THE HANGED MAN: TAMMUZ
Deck:
The Babylonian Tarot
Deck Creators:
Sandra Tabatha Cicero
Traditional Tarot Equivalent:
The Hanged Man
MoonCoach Phase for today:
Last Quarter Moon
MoonCoach Sign for today:
Gemini
Silvia Pancaro's interpretation and suggestion for the day:
Today we can connect with our Inner 'TAMMUZ' Major Arcana card #12, and in the traditional deck is called THE HANGED MAN. Whenever we pull a Major Arcana card, we must pay special attention, as it is an important PORTAL into deeper self-revelation. So, today, we are invited to take a good inventory of our spiritual beliefs, and consider of any of these need RE-VISING. To revise something means we use our capacity to en-vision, to see, to visualize, to use our eyes, in order to find meaning or give purpose to whatever is under our scrutiny.
In this case, I would suggest not only using our limited, human, physical eyes, but more importantly to view it from a Higher Perspective - that of Divine Mind, or our 3rd Eye/Pineal, which sees through the limitations of our human perceptions, and into the base/root/Higher Truth of any situation. Traditionally, this card symbolizes the need to 'look at things from a different perspective' in order to have new in-sights about the situation. This is an invaluable ability! It reminds me of the old Native American saying about, 'not judging another man until you've walked a hundred miles in his shoes.'
Along with this alternative perspective, comes Compassion, a gift of Astrological Neptune (planetary ruler of the zodiacal sign, Pisces), which resonates with the Hanged Man card. When we are able to view things from this Higher Perspective, we do come to understand others, and our own foibles and pains as expressions of our Sacred Contracts, made before incarnation. This implies Forgiveness, as a necessary component.
Traditionally, the image on this card depicts a man hanging from a tree, upside down, in a very colorful position. It is only in 'reversing' our position that we can come to see things differently. It requires a certain 'SACRIFICE' of our own original position...sometimes the sacrifice we make for our spiritual growth and understanding might feel a little excessive (hanging upside-down from a tree is not easy on our bodies!), but at times, if we have become too unconscious of our Contracts and Agreements with ourselves or with others, we require a greater form of sacrifice in order to get us to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to what's really going on!
Keep in mind that the word 'sacrifice' is not meant to be used the way that the Christian, Hebrew and Muslim fundamentalists have been using for the last x thousand years (no offense to practitioners of said religions - just making a point about the extremists) - which has been promulgated as MARTYRDOM. To sacrifice something means to 'MAKE SACRED' and therefore gives a totally different meaning to whatever acts of CONSCIOUS SACRIFICE we make - and therefore removes the sting and low frequency of the victimhood implied by martyrdom.
Ponder on this - especially if what I write incites a response in you - because this is exactly what we are being invited to re-script into the Collective at this time. As we move out of the Age of Pisces, whose Shadow was Sacrifice, Martyrdom, Victimhood, Judgment; we MUST integrate the TRUE MEANING of PISCES and its Age's Gifts: Making All Our Acts SACRED, Surrender to Spirit, Being a Direct Vessel for Higher Wisdom, Compassion, and Divine Union.
Int the Babylonian Tarot deck, the Hanged Man is depicted as TAMMUZ, the Babylonian God of Fertility and Agriculture, and husband to ISHTAR. He is the oldest known recorded mythological Hero who was 'sacrificed' in service to the Goddess. Tammuz took his place in the Babylonian Underworld (presided over by Ishtar's dark sistar, Erishkigal) for 6 moonths of the year. And like Persephone in the later Greek myth, his time in the Underworld signified the 6 moonths of Autumn and Winter, when all the Earth goes to fallow and sleeps awaiting the return of her Beloved. So, we too, can consider, that sometimes our Spiritual Journey requires US to go within our own personal Underworld to meet with our Demons and our Allies, in order to re-vitalize our Souls so we may come out full strength back into our everyday lives.
Needless to say, this also calls to mind the Biblical New Testament story of Jesus. Another choice we are given at this Turning of the Ages, is about His story: Do we choose to focus on the Shadow of His Divine Journey, being the martyrdom of his hanging on the cross; or do we focus on his Sacrifice (make it SACRED) in order for Him to reach the Illuminated State of Consciousness, and therefore His TRANSCENDENCE? His Life takes on new meaning when we shift our perpective (and interpretation) from the Shadow, pain, guilt, sin, to that of APPRECIATING His Gift: Light, freedom, sacred release, compassion, Divine Union.
So, take a moment today, to find a different perspective on issues you may be confronting in your life. Ask for a 'sign' or for a new vision to help you understand your next steps on your Path. Surrender to Spirit's all-knowing Wisdom. Let go of any judgments upon Self or others that you may have been hanging onto. Embrace Compassion. Allow your 3rd Eye to guide you into New Visions...my friend, Charla Hermann, wrote a wonderful book, "The Blue Star Portal of Transformation," and does a great play on the word nuclear, by changing it to New-Clear. Yes, profound way of shifting our perspective! And this card is all about that: SHIFTING OUR PERSPECTIVE, in order to work with NEW-CLEAR Energy! (If you would like to get Charla's excellent book or attend any of her wonderful Shamanic and Native American ceremonies, held at the Hawkwind Institute in Alabama, check out her website.)
Adding to this, we can include the fact that MERCURY is RETROGRADE! No need to go into fear about it (yes, do the practical things like backing up your computers, and refrain from signing contracts, as well as being mindful of all your communications). When Mercury goes retrograde (apparent backward motion, from our perspective on Earth), we go from a left brain communication model, to one of non-linear logic, meaning we go inwards to get in touch with our right-brain messages. This is an excellent period of time to do research as well as inner work! In our technological and busy-busy Western World, we NEED Mercury to go retro in order to check in with the thoughts, beliefs and feelings that are driving us! So, this card combined with Mercury Retro, really is putting it on us to spend a little time doing this inner spiritual inventory. WHAT IS DRIVING YOUR SPIRITUAL PATH?
And finally, in looking at the phase and sign of the Moon, She is in her Last Quarter phase, in the final degrees of Gemini. The Last Quarter moon is said to be 'CRISIS IN CONSCIOUSNESS' by Dane Rhudyar. As She comes to closure in her current Cycle, we need to begin slowing down and reach completion with all matters that we've been focusing on for the past 3 weeks. We are coming to the end of the Leo Lunar Moonth, so wrapping up on our projects is up for us know, and that implies having to consider what we've accomplished thus far, and tie up all the loose ends of our Leo New Moon Goals (set on August 20). Again, this accentuates the need to go within to clear our perspective. With it being in Gemini, this is in fact about our Mind since Gemini is an AIR Sign. Get clear on your communications by checking in with yourself first. Hold off on any important discussions you need to have with others, if there are feelings you need to process. Just sit in silent meditation with your Guides/Allies, and with your Soul, and allow Spirit to speak to you.
In this case, I would suggest not only using our limited, human, physical eyes, but more importantly to view it from a Higher Perspective - that of Divine Mind, or our 3rd Eye/Pineal, which sees through the limitations of our human perceptions, and into the base/root/Higher Truth of any situation. Traditionally, this card symbolizes the need to 'look at things from a different perspective' in order to have new in-sights about the situation. This is an invaluable ability! It reminds me of the old Native American saying about, 'not judging another man until you've walked a hundred miles in his shoes.'
Along with this alternative perspective, comes Compassion, a gift of Astrological Neptune (planetary ruler of the zodiacal sign, Pisces), which resonates with the Hanged Man card. When we are able to view things from this Higher Perspective, we do come to understand others, and our own foibles and pains as expressions of our Sacred Contracts, made before incarnation. This implies Forgiveness, as a necessary component.
Traditionally, the image on this card depicts a man hanging from a tree, upside down, in a very colorful position. It is only in 'reversing' our position that we can come to see things differently. It requires a certain 'SACRIFICE' of our own original position...sometimes the sacrifice we make for our spiritual growth and understanding might feel a little excessive (hanging upside-down from a tree is not easy on our bodies!), but at times, if we have become too unconscious of our Contracts and Agreements with ourselves or with others, we require a greater form of sacrifice in order to get us to slow down and PAY ATTENTION to what's really going on!
Keep in mind that the word 'sacrifice' is not meant to be used the way that the Christian, Hebrew and Muslim fundamentalists have been using for the last x thousand years (no offense to practitioners of said religions - just making a point about the extremists) - which has been promulgated as MARTYRDOM. To sacrifice something means to 'MAKE SACRED' and therefore gives a totally different meaning to whatever acts of CONSCIOUS SACRIFICE we make - and therefore removes the sting and low frequency of the victimhood implied by martyrdom.
Ponder on this - especially if what I write incites a response in you - because this is exactly what we are being invited to re-script into the Collective at this time. As we move out of the Age of Pisces, whose Shadow was Sacrifice, Martyrdom, Victimhood, Judgment; we MUST integrate the TRUE MEANING of PISCES and its Age's Gifts: Making All Our Acts SACRED, Surrender to Spirit, Being a Direct Vessel for Higher Wisdom, Compassion, and Divine Union.
Int the Babylonian Tarot deck, the Hanged Man is depicted as TAMMUZ, the Babylonian God of Fertility and Agriculture, and husband to ISHTAR. He is the oldest known recorded mythological Hero who was 'sacrificed' in service to the Goddess. Tammuz took his place in the Babylonian Underworld (presided over by Ishtar's dark sistar, Erishkigal) for 6 moonths of the year. And like Persephone in the later Greek myth, his time in the Underworld signified the 6 moonths of Autumn and Winter, when all the Earth goes to fallow and sleeps awaiting the return of her Beloved. So, we too, can consider, that sometimes our Spiritual Journey requires US to go within our own personal Underworld to meet with our Demons and our Allies, in order to re-vitalize our Souls so we may come out full strength back into our everyday lives.
Needless to say, this also calls to mind the Biblical New Testament story of Jesus. Another choice we are given at this Turning of the Ages, is about His story: Do we choose to focus on the Shadow of His Divine Journey, being the martyrdom of his hanging on the cross; or do we focus on his Sacrifice (make it SACRED) in order for Him to reach the Illuminated State of Consciousness, and therefore His TRANSCENDENCE? His Life takes on new meaning when we shift our perpective (and interpretation) from the Shadow, pain, guilt, sin, to that of APPRECIATING His Gift: Light, freedom, sacred release, compassion, Divine Union.
So, take a moment today, to find a different perspective on issues you may be confronting in your life. Ask for a 'sign' or for a new vision to help you understand your next steps on your Path. Surrender to Spirit's all-knowing Wisdom. Let go of any judgments upon Self or others that you may have been hanging onto. Embrace Compassion. Allow your 3rd Eye to guide you into New Visions...my friend, Charla Hermann, wrote a wonderful book, "The Blue Star Portal of Transformation," and does a great play on the word nuclear, by changing it to New-Clear. Yes, profound way of shifting our perspective! And this card is all about that: SHIFTING OUR PERSPECTIVE, in order to work with NEW-CLEAR Energy! (If you would like to get Charla's excellent book or attend any of her wonderful Shamanic and Native American ceremonies, held at the Hawkwind Institute in Alabama, check out her website.)
Adding to this, we can include the fact that MERCURY is RETROGRADE! No need to go into fear about it (yes, do the practical things like backing up your computers, and refrain from signing contracts, as well as being mindful of all your communications). When Mercury goes retrograde (apparent backward motion, from our perspective on Earth), we go from a left brain communication model, to one of non-linear logic, meaning we go inwards to get in touch with our right-brain messages. This is an excellent period of time to do research as well as inner work! In our technological and busy-busy Western World, we NEED Mercury to go retro in order to check in with the thoughts, beliefs and feelings that are driving us! So, this card combined with Mercury Retro, really is putting it on us to spend a little time doing this inner spiritual inventory. WHAT IS DRIVING YOUR SPIRITUAL PATH?
And finally, in looking at the phase and sign of the Moon, She is in her Last Quarter phase, in the final degrees of Gemini. The Last Quarter moon is said to be 'CRISIS IN CONSCIOUSNESS' by Dane Rhudyar. As She comes to closure in her current Cycle, we need to begin slowing down and reach completion with all matters that we've been focusing on for the past 3 weeks. We are coming to the end of the Leo Lunar Moonth, so wrapping up on our projects is up for us know, and that implies having to consider what we've accomplished thus far, and tie up all the loose ends of our Leo New Moon Goals (set on August 20). Again, this accentuates the need to go within to clear our perspective. With it being in Gemini, this is in fact about our Mind since Gemini is an AIR Sign. Get clear on your communications by checking in with yourself first. Hold off on any important discussions you need to have with others, if there are feelings you need to process. Just sit in silent meditation with your Guides/Allies, and with your Soul, and allow Spirit to speak to you.
Divinatory Meaning from the Babylonian Tarot book:
"The Sumero-Babylonian story of Tammuz in the underworld is the first recorded instance of the agricultural sacrifice mythos, which has been repeated numerous times in other ancient cultures. Tammuz was the life-blood of the fields and of the sheepfold. His death coincided with the annual harvesting of crops and the beginning of the harsh, barren season that withered vegetation and dried up the milk of sheep and goats. The return of the annual growing season signaled Tammuz's release from the netherworld back into the land of the living....MEANING: sacrifice, especially self-sacrifice. Self-denial. Suspended animation. Trance-state. A period of withdrawal. Introspection. Listening to the inner Self. Pause. Delayed decision. Reversal Wisdom and intuition. Sacrificing something in order to gain something better. REVERSED MEANING: False prophecy. A martyr complex. Petty sacrifices. Rejects the guidance of Spirit. Arrogance and ego-inflation. Psychic or mental disorder."
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Silvia's interpretation:
Copyright 2009 Silvia Pancaro and MoonCoach LLC. All Rights Reserved.
The Babylonian Tarot card image and divinatory meaning:
Copyright 2006 Sandra Tabitha Cicero. All Rights Reserved.
MoonCoach and Moon Coaching are Trademarks of Silvia Pancaro and MoonCoach LLC.
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