of the old ways peter out, and you will need to find new ones. Your ego insisting on things being a certain way and no other - that attitude won't get you far. Stop pushing, ease off! Be patient and entrust yourself to the current of your life; it will take you where you belong, eventually. Learn to look at a problem from that other angle - the one which you have denied so far. And follow your intuition. It will lead you to the insights you need now to get further on your path. Much like Odin dangling on the world tree Yggdrasil nine days and nights, before he spotted the Runes...

 

 

[Nikolai1]

Thank you Michael! I already know that for the first year I'll still be occupied with looking after our baby daughter as she is only 18 months an too young for any childcare. In some ways this period of hanging will be good because I am still VERY unclear how I am going to fit back into society, so I'll have to do as you say: be patient and be very attentive to the small quiet voice within.

 

I guess if you are confident then there is nothing wrong with hanging. You can be quite relaxed about it. If I start 'seeing any runes' then that will help me a lot to trust the process.

 

Best wishes to you !

[Nikolai1]

Michael - I followed up your reference to Odin and I found some really interesting stuff!  It's quite clear that the Tarot card is a heavy reference to Odin...but here's what really resonates with me about the Odin connection.

 

The hanging is voluntary, Odin needed to learn the runes and so hung himself on the tree so that he could gaze downwards into the Well of Urd.  This is not a calamity and it explains the rather relaxed expression on the man in the Waite-Rider set.  For me this just emphasises the need for trust and confidence during my '12' year.  The Hermit in me deliberatey walked away from society, and its no surprise that I will need a time in limbo before the terms of my return come clear to me.  The important thing is that I am hanging of my own accord. Like you said, its certanly no bad thing!

 

I need to slowly and carefully discern from the darkness what the terms of my return shall be.  Right now, it seems utterly, utterly dark but hopefully with time the runes will start to reveal themselves to me.

 

When Odin finally deciphered the runes, he sang:

 

Then I was fertilized and became wise;
I truly grew and thrived.
From a word to a word I was led to a word,
From a work to a work I was led to a work.

First I need the ideas, then I need to put them into practice.  This resonates with me because I only withdrew because prior to this my work as a psychologist was nowhere near at the level I wanted it to be.  I withdrew in order to become more functional later on.  My solitude was not for solitude's sake.

 

We've talked a lot about individuation on this thread.  I like the line from the Havamal poem where it says he hung from the tree in order to 'sacrifice myself to myself'.  What a fascinating idea from an ancient poem? Of course, I read this as being the killing of the lower self for the sake of the higher, or in Jungian terms, confronting the persona and its shadow in order to know the Self.

 

Whatever this all means.  You pointing out the link with Odin has really given me some interesting reflections on my life in the near future.  Thank you once again.  Here's a link that I've enjoyed:  http://norse-mythology.org/tales/odins-discovery-of-the-runes/

 

I'd be interested if you or other Tarot scholars know if the Hanged Man really is a direct reference to Odin? Does this Old Germanic trope shed light on the origins of the Tarot symbols?

[Michael Sternbach]

Michael - I followed up your reference to Odin and I found some really interesting stuff!  It's quite clear that the Tarot card is a heavy reference to Odin...but here's what really resonates with me about the Odin connection.

 

The hanging is voluntary, Odin needed to learn the runes and so hung himself on the tree so that he could gaze downwards into the Well of Urd.  This is not a calamity and it explains the rather relaxed expression on the man in the Waite-Rider set.  For me this just emphasises the need for trust and confidence during my '12' year.  The Hermit in me deliberatey walked away from society, and its no surprise that I will need a time in limbo before the terms of my return come clear to me.  The important thing is that I am hanging of my own accord. Like you said, its certanly no bad thing!

 

I need to slowly and carefully discern from the darkness what the terms of my return shall be.  Right now, it seems utterly, utterly dark but hopefully with time the runes will start to reveal themselves to me.

 

In light of your attitude, I am confident they will!

 

When Odin finally deciphered the runes, he sang:

 

First I need the ideas, then I need to put them into practice.  This resonates with me because I only withdrew because prior to this my work as a psychologist was nowhere near at the level I wanted it to be.  I withdrew in order to become more functional later on.  My solitude was not for solitude's sake.

 

Very cool. I also find conventional psychotherapy - although helpful in certain instances - to be lacking depth. It has been quite a while that I was closely collaborating with a psychiatrist and other professionals using Tarot and some other alternative methods, but much like you, I currently prepare to resume counselling on a grander scale again, and I am intrigued to see what the insights I gained meanwhile would contribute to it.

 

We've talked a lot about individuation on this thread.  I like the line from the Havamal poem where it says he hung from the tree in order to 'sacrifice myself to myself'.  What a fascinating idea from an ancient poem? Of course, I read this as being the killing of the lower self for the sake of the higher, or in Jungian terms, confronting the persona and its shadow in order to know the Self.

 

Well said.

 

Whatever this all means.  You pointing out the link with Odin has really given me some interesting reflections on my life in the near future.  Thank you once again.  Here's a link that I've enjoyed:  http://norse-mythology.org/tales/odins-discovery-of-the-runes/

 

I'd be interested if you or other Tarot scholars know if the Hanged Man really is a direct reference to Odin? Does this Old Germanic trope shed light on the origins of the Tarot symbols?

 

There is a real gap between what even somewhat esoterically inclined historians and traditional occultists believe about Tarot's history. In the case of the former, Tarot was nothing but a deck of playing cards illustrated with popular motives originally, and The Hanged Man an ordinary thief.

 

However, based on my knowledge of esoteric symbolism, alchemy, numerology etc, personally, I don't have the shadow of a doubt that occult teachings were part of Tarot right from the start, and there is in fact some scattered but intriguing historical research meanwhile strongly suggesting this.

 

Talking about a historical connection to Celtic mythology, there again is no hard evidence for it, but I see plenty of parallels in symbolism, not least in regard of the legends around the Holy Grail.

 

Notwithstanding that, due to the universal nature of the collective unconscious, identical archetypes also show up in historically, for all we know, unrelated systems.

 

Talking about The Hanged Man, in Eiji Yoshikawa's famous novel Musashi, the hero, an extraordinary but rowdy samurai, is suspended head down on a tree for some time by the Zen priest Takuan Soho for educational purposes.

[Songtsan]

I'd like to try it sometime.....Combines well with the Sundance ceremony

[Michael Sternbach]

Assign me a task. I will be your Djinni.

 

Great, Songtsan! I will PM you...

[Brian]

Let's not forget your annual card, Sonnyboy:

 

Trump VII, The Chariot:

 

 

The time until your next birthday should have an atmosphere of departure to it. There is something new that you set out for. The card also often speaks of physical travelling.

I have been contemplating this annual card today (as well as reevaluating The Magus, Fortune & The Sun). I have read several interesting and insightful descriptions or interpretations of these cards (based on a couple of different decks), as well as examining my upcoming year card, VIII (Adjustment? Justice? Strength? This one seems to have an odd back-story...)

 

The three birth cards are crystal-clear now, and disturbingly spot-on. The Chariot fits well for this year on both physical and spiritual bases -- not only has it been a year for internal discovery & mastery (the internal journey) but a year of external journey as well -- for instance, we are currently renovating the house we bought in the Fall (about an hour drive from our current home, so lots of travel) and we will be moving into it prior to the end of this cycle.

 

Most curious of all, looking forward towards the coming annual card, regardless of which deck I look at, this card seems eerily prescient and in close accordance with recent shifts I'm experiencing AND it fits uncannily well with some guidance I have recently received from a completely different direction.

Edited January 8, 2016 by Brian

[Nikolai1]

Well I'll be going from Hanged Man to Death this summer!

[JadeTurtle]

On 5/30/2015 at 5:20 PM, Nungali said:

Mine says 8:20 ....    I will be back in  2 hrs and 51 mins .to finish this post  ...

I would just like to point out, in Military time, this is 20:20.

[Nungali]

On 9/8/2023 at 11:37 AM, JadeTurtle said:

I would just like to point out, in Military time, this is 20:20.

 

And I would like to point out  ......   that was 8 years ago ! 

 

Now,add 8 to today's date and time and divide it by my local longitude and latitude  and all will be revealed .