The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 53 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton
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THE HANGED MAN. THE HANGED MAN. 12. ל 12th Hebrew letter (Lamed). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE TWELFTH CARD OF THE TAROT. Hieroglyphically the Lamed designates the arm, and therefore it is connected with anything that stretches, that raises, that unfolds like the arm, and has become the sign of expansive movement . It is applied to all ideas of extension, of occupation, of possession. As a last sign, it is the image of the power derived from elevation. Divine expansion in humanity is produced by the prophets and revelation, and this inspires the idea of the revealed law . But the revelation of the law involve punishment for him who violates it, or elevation for him who understands it; and here we find the ideas of punishment, of violent death, voluntary or involuntary. The Lamed, a simple letter, astronomically corresponds with the zodiacal sign of the Balance. TWELFTH CARD OF THE TAROT. The Hanged Man . A man hanging by one foot to a gibbet, resting upon two trees, each bearing six branches, which have been cut off. The man's hands are tied behind his back, and the fold of his arms forms the base of a reversed triangle, of which his head forms the point. His eyes are open and his fair hair floats upon the wind. His right leg crosses his left and so forms a cross. This young man is again the Juggler whose transformations we have already followed in the 1st, 6th, and 7th arcana. Like the sun placed in the midst of the signs of the Zodiac (six on each side, the lopped branches), our young hero is again suspended between two decisions, from which will spring, no longer his physical future, as in the 6th arcanum, but his spiritual future. The 12th arcanum fills the centre between the 6th arcanum (Wisdom) and the 15th (Fatality). These arcana represent the two women of the 6th arcanum, regarded in the spiritual sense. This Hanged Man serves for an example to the presumptuous, and his position indicates discipline, the absolute submission which the human owes to the Divine. Considered alchemically, the Hanged Man shows the sign of personality. In the hermetic grade of the Rosy-Cross (18th degree of the Freemasonry of Scotland) one of the signs of recognition consists in crossing the legs like those of the Hanged Man. It is needless to say that the origin and meaning of this sign is quite unknown to the Freemasons. The twelfth card of the Tarot represents Equilibrist Power. It neutralizes the oppositions of the tenth and eleventh cards. 1. Equilibrium of Necessity and Liberty-- CHARITY.--Grace. (Preserving power of Love.) 2. Equilibrium of Power and Courage. Reflex of Prudence-- ACQUIRED EXPERIENCE. (Knowledge.) 3. Equilibrium of the potential Manifestation (10), and of reflected Life (11). Reflex of the astral Fluid. EQUILIBRIST FORCE. 12. ל The Hanged Man . AFFINITIES SIGNIFICATIONS Primitive Hieroglyphic: The Arm outstretched Astronomy: The Balance Month: September Hebrew Letter: Lamed (Simple) CHARITY Grace __________ ACQUIRED EXPERIENCE (Knowledge) OBSERVATIONS EQUILIBRIST FORCE Modifying force is the last term of the 2nd septenary. By it the Astral will realize itself to pass into the physical, from the world of preservation and reception (2nd septenary) into the world of transformation (3rd septenary).
The transformation of base substance — outer matter or the inner soul — into a purified, perfected, or 'gold' state; the magnum opus as both laboratory practice and spiritual allegory.
The text explicitly notes that 'Considered alchemically, the Hanged Man shows the sign of personality'.
The universal fluid or medium of occult philosophy — Lévi's Great Magical Agent — that transmits will, thought, and magical influence between minds and matter, and preserves the impress of all forms and actions as a book of consciences; cognate with akasha and the anima mundi. Distinct from cosmic_sympathy (a doctrine of hidden affinity) in being a substantival medium that can be charged, directed, and abused.
The text explicitly references the 'Astral Fluid' and states that the 'Astral will realize itself' through this card's force.
The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.
The text establishes correspondences between the Hebrew letter Lamed, the zodiacal sign of the Balance, and the Tarot card imagery.
Eckhart's Abgeschiedenheit/Gelassenheit — radical letting-go of will, image, and grasping that opens the soul to God; distinct from inner_silence (quietness) and from material renunciation, and adjacent to Sufi tark and Buddhist non-grasping as a practice rather than a metaphysical claim.
The position indicates 'absolute submission', which aligns with the letting-go of personal will to the Divine.
The doctrine that the divine is present within all things and the universe itself, pervading creation rather than remaining solely transcendent above it. Distinct from unity_of_being (the general claim that all existence is one substance, agnostic about whether that substance indwells its parts) and from kingdom_within (the divine present specifically IN THE INDIVIDUAL human, accessible without mediation) — divine_immanence is the general pervading-presence claim applied to all of creation, not a human-specific indwelling.
The passage states that 'Divine expansion in humanity is produced by the prophets and revelation', indicating the divine within the human.
Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.
The text states 'Divine expansion in humanity is produced by the prophets and revelation', implying divine ordering.
A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.
The text outlines a progression from the '2nd septenary' into the '3rd septenary', implying a structured hierarchy of spiritual worlds.
Final, collective cosmic judgment as an event in which the wicked are sentenced and the cosmos restored; distinct from psychopomp_journey (individual passage at death) and emphasising verdict where Zoroastrian frashokereti emphasises restoration.
The revelation of law involves 'punishment... or elevation', suggesting a final judgment based on understanding.
A historical or mythical chain of transmission for secret wisdom from master to disciple across time and cultures — the credential of the teaching, not merely its content. Distinct from oral_tradition (the spoken-not-written modality of transmission, which a lineage may or may not use) and hidden_sayings (the concealment-for-readiness of a teaching's meaning, independent of who transmitted it or in what unbroken chain).
The passage references specific initiatory grades like the 'hermetic grade of the Rosy-Cross' and Freemasonry.
The balance of two contrary forces as the structural law of cosmos and operation — Lévi's equilibrium, expressed in Kabbalah by the senary: the will of God in its first cause, liberty in man, mathematical equilibrium in matter; the twofold vibration required to direct the Astral Light safely.
The passage explicitly defines the card as representing 'Equilibrist Power' that 'neutralizes the oppositions' and lists specific equilibriums like Necessity and Liberty.
The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.
The passage links the human condition ('human owes to the Divine') with cosmic structures like the Zodiac and Septenaries.
The Hermetic doctrine that apparent opposites are identical in nature but differ in degree — two extremes of the same scale (hot/cold, love/hate) — such that one pole can be shifted toward its opposite by a change of degree ('mental transmutation'). Distinct from opposites_transcended (a completion-state marking the path's end, not this doctrine's active technique) and magical_equilibrium (balance held BETWEEN two forces, not identity-by-degree of what looks like two forces).
The card is described as neutralizing oppositions such as Necessity and Liberty, reflecting the Hermetic doctrine of balancing poles.
The doctrine — central to Eastern Orthodox and Maximian theology — that the human person is progressively transformed into a partaker of the divine nature by grace, not merely justified or united in passing ecstasy.
The phrase 'Divine expansion in humanity' implies the human becoming a vessel for divine qualities.