The Hanged Man is far less sinister than his name might suggest. True, a rope suspends him from a gallows by his ankle... but his left leg is free. And his hands? Are they bound or joined for reflection? Is he enduring his torment... or practicing yoga? Or is he simply playing a game of "tag"? In any case, his mischievous smile suggests that his inaction is deliberate. It represents a meditative and contemplative pause before action. Around him, other clues evoke the posture of a fetus in the womb... just before birth. In fact, he is upside down to better come into the world. The Hanged Man embodies the very enigma of the tarot. The more you observe him, the more questions arise. With his feet in the air and his eyes on the stars, he allows himself to view the world from a new paradigm: the beginning of his transformation. - Based on "Saint Jerome Supporting Two Young Men Wrongly Condemned to Death," by Perugino (1448 - 1523)