The Hanged One
The potential that lies within pause
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While we are in our collective year of Strength, I am in my personal year of The Hanged One. I have been struggling with this for months because I don’t like being trapped, and this card can definitely feel like entrapment.
In all situations where I have felt trapped, I have self destructed. I love routine. I love predictability. I love stability. I thrive within these confines, but to know that I may not have a way out? Nah, I’m good. That Aries Moon and Mars are going to burn the place down. Through imagery, other messages, and my own life experienece, I’ve come to a level of acceptance for this year.
I realized on 12/30/23 that I had unintentionally made a choice that is going to change my entire trajectory for my career over the next year or two. I am no longer in that moment of waiting and suspension like I have been. I have set myself free from the restraints of that tree, of that fear, of the rope painfully digging in reminding me of my own entrapment and hopelessness. So where does that leave me for this Hanged One year?
I think it is time for the next phase after acceptance of change which is a mindset shift. Shifting one’s mindset is one of those things that isn’t just psychological or in the realm of the mind, it runs down to your heart and feelings as well. If it is a major change, then your physical body will also be feeling it as well.
This year will be an exercise in flexibility, adaptability, and a shift in perspective. I have followed the rules and expectations within capitalism for years. I knew when I left high school that I didn’t want to do a traditional job. I ended up in teaching, which is so much harder than a traditional 9-5. My days at 6:45-4:45 plus weekends. So, I was there, but now? I’m not going to finish my last step for job security. I am potentially leaving behind my PERS, my 403b, and my health benefits. I will not have my same position after June. I will be stepping down and finding something that is better suited to my path and my current energy levels.
I am already looking at the skills I have and how I can apply them elsewhere. I am not sure that corporate work or office work are it for me. I do wonder if a nonprofit in advocacy for disabled folks would be a good fit. I wonder what jobs are out there for that. At the time of writing this, we are 2 days into the new year, and I am proud of the flexibility in thought I am having. I am glad to be out of survival mode, having loosened the grip of the rope.
Another energy I have been getting is a sense of hopefulness, of magic, of wonder when the time is taken to slow down, observe, and adjust. Again, I have been processing this year as a scary one, of one where I can’t make moves and be successful, where my entire life is just retrograded. It doesn’t need to be that way though. There doesn’t need to be the desperation you see/sense in those cards. I have done the part of being stuck. I have made my bed. Now I get to watch (and act) as things unravel from here.
There’s that overwhelming sense of hope again as I reread to revise and edit. Maybe it’s because we’re only on page 2 of this 366 page book (leap year!), but I truly feel as if everything will be ok, and that all this year is going to take is that change in mindset, expectation, goals, and emotional attachment… not much, right?
If you are wondering how to calculate your Tarot year, this is how. Your month and day of birth + 2024. For instance, mine is November 20 (11, 20) + 2024 1+1+2+0+2+0+2+4. This equals 12. 12 is the number of The Hanged One. You may decide to break that 12 down into 1+2=3. This would give me a Empress Year, but I think it’s important to acknowledge and live through the less desirable cards and not break them down into their smaller counterparts. It is up to you though. This is your life.
Now that you have the math, what year are you in? Now that you know, how does this help you process your goals, hopes, dreams?
Wishing you well this week! May your life offer what you need in this moment.
With love,
Aventurine ✨
Decks Shown:
My year is the Year of the Moon 🌙 Which sounds right! I had a tough year last year and a lot of stuff came up, this year could be the year to deal with it all and let my emotions run free!