Animal Tarot Time: THE HANGED MAN

For this series, I am exploring the choices of animals made by various deck creators to correspond to traditional Tarot cards. My initial goal is to get through the Major Arcana using cards from eight different decks, now including Tarot of the Woodland Wardens by Jessica Roux from Amber/Lotus.

Animal Tarot Cards (Virtue, Valentine, Hay House)

The Animal Totem Tarot (Robertson, Smith, Llewellyn)

The Animal Wisdom Tarot (Brunke, Liola, CICO)

The Animal-Wise Tarot (Andrews, Dragonhawk)

The Animals Divine Tarot (Hunt, Llewellyn)

The Animism Tarot (Cheung)

Tarot of the Animal Lords (Giannini, Lo Scarabeo)

Tarot of the Woodland Wardens (Jessica Roux, Amber/Lotus) – Added 12/2025

To read my previous posts in this series, enter “Animal Tarot Time” in the search field on the main page of the blog or scroll down and click on Animal Tarot Time under CATEGORIES.

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Let’s look at how THE HANGED MAN (Key 12) is portrayed in eight different animal decks.

Animal Tarot Cards by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh Valentine (Hay House)

AWAKENING / GIRAFFE

“Look at things in a different way, and all will make sense. 

Don’t worry if your progress is halted temporarily: 

things will soon start moving again.”

As the tallest land mammal, the Giraffe certainly does see things from a different perspective than most. In this card, the Giraffe “has flipped her head down to have a good look at you. . .  Both of you see things in a whole new light.” 

The Animal Totem Tarot (Robertson, Smith, Llewellyn)

THE HANGED MAN / HONEY POT ANT

“What areas of your life, right now, is your head interfering with? 

If you were to let go of your need to be right in your current situation, what would happen?”

This is certainly an unusual and interesting “take” on The Hanged Man card. From the description in the guidebook, we learn that due to the social structure of honey pot ants, large members of the group store water and nectar in their abdomens, then spend the rest of their lives hanging upside down, regurgitating nectar for the rest of the colony. Fortunately for us humans, even though some things in our life feel imposed upon us, we still have free will. We can willingly choose to surrender to our “divine destiny.” The guidebook adds, “Inversion poses in yoga are used to place the heart above the mind. . . to allow better blood and energy flow throughout your body.” Surrender and sacrifice are the key concepts offered by the Honey Pot Ant.

The Animal Wisdom Tarot (Brunke, Liola, CICO)

THE HANGED MAN / BAT 

Master of Suspension / Surrender, Release, Sacrifice, Renew

On this card, the Bat hangs upside down from the Tree of Life, resting peacefully, sensitive and aware. We are being guided inward to “hone perceptions, identify illusions, face fears calmly, and release the non-essential.” Bats seem to be equally comfortable upright or upside down or flying through the air, taking in a “bird’s eye view.” This is the energy we are being encouraged to adopt when The Hanged Man card appears. A Message from Bat: “Go within, and then let go.”

The Animal-Wise Tarot (Andrews, Dragonhawk)

THE HANGED MAN / BAT

New Truths and Perceptions

In the guidebook, Ted Andrews notes, “Bats sleep with their head down, the traditional posture of the Hanged Man in the tarot. This reflects a new perspective, the awakening of new truths.” Andrews points out that “mythically, the bat is an animal associated with the promise of rebirth and a time of coming out of darkness.” Taking a new perspective can mean letting go of the past, releasing or changing some aspect of our life. Questions we might ask ourselves include, “Are we avoiding facing what is inevitable? Are we letting our fears rule us? Are we not seeing things for what they truly are?”

The Animals Divine Tarot (Hunt, Llewellyn)

THE HANGED WOMAN

SPIDER WOMAN (Native American)

In this deck, Spider Woman represents “stagnation, inertia, repetitive cycle, the need to grow, life crisis forcing change, sacrifices.” Interestingly, spiders often dangle head-first from their webs. At other times, of course, they wander all about the web checking out what might have been caught. When The Hanged Man card appears, we may need to examine our own “web of life” to see if repairs are needed. 

The Animism Tarot (Cheung)

THE HANGED MAN / THE OPOSSUM

patience, introspection, focus, courage, opportunity, creativity

On The Hanged Man card in this deck, an opossum hangs upside down from a branch by its tail. Joanna Cheung writes, “Why he is suspended, why he watches in reverse, only he understands. His reality might not make sense, but sometimes life needs to not make sense, and sometimes views must be shifted in order to achieve clarity. And so he holds on and on until he finds his release.” 

Tarot of the Animal Lords (Giannini, Lo Scarabeo)

THE HANGED MAN / BAT

altruism, enlightenment, sacrifice, suffering, punishment

The “animal-person” chosen to represent The Hanged Man in this deck is a bat-man (not Batman!) He has human legs, so he hangs by one foot from the branches above like the man on the traditional Hanged Man card. Being part bat, he is quite comfortable in this position, able to observe and reflect from a different perspective. 

Tarot of the Woodland Wardens (Roux, Amber/Lotus)

THE HANGED WARDEN / OPOSSUM

“What are the benefits and drawbacks of the different paths I can take? 

How can I change my perspective?”

As most of us know, opossum’s have the ability to “play possum,” remaining quiet and pretending to be dead as a means of avoiding predators. To be honest, I don’t really see the connection between that trait and the traditional meaning of The Hanged Man card, although the interpretation given by the deck’s creator states: “Perhaps it feels like danger approaches from all sides and your only option is to curl up and hide.” Instead, Roux continues, “But by taking a step back and looking at your current situation from a different angle, you’ll come to a deeper understanding of your past, present, and future.” The “placid energy of the opossum” is seen as something to use to our advantage when a change in perspective is needed.

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To summarize, we have:

Bat - 3

Opossum – 2

Giraffe – 1

Honey Pot Ant – 1

Spider Woman - 1

Once again, I feel inclined to go with the majority in choosing the Bat to represent The Hanged Man. As I mentioned above, bats really do have the ability and opportunity to view things from many perspectives and positions. And all of it is very natural for them, not forced or traumatic. We humans, on the other hand, may be quite uncomfortable in that upside down position – hence the words “sacrifice” and “suffering” might apply to our experience.