Hanged Man and The Fool.

What do the Hanged Man and The Fool have in common?
How are they different?

I have not written in a while, so I asked Tarot for inspiration and I got the Hanged Man and the Fool.

Accidentally, the Fool also came up this morning in my personal daily Tarot reading, but I do not believe in coincidences. Coincidence? I think not.

Okay. At first glance I see someone stuck in the Hanged Man and one moving in the Fool.

I also know that the first one is water (passive), the other is air (active).

The Hanged Man is Arcanum 12.
One is about the individual, and tunnel vision.
Two is about choices, duality, diplomacy.
1+2 = 3 Expansion, exploration, group activity.
The element is water = emotions.
Water in not confrontational. Water likes to go along.

Therefore it is not surprising when the presence of the Hanged Man slows things down.
We have our own feelings and desires, but we are also aware of the wishes of others and we don’t like to rock the boat with our decisions. We are not rushing into anything.

The Fool is zero.
It is like a white canvass, everything is possible.
We are in the air element, active.
The guy is ready to take a leap of faith.
He has confidence in his dreams. He will do the unexpected. He is unconventional and he is not restricted by people’s expectations.

At first glance The Hanged Man and the Fool are clear opposites, but are they?

I would suggest that they are simply at different stages in their lives, but will often come out together in a reading.

Someone stuck in the Hanged Man, might be building the courage to act like the Fool.

As an example, let’s say John is no longer satisfied in a job he has done for a long time. He craves change. He has a secret dream to pursue a completely different career, but it would require new learning and losing the financial security he is accustomed to. John also knows that his wife would not be supportive of his dream. She would think it is too risky.

John now has two options. 1) He remains stuck in a situation that no longer fulfills him. He sacrifices his dreams for the sake of the plans he once made with his wife. 2) He acts like the Fool by doing the unexpected and pursuing his dream.
It is no coincidence the Hanged Man is hung the way he is. That is how traitors used to be hung. What is a traitor? Someone who changes his mind/position even when they affect plans he made with others.

Now let’s make another story.
Let’s say that John decides to be the Fool and pursue his dreams.
He shocks his wife by quitting the job he has had for many years.
She accuses him of betraying his promises to her, to put their common plans in jeopardy. John believes in his dreams and hopefully he is right, the standing feather on his hat suggests he is being guided by a higher source.
John soon finds out he has jumped from one aspect of the Hanged Man to the other. His new path requires new learning and training that will take time and sacrifice to bear the fruits he wants.

I hope you enjoyed this reflection with the cards as I did.