This first card was challenging. Back on the 13^th, when I first set down my intentions for this project, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do. I spent the next ten days reading things, assimilating concepts, arguing with myself, and cutting up magazines with the thought of doing a “real” art project using physical materials.

Even when I sat down and admitted to myself that I was not going to find what I wanted in the piles of magazines to create something meaningful, nor would my drawing fulfill my vision, I encountered uncertainty and hesitance. What was the most important thing I could say or depict on this card? Did the image mean the most, or would words be the order of the day?

Ultimately I ended up with something that I feel as though I’m happy with. There is still a lot to learn about this card, and I may revisit and revise it as I understand more about the intimacies of meaning contained within this set of gnostic guideposts.

Click the image to download the full size PDF version of this card. Note: It is a 1.9mb file!

Tarot and Qabalah: A Two-Fold Guidebook

At first glance, scholars of the Tarot and its relationship with the Qabalah may rush to correct my association here. In the Golden Dawn’s depiction of the Sephiroth[img], The Hanged Man corresponds to the path leading between Geburah and Hod. I am using the reformed Tree as outlined by Donald Tyson in the essay The Gate of Daath1. In this essay he outlines changes to the positioning and numbering of the paths based on the idea that Yesod is the only realistic path into the tree from Malkuth2, as well as establishing the need for paths connecting Binah-Chesed and Chokmah-Geburah3. (He has not published the diagram for this tree on his site, nor did I find another image elsewhere. Out of respect for the publisher’s request at the beginning of the book, I will not reproduce this diagram here unless I am given permission.) This corrects the Tree for the notion that the moon (Yesod) has always been the gateway to higher planes of consciousness, as well as creating the “x marks the spot” location for Daath on the upper portion of the Tree, similar to the positioning of Tiphareth below. Although this may realistically change many of the associations, I am currently running under the assumption that since The Hanged Man maintains position as corresponding with Path 23, that the tables provided by 7774 still hold true.

Getting to the card itself, I opted here for a two panel system, very much in line with the iconic layout provided by long-running CCG, Magic: The Gathering5. Looking again at their layout, I can already see areas in which I can improve the structure of my cards to convey more information more cleanly, but results of these thoughts will be explored another time.

The top panel is an image which I feel befits the original artistic depiction of the card. The caption provided by the artist is equally fitting and moving.

I can wait…
… says the little voice.
I close my eyes, try falling asleep, try not seeing him, his pesky presence. Try not hearing his never-ending questions.
Who says I have to answer EVERY question? Who says it has to be NOW? And why me? I am falling behind, at best of times feeling like I am about to catch up. But most of my time – I am just repaying old debts.
The spotlight dims and darkness descends. Precious sleep.
But should I wake up, without omission, here he is! Ta-dah!!!!! The little powerful voice and his army of questions.
“Not now”, I say.
“I can wait” he says, from his timeless space.

From the original flickr photo page.

This story unknowingly ties perfectly into the concepts fueling The Hanged Man, regardless of which side of the Tree you are exploring. It is characterized by Ordeal, by rite of passage and confrontation of that which would rip asunder our assumptions. On the back side of the tree, this would mean blindly surrendering to ignorance. On the front side, it is a willful sacrifice of old beliefs, resulting in enlightenment. Tiphareth is sort of a mid-way point in the tree, still exalted in its own right, but by no means the end of the journey. This route (on the front side) bypasses Tiphareth entirely, though I would argue that its enlightening end results are brimming with Tipharethic energies. Likewise on the night side of the Tree, The Hanged Man catapults himself headlong into the Abyss, bypassing any attempt for reform or redemption that is offered by Daath’s position at the center of the criss-crossing paths that makeup the middle of the upper tree.

Characters Fitting This Card

Here I outline a few characters – fictional, mythological, and otherwise – whose stories have examples of the transitional energy of The Hanged Man. It’s a fairly small and obvious collection. I’d love to come up with a few more examples of both the day and night sides of the tree.

1. Cecil (Final Fantasy 4)
• Although he was victorious in many ways as a Dark Knight, he couldn’t fulfill his quest until he learned to be merciful and accept the ways of the Paladin. This is a very overt example of ordeal leading into redemption, and enlightenment.6
2. Odin
• In return for hanging upon Yggdrasil for nine nights, Odin received the knowledge of runes7. A clear example of the concepts at work in The Hanged Man.
3. Jesus Christ
• Directly noted in the correspondence tables of 777, Jesus is possibly the quintessential archetype for sacrifice resulting in ascension to higher power.
4. Any Death-Rebirth Deity
• As argued here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life-death-rebirth_deity, citing Jung’s claim that death and rebirth are archetypal processes. A theory supported by other researchers of myth.
5. Ikari Shinji (Neon Genesis Evangelion)
• Rife with gnostic symbolism and modern angst, Evangelion can and will burst your mind at the seams with all the concepts it tries to throw at you. At the end, Ikari Shinji is submitted to sacrifice and is reborn in a strange new world. I submit that his case would be a good example of the Qlippothic journey into dark supernal Binah, as his was always a path of despair and denial.

Final Thoughts

There is so much to learn here. I barely scratched the surface of the correspondences, especially the intense association with water and watery deities and concepts. Lotuses, nymphs, and the lord Poseidon all by the wayside while I figure out what it all means. The animal associations present their own puzzle: what do eagles, snakes, scorpions, beetles, lobsters, and wolves have to do with The Hanged Man?

What will the next card be? I have no idea. I will not draw another card until after this is published and another day dawns. When will it be published here? Again, it depends on the card and candidly on my life in general. Until then, I invite comment and question!

Resources:
1. Tyson, Donald The Gate of Daath, Howlings (Scarlet Imprint, 2008) 133.
2. Ibid, 129-130
3. Ibid, 131
4. Crowley, Aleister, 777 vel Prolegomena Symbolica Ad Systemam Sceptico Mysticae (courtesy hermetic.com, PDF)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_the_Gathering for general history & images or the Getting Started Guide on Wizards of the Coast’s site for a full breakdown of how a card is constructed.
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_IV#cite_note-14 or FF IV original (Japanese) & English script: Mt.Ordeals
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yggdrasil#H.C3.A1vam.C3.A1l

Supplementary Resources:
http://www.servantsofthelight.org/QBL/Paths/23_mem.html An HTML table rendering of all the data of line 23 of 777.

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This is a subject I have been thinking about for about six months now. If you’ve listened to me gibber, rant and rave about American politics in #ectomo (Efnet) then you’ll have heard this all before. But I think it’s a valid point to make and keep making. I’m not an American. I do not even wish to become an American. But I do admire the American political process as a good idea. I don’t know who said this, but someone must have said something along the lines of: “America, nice idea. Shame about the implementation.” I’ve a feeling it was Warren Ellis. So yes, I like a lot of Europeans who think that republicanism and liberalism are good things watch American politics with great interest. We are always ever ready to quickly shout our views at the American populace. Normally in one united voice of saying “don’t vote for the fucking idiot”. If my blatant pro Obama stance is going to get me shouted down by some roaming troll I’m just agreeing with most of the planet. However we don’t have a voice in the American general elections. It would seem a simple nicety if we did since America currently (although sliding) is the superpower that tries to tell the rest of the world what to do. So why do we care so much?

It’s Big Brother! Not the Orwellian totalitarian state. Not directly at least. But the TV show. It must have started a new season about six months ago in the UK. But why do we outsiders care so much about the American political process? Because it’s the most entertaining multimedia reality event every four years. Yes, Europe cares because it is another state like France who early in the modern era rebelled against the shackles of monarchy and cried out for liberty (let’s ignore slaves, vote most men and all women for later). Like France it is a modern first-world nation with strong notions about liberty. Unlike France however most of its media is produced in English, a language that the rest of the world understands. That means we can follow the election. That means we have the ability to follow on hundreds of TV stations, millions of newspapers inches, uncountable numbers of blogs; basically everyplace that produces news and comment about current affairs is talking about the election. It’s pure entertainment for us. The world decided who we wanted to win long ago. We don’t want the old fart and we definitely don’t want the Barbie Doll hockey mom. They don’t stand for American values. Or at least the American values that us outsiders see. For the past eight years it’s been the party that hasn’t won that we wanted. We’re at fever pitch now. We want our candidate to win political Big Brother.

That’s it! That is the only reason I care about American politics at the moment. But the tone of distant entertainment is evident in our media commentary on the event. Sure, we all have ardent political positions we’d like to see in action over there. I for one would like to see a bit more lite socialism creep into American politics. Do any of you guys remember how great “The New Deal” was? But it doesn’t directly change our lives. America is still going to bomb innocent people in the “war on terror”. It’s still going to offer much more aid to those who desperately need food, clean water and AIDS medication to those who need it. But for those of us in the first world; like in Europe. It doesn’t actually affect us. We care because it’s fun to care.

While writing this Will had the new Mogwai album “The Hawk is Howling” on. Unsuprisingly it has an American bald eagle on the front of it. It is a good album and has song titles like: “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” and “The Sun Smells too Loud.”

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I love the internet.
This is so gross, not for the faint of heart.

W: im bored
thats also life

E: yup, i would rather be doing anything else
i would rather be shoving toothpicks into my balls

W: i would rather punch a bull in the face and then get kciked in the stomach by its raging hooves

E: i would rather cut my nostrils open wider and stick my head up a hungry alligator butthole

W: i would rather eat 20 tons of that fucking sponge chicken, puke it up, then eat my own puke while slapping my self in the face with a dirty diaper

E: wow
i would rather gnaw on a gorilla penis while having my legs amputated with a plastic spork

W: hahahahaaa
spork!
i would rather have sex with tom
hahaha

E: GGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHA
oh my god its gonna be hard to top that one
but
i would rather joust a unicorn, naked, riding on a rabid hippopotamus with my balls glued to its back

W: i would rather feed john goodman thirty pounds of bean burritos, collect his poo and smear it on my body like war pain, then i would go into the forest, punch a bees nest and roll around in a pile of brambles

E: i would rather felate george washingtons corpse while humming “goodbye ruby tuesday” infront of my grandmother

W: hahahhahaa
i’d rather make a sandwich out of george bush balls, betty white taint, and magic johnson aids soaked cum, eat it and then go on a roller coaster at bush gardens

E: hahaha, gross!

W: you know
if there is a hell
this is whats going to happen to us

E: i would rather consume every meal i have in my life from now on by falcon punching it directly into my stomach and then crapping it out through back pimples

W: HAHAHAHAHAHA
back pimples! gross

E: i know

W: i would rather fill up a chalice with a whore’s ass juice, a scoop of wasabi, 10 bald eagle poops, a rotten garlic clove,puss from one of your back pimples, a jolly ranger to choke on, and jones’s skin flakes
then drink it all

E: oh
my
god
why did you bring jones into this?? over the line

W: hahaha

E: i would rather cry tears of semen from laughing heartily at the braodway remake of steel magnolias which i will continue watch over and over for eternity

W: oh my word, thats awful

E: indeed

W: i would rather rip my toe nails off one by one, sprinkle them in urine, eat them like potato chips while hanging out with sharon
thats pretty bad

E: holy shit, i would almost rather be at work with that one

W: hahahahaah
i win

E: i would rather bang dope through my eyeballs using lou rawls’ dirty insulin needles, while dressed up like ru paul in barbara walters’ secret dominatrix basement lair as she whips my trembling asshole with a chain whip

W: hahahahahahahah, trembling asshole
man thats a good one
ok
I would rather rip out my own womanly parts with tweezers while listening to raffi records playing backwards and skipping, all the while sitting in a pile of sharp needles covered in acid

E: jesus, vivid

W: too much? oh well

E: i would rather use my wang as a pogo stick to traverse benicia, california’s glass beach while being ridden by a naked william donahue singing a racist version of “you are my hero” in his best falsetto

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The Eagles of Death Metal – The Ballad of Queen Bee and Baby Duck

This song is great. It’s dripping with influence from psychedelic bands of yesteryear and it’s got the silly sensibilities which made Toni Basil’s Mickey so infectious. I really don’t know what to say about this song other than I love it. Don’t let the name fool you, they sound nothing like the Eagles, or death metal. (At least not on this track.)

(P.S. on an unrelated note, it’s my birthday!)

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I gotta dollar store eagle on my shoutcast box
he’s got stubby feet and a busted tail
His flag looks just like cake

Lost my cool but found it again,
it wasn’t misplaced so much as set aside for the sake of proper ventilation
what’s a good cure for shoulder pains?

Today was just seriously unreal.
Much more of this and I don’t know what I’ll do.

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