Sunday, August 28, 2005

The Hanged Man

I LOVE the way this picture turned out. It is very closely based on one by Ford (I showed it ages ago here) as we were so surprised to find a "Hanged Man" in fairytale that we just had to pay tribute to the original. Mind-you, that was black and white so in the end this one came out looking rather different. There is potentially much to discuss for any tarotistas here. This story in many ways takes the Hanged Man card back to what was probably its original meaning, which was "Traitor" and showed a "shame painting" (traitors used to be displayed in this way). But the story is so complex and many-nuanced, and the ending so strange - one minute the Shifty Lad is suspended there laughing at fate, the next minute the princess, er, accidentally drops him (sure, sure, I believe that too - I don't think this princess was all that amused or pleased at being married off to a Shifty Lad, even though he was a good looking rogue), that I think you can also read it as the more modern interpretation of "Spiritual revelation, sacrifice, enlightenment, mental suspension". Anyway, I think there is much to be debated here - but I adore the card! You know, when I was a little girl I so much wanted one of those pointy hats with a veil... Moon Cat bag

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