The Hanged Man and the Pieta
Image: Hanged Man from Raider Waite tarot deck
Image: Pieta by Michelangelo
We all know that the Bible has been rewritten in parts over history. But there are some very important universal messages that still exist in this ancient text. The tarot mimics some of these lessons in the Hero’s Journey that it depicts through its imagery. One image, the Hanged Man, mimics Jesus on the cross, but this time the man is upside down, suggesting that he sees things from a different perspective receiving enlightenment. There is a pause. A cautionary message to STOP.
Jesus teaches that we no longer have to perform sacrificial love. We no longer have to hang ourselves on a cross to receive redemption from someone or God/Spirit.
The Divine Mother teaches the lesson of complete surrender as exemplified in the beautiful images of the Pieta. (Similar to the Four of Swords in Tarot) In the image, you see the languid figure of Christ resting on his mother’s lap, exemplifying complete surrender. Surrender to what? Surrender to the gifts that Spirit wants to send to you. Our natural state is one of abundance. We can block the flow of grace with our minds and with the thinking that we have to give until we are given out, work ourselves to the bone until we are too exhausted to enjoy life and the bounty of Gaia.
Our Divine Mother, represented by the archetype of Mother Mary in the Pieta, teaches us to let go, to stop effort-ing our way through life, to release and be open to receiving the gifts that Spirit has for us. Going with the flow.
Sometimes life brings us to a point of not knowing what to do next. We stand facing a brick wall, our minds full of questions. This is a time when the message is to surrender. Stop. Go within. Listen to our hearts. Receive. This is the way of the feminine, the subconscious, the Yin. It is okay to receive and stop doing, going, trying, thinking, etc. We must balance our inner masculine with our inner feminine.
I have developed the course A Dance with Gaia to teach us the ways of the feminine to bring balance and wholeness. This balance within our two halves is absolutely necessary for our well-being.
Learn more and register here for this transformative eight-week course here: https://www.wendymichellecooper.com/a-dance-with-gaia
