XII. THE HANGED MAN

The bat hanging upside down from a tree sees a different world than upright humans. In many cultures, especially in the West, bats are considered "incarnations of the dead," associated with darkness, evil, death, vampires, and demons. The Hanged Man also represents esotericism itself, communicating between the realms of yin and yang, symbolized by its upside-down posture. Interestingly, the card preceding The Hanged Man is Justice, and the one following it is Death, with The Hanged Man in between, symbolizing the boundary between the living and the dead. In Eastern cultures, bats are seen as auspicious due to their phonetic resemblance to "fortune," which aligns with The Hanged Man's theme of "seeing a different world." The card also represents sacrificial exchanges and fated paths. Reversed, The Hanged Man suggests stagnation in communication, binding information, and pointless sacrifice, possibly indicating ritual errors.