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The Magician & the Hanged Man Tarot Card Combination and Meaning


The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Card Combination
The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Card Combination


Are action and surrender two mutually exclusive notions? Or is there a chance to marry these strikingly different energies to create a transformative synergy? While you contemplate the answer, let’s hear what a certain tarot pairing has to say. The Hanged Man and Magician combination, we are all ears!





What Does the Magician Tarot Card Mean?


Meaning of The Hanged Man Tarot Card
Meaning of The Hanged Man Tarot Card

Let's first meet the Magician. It is traditionally depicted as a youthful person with their arms open in a meaningful gesture. One arm, holding a short wand, is pointing up; the other one is reaching toward the ground. In this instance, the mage in the picture acts as a literal bridge between the cosmic forces and the material world. The aspects of the latter can be observed on the altar. We can see an odd collection of items that nonetheless make sense to anyone familiar with the Minor Arcana suits. 

Care for more symbolic details? 

Then look closer at the Magician’s outfit. See the ouroboros curled around their waist? You are now looking at the most telling symbol for cyclic renewal. 

When upright, the magician in the picture is the master of creation. They can take a half-formed idea, refine it with their impeccable focus and determination, and make sure it sees the light of day through their unmatched manifestation skills. The card encourages the querent to finally take the reins of the horses towing their life. After all, the seeker has all the necessary tools. The Magician is willing to show them how to wield those tools.

In its upside-down position, the card is devoid of any spark. For starters, it might have been extinguished due to a lack of focus. Alternatively, the querent’s powers might have been blocked, which brings any process of manifestation to a grinding halt. To top things off, the card also suggests that the querent could be using their undeniable powers for ill causes like trickery.


What Does the Hanged Man Tarot Card Mean?


The Magician & The Hanged Man Interpretation
The Magician & The Hanged Man Interpretation

The next card sees an unsettling image. We see a T-shaped frame with a person suspended from it. The person's legs often form a shape resembling the figure four. Their hands are tied behind their back. Interestingly enough, the person in the picture does not seem to mind their precarious position. Their face is peaceful, bordering on enlightened. Look closer, and you’ll see a hint of a halo surrounding the person’s head. 

In its regular positing, the card speaks of willing surrender. The querent allows themself to be suspended in an unnatural position to gain an unexpectedly fresh perspective. The Hanged Man is letting go of control. In return, they gain wisdom and urge us to do the same. After all, sometimes progress comes through inaction and surrender. 

In its upside-down state, the card paints an uncomfortable picture of the querent being stuck in limbo. They resist the necessary surrender and fight to keep control of a situation. This behavior lands them in a trap where they can neither move forward nor gain the necessary wisdom. Besides, the upside-down Hanged Man might still be capable of sacrifice and surrender that, however, are likely to be caused by vanity. All in all, the card promises lost opportunities for growth and unexplored perspectives.  


What Does the Upright Combination of the Magician and the Hanged Man Mean?


The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards Together
The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards Together


The upright Magician and the upright Hanged Man get together to hold a very peculiar palaver about active creation and passive surrender. The former’s focused intention works against all odds with the latter’s shift in perspective. Together, these cards see the querent in a unique position where they can manifest effectively if they alternate between intentional action and mindful suspension of any effort. 

This alternating approach to manifestation allows the querent’s creation to gain profound depth. What’s more, it also teaches the seeker to recognize the instances that call for decisive action and respect their creations’ need to unfold on their own. After all, mastery does not come from constant action. On the contrary, it is built through a rhythmic dance between doing and allowing.


What Does the Reversed Combination of the Magician and the Hanged Man Mean?


The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Card Combination and Meaning
The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Card Combination and Meaning


The double reversal of these cards often foretells a mighty struggle with both creative expression and the ability to suspend all action at will. The Magician comes with bad news of the querent’s manifestation skills being compromised, while the Hanged Man stubbornly refuses to take a much-needed pause and do some pondering. 





It appears that the querent is all too eager to force outcomes without gaining at least some clarity first. They find themself stuck in a reasonably unpleasant situation, too proud to shift their perspective to develop a bit of inner wisdom. Worse yet, the querent can be seen trying -  and failing - to control every little aspect of their project without giving enough room for divine timing to do its magic. 

If these cards had hands, they would have grabbed the querent by the elbow to try and stop them, even for a moment. This combination asks the seekers to examine the ways they waste their creative powers and the reasons they resist necessary sacrifice. 


How to Read the Magician & the Hanged Man in a Love and Relationships Context?


Combination The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards
Combination The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards


The meaning of the Magician and the Hanged Man tarot cards in love spreads can be condensed to this: patient surrender is just as important as an active pursuit of romantic goals. Single seekers will manifest the love of their lives if they do it with the help of clear intentions and a willingness to detach themselves from the outcomes. People in established relationships might want to find a new outlook on their union. Bringing a dash of creativity into it might help. 


How to Read the Magician & the Hanged Man in a Career and Finance Context?


Together The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards
Together The Magician & The Hanged Man Tarot Cards


  • – When it comes to career, the Magician and the Hanged Man encourage the seeker to learn to navigate between strategic action and reflective pauses. Any outstanding professional can vouch for this: success comes through knowing when to utilize one’s skills and when to step back for a dose of fresh insights. So make sure to switch between productive work and strategic inaction. 

  • – From a financial standpoint, the tarot combination in question sees wealth come to the seeker through conscious resource management and willingness to reconsider their whole stance on material security. Deliberate steps toward prosperity are encouraged as long as they are interspersed with instances of stepping back to examine one’s financial values from a different angle. Besides, the cards also call for a temporary suspension of all conventional financial decisions. Now might be the time for innovative solutions. 


How to Read the Magician & the Hanged Man in a Health and Spirituality Context?


The Magician & The Hanged Man Combination
The Magician & The Hanged Man Combination


  • – Health interpretation of the cards in question usually revolves around paradoxical approaches to healing. One’s healing process might heavily depend on their willingness to surrender control of the process. This combination often comes when conventional healing methods have proven ineffective, prompting the querent to step outside established protocols. The seeker would be wise to consider the possibility of creating space for natural healing as opposed to forcing it. 

  • – When it comes to spirituality, the Magician and the Hanged Man promise enlightenment if the querent chooses to surrender. The cards urge the seeker to sacrifice their rational control to finally access higher wisdom. There is no need for the querent to master endless practices. Just becoming an empty vessel for transcendent understanding is enough. 


What Do Other Magician and Hanged Man Combinations Mean?


tarot card the hanged man interpretation
tarot card the hanged man interpretation


  • – The pairing of the upright Magician and the upside-down Hanged Man tarot cards resembles an artist who spends all their time painting the same picture over and over only to destroy it in a fit of disappointment. Their skill and focus are unmatched. It’s just they are unwilling to give themself a pause and perspective shift (that would undeniably enhance their work).

  • According to the cards, the querent is in the same position as the aforementioned artist. They are actively pursuing their goals without ever pausing to consider alternative viewpoints. They would be wise to occasionally surrender their control and let things unravel on their own accord. They’d be surprised how much their creative powers would grow. 

  • – Imagine if the Hanged Man never had to get off the tree they were suspended from. They would hang there for days on end, soaking in all the possible new perspectives, never even considering the possibility of channeling them. Would these insights be of any use? The upside-down Magician and the upright Hanged Man doubt that. 

  • The cards suggest that the querent has grown too comfortable with their never-ending suspension and inaction. It is now unbearably difficult for them to translate their accumulated wisdom into concrete action. The cards urge the seeker to keep those insights from going to waste by applying them to the revitalization of their long-atrophied manifestation skills. 


How to Interpret the Magician and the Hanged Man Combination?


Hanged Man and magician combination
Hanged Man and magician combination


This combination is exceedingly nuanced due to the tension the two cards produce. You’d be wise to pay special attention to timing when dealing with these two cards. While the mage calls for immediate action, its adversary urges you to halt. See how this combination applies to your current situation. Does it call for either approach or does it need to alternate between them right now? 
If you want some practical advice from the combination, here is what you might want to try. Consider visualizing the desired outcome, then releasing any attachment to it. This exercise often teaches us that constant pursuit only repels desired things from us. Detachment, on the other hand, enhances our chances of getting what we want. 


Our Final Thoughts on the Magician and Hanged Man Combination


the hanged man reversed tarot card meaning
the hanged man reversed tarot card meaning


There is an age-old fable about two lumberjacks. One was young and inexperienced. He would swing his axe relentlessly. The other one was an old and seasoned fellow. He would pause to sharpen his axe every dozen swings. Can you guess which one of them was quicker and more proficient? 





The concept celebrated by the Magician and the Hanged Man is nothing new. Yet, it bears repeating, as very few people pay attention to the need to step back and reconsider in the age of constant hurries and undisguised conformity. The best version of reality is not created through relentless effort or passive acceptance. The secret is in the artful alternation between them.   

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