Episode 172: Head Over Heels: On the Hanged Man of the Tarot

The Hanged Man is arguably the most enigmatic card in the traditional tarot deck. Divested of any archetypal apparel – he is neither emperor nor fool, but just a man, who happens to be hanging – he gazes back at us with the look of one who harbors a secret. But what sort of secret? In this episode, JF and Phil discuss the card that no less august a personage than A.E. Waite, co-creator of the classic Rider-Waite deck, claimed was beyond all understanding. The musical interludes in this episode are from Pierre-Yves Martel's recent album, "Bach." Visit his website for more. Support us on Patreon. Buy the Weird Studies soundtrack, volumes 1 and 2, on Pierre-Yves Martel's Bandcamp page. Listen to Meredith Michael and Gabriel Lubell's podcast, Cosmophonia. Visit the Weird Studies Bookshop Find us on Discord Get the T-shirt design from Cotton Bureau! REREFENCES Welkin/Gnostic Tarot Sally Nichols, Tarot and the Archetypal Journey Rachel Pollack, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom Yoav Ben-Dov Our Known Friend, Meditations on the Tarot Richard Wagner, ”Sigmund” from Die Walkure Aleister Crowley, The Book of Thoth Star Wars John Frankenheimer (dir.), The Manchurian Candidate Alejandro Jodorowsky, The Way of Tarot MC Richards, “Preface” to Centering Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace Alan Chapman, Magia