My Year Of The Hanged Man

2012 is coming to a close, and here we are on the day of the Winter Solstice and the end of the Mayan calendar cycle.

There has been lots of global anticipation and speculation about the significance of today's date, but those people, who expected the world to end today, may realise with relief (or disappointment?) that the world is still spinning as usual.

We've come to a point, when a lot of us are reflecting on the year that has passed with a view on how we will progress next year (check out my Tarot Moon Journal, which contains useful journalling sheets for this).

On a personal note, 2012 has been my year of the Hanged Man.

Combined with the global year card of the Hierophant, it has taught me some lessons about reconsidering the structures and traditions that I have been accustomed to for so many years and finding a new perspective.

Keywords for the Hanged Man: stagnation, suspension, stasis, being stuck, putting your life on hold, self-sabotage, inaction, avoid making decisions, putting your head in the sand, letting things happen, relinquishing control, letting go, sacrifice, release, new perspective.

The keywords listed in the order above tell a story; nobody can stay in the Hanged Man position for ever.

Sooner or later changes will take place, which will lead to transformation.

No wonder that in the Major Arcana sequence the Hanged Man is followed by Death, which will be my year card next year.

The image I have chosen above for my Tarot of Quotes shows the perspective of the Hanged Man; he is looking up the tree while he is hanging from it upside down. His view is turned around.

The Hanged Man is looking up towards the light for mental and spiritual illumination.

When he finally lets go of something familiar, secure or even treasured, he is making a sacrifice to clear the path for new experiences and growth.

But "sacrifice" is his point of view; it is an emotional word stirring up feelings of self-pity, sadness, regret and fear.

New emotions are released rather than suppressed.

What is once regarded as a sacrifice, will make perfect sense later during the transitional process.

Questions to ask when the Hanged Man comes up in a reading:

• Where in your life do you feel stuck right now?
• What are you holding on to that you need to release?
• Where do you need to relinquish control and be more open, receptive and trusting?
• How can you deal with certain issues in different ways?
• What are you avoiding or trying to escape from?

✨Wishing you a peaceful and happy Winter Solstice✨

Christiane

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The Sirian Starseed Tarot Review

The Sirian Starseed Tarot is one of the most new age decks I have come across so far.

The photography-based artwork depicts star-studded skies, galaxies, crystals, orbs, dolphins, Buddha, Shiva, the Sphinx and humans from far away fantasy worlds.

When I first looked through the deck and studied each card, I felt uplifted by enchanting images.

I noticed that a lot of the Major Arcana cards have been renamed; traditional authority figures have been turned into Abundance (Empress), Reason (Emperor) and Guidance (Hierophant), and any Christian Church influence has been removed; the Devil has become Shadow, and Judgement has turned into Karma.

The new names offer a fresh perspective on the somewhat dusty archetypal images, and most of them express very well the universal energies the cards represent.

However, I wasn't so sure about renaming The Sun to Solar Deity, which sounds a bit clunky. What's wrong with calling the sun Sun?

And why turning Justice into Divine Justice? Personally, I regard the sun as a star in the universe rather than a deity, and Justice is simply Justice...not necessarily divine.

The Fool has been renamed Starseed, and at this point you might be asking what Starseed is all about.

According to Patricia Cori, author and co-creator of this deck, Starseeds are humans, who have been planted on our planet by aliens from the Sirian star system, in order to help humanity evolve on to a higher spiritual level.

Starseeds here on Earth are unaware of their outer space origin, so if you want to know, if you are one of them, you can find out with the Starseed identity test.

There is a somewhat wonderful wackiness to this new age concept, but I'm not concerned about its validity; everyone is entitled to their opinions and ideas.

What is most important to me is the quality of this Tarot deck and how well it works for me without getting involved into Alien conspiracy theories.

Needless to say, the suits have also been renamed; Wands, Cups, Swords and Pentacles are now Flames, Chalices, Orbs and Crystals.

The courts have changed from Page, Knight, Queen and King to Seeker, Adept, Sage and Master.

I love the transformation of the outdated feudal hierarchical structure of the court cards into one that is based on knowledge and experience rather than power and wealth.

But despite adopting a universal approach to the court cards, there is still a gender division present; the Seekers and Sages are all female, and the Adepts and Masters male.

The exception is the Master of Crystals, who is neutrally depicted as a crystal skull.

In true new age spirit I would have liked to see both genders being represented equally in each archetype, e.g. the Adepts could have easily been represented by two males and two females, which perhaps would have further enhanced the essence of this deck's visionary message and energy.

My little quibbles shouldn't distract from the fact, that this is overall a very attractive Tarot deck, which can easily become your favourite, if you love the new age concept and artwork.

The oversized cards (15 x 10 cm) are impossible for me to shuffle, but they are ideal for meditating, manifesting and other magickal workings.

Although the Sirian Starseed Tarot can be described as a non-traditional deck, you can see a connection to the RWS cards in many of its images.

Some offer new perspectives like Starseed (the Fool), the Seven of Flames (Wands) and Adept of Chalices (Knight of Cups), others take the sting out of negative cards like the Nine of Orbs (Swords) and Five of Crystals (Pentacles).

The spirit of the Sirian Starseed Tarot makes this the perfect deck for exploring deeper knowledge, understanding, conscious shift, spiritual growth and life purpose.

I have drawn a card that sums up the overall energy of this deck and what it may offer me.

The message I have received is Abundance - creativity, sustainability, fulfilment, nurture, receiving and sharing.

A good sign to work with this deck more often, especially at this time of year, when we have just experienced the 12/12/12 memorable ascension date (note the number 12 = The Hanged Man - emerging from stagnation to a new perspective and consciousness) and are moving towards the end of the current Mayan calendar cycle on the 21 December 2012.

Sirian Starseed Tarot

Patricia Cori & Alysa Bartha

North Atlantic Books 2012

© Patricia Cori 2012

Update 2025: Sadly out of print, but occasionally available second-hand on Ebay and Abe Books

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

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Stay tuned—new Tarot and Astrology articles are coming soon!

Warmest wishes,

Christiane

Connect with me on: 

Substack - Live more Magic

Medium - Simplify your Life

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