The Hanged Man

[Alexander]

The Tarot cards http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider-Waite_tarot_deck#Major_Arcana contain a wealth of symbolism that is pertinent to the mystic. However my favorite of the cards is the "Hanged Man." This card, recalling Jesus' crucifixion, or the crucifixion of Odin from Norse mythology, is a good symbol of the mystery of annihilation and resurrection in reference to the mystic.

While suspended upside-down, helpless and in a position of surrender and apparent torture, on close inspection the figure is in fact being hanged on a tree of living wood. The man's features are additionally illuminated and serene, and do not portray torment. Finally, the colors of the man's clothes are also of interest - his red pants representing, plausibly, the passions (i.e. the human and passible part of the man which is being sacrificed).