One of the more striking and haunting images of Tarot, the Hanged Man, seems to possess a certain poetic notoriety - for example, where it is used as a motif in T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland.
This is the sacrifice of the tragic hero. The reader is advised to refer to James G. Frazer for the mythical precedents which furnish the imagery and symbology of this card.
The fact that in reality this is not quite such a tragedy is shown by the general demeanour of the Hanged Man; his face holds an expression of peace and contentment, and his head is surrounded by an aura, suggesting that through this state he has reached a state of spiritual illumination - as does, in this card design, the presence of a third eye. This, we can assume, is not painted on, as it may well be in the case of the Guru.
Other commentators have suggested that as a mystical adept, the aura tells us that the Hanged Man has, through sexual abegnation, redirected the flow of the yogic Kundalini energy to his head, giving him wondrous visions.
It is certainly true that a core meaning to the Hanged Man involves the theme of sacrifice. The Hanged Man has let go of many of the things he may well have once thought were essential to who and what he thought he was. This is underlined by the fact that the mask of the Chariot has been discarded on the beach. The Hanged Man has found that he is well able to survive without the external props of his job title, that relationship, that promotion. The Hanged Man now has detachment. He may well still enjoy and value the trappings of good living, but his soul, symbolised by the bird, is free. He no longer neurotically craves the things his fellow human beings may crave in quite the same way. He no longer has quite so much to prove.
Needless to say, the card does not necessarily rule out a false awakening in some cases. A philosophical stance may mask an aggrieved martyrdom and ego trips of a similar nature, and so on. Also, whether or not the Hanged Man is a positive influence or not may depend upon the nature of the Question. The appearance of this card in the final outcome of a spread related to the viability of a business venture may well, for instance, raise doubts within the mind of the querent to its possible success. It may suggest that on some level the querent may sabotage his or her chances, even where external circumstances are favourable. The Hanged Man has always to the mind of the creator of this pack, implied a very Neptunian, or a Piscean, connotation, more so than the Moon which is officially "given" to Pisces. The line between self-sacrifice and self-undoing may, in some cases, be a thin one. It has also has to be remembered that the mystical wisdom this card represents may not necessarily be accessible to the average querent - nor, in many instances, may it be appropriate. Too much undermining of the ego at the wrong time in an individual's life may produce someone who is totally unable to cope with life, as many a psychiatric text book on drug and alcohol abuse may testify.
As far as external circumstances go, the querent may, by and large, be better advised not to try and unduly influence other situations or people. It may be best not to fight the tide of events - as one, wily old king once, very graphically attempted to demonstrate to his over-anxious people.