This post is a work in progress
I’m skeptical of fortune-telling—things like horoscopes, tarot, and astrology.
Yet, I’m deeply fascinated by the symbolism behind them.
I like to find hidden (and not-so-hidden) meanings and examine how they shift through different lenses.
Take the Hanged Man card, for example. I first encountered it in the video game Persona 3. At the time, I didn’t put much thought into it—I was too busy fighting Shadows and grinding at the arcade. You know, saving the world. (Believe it or not, the arcade plays a huge part in that.)
It wasn’t until I saw a depiction of Joshua Graham’s Hanged Man (from Fallout) that I finally got intrigued. There’s a version where he’s tied upside down—the traditional Hanged Man—as if that wasn’t metal enough. He’s also immolated.
But what is the Hanged Man card about? It depicts a man suspended upside down, usually from a tree, symbolizing surrender, perspective, and sacrifice.