In Issue 24 of our online magazine, Australian Esoteric, our regular writer on the Tarot, Sean Cooper, contributed an article which was mainly about the Hanged Man card, and in turn made several mentions of its connection to the Sun card (these are both included in the Major Arcana of the Tarot Deck. Below are three excerpts which are thought-provoking:

❝ The Sun shows a successful conclusion – positivity and joy at the beginning of an exciting new chapter after the previous uncertainty of the journey to this point. Most importantly, The Sun is childlike, open to ideas and opportunities. We have moved from the constraints of dogma and orthodoxy with the Hierophant to a new stage in The Sun where the possibilities are endless and hope prevails. This transition was made possible through what The Hanged Man does – withdraw, and look at things from another angle. […]

❝ The reflective aspect of water tells us that the act of suspension is also an excellent opportunity for some self-examination. The outcome, The Sun, is the antithesis of this. As a solution, The Sun represents direct light instead of the reflected light intimated in cards like The Hanged Man and The Moon. Getting to this point, though, is often a process of withdrawal and reflection to get to the outcome of engagement and illumination. The Sun's Hebrew letter is Resh, meaning head and face. This is in direct contract to its previous card The Moon (Qoph -the back of the head, or subconscious). The Moon and The Hanged Man both tell us that getting to the direct light of The Sun is achieved through journeying through the subconscious. […]

❝ The Hanged Man offers a badly needed reminder that it might be time to get off the treadmill and engage in some introspection instead. The Hanged Man is a sign that we've entered the gateway, leaving behind the Hierophant's limiting orthodoxy and heading towards the hope and joy of The Sun. When he enters our readings, we should listen to The Hanged Man because he's there to tell us that we're nearly there, that when we free ourselves, we can embrace The Sun. We should ask ourselves what we can do to re-evaluate our situation in a fresh way and have that "Eureka!" breakthrough moment. And we should recognize that to pass the gateway sometimes means looking within. ❞