Practice What You Preach

From the Ancient Tarot of Lombardy, the Hanged Man; from the Lenormand de Marseilles, the "Mountain:"

       By comparing this version of the Hanged Man to one from the RWS, it's easy to see that each tradition interprets them differently. In the Lombardy card, there's no golden halo around his head, and he's only dressed in his skivvies. Bursten explains that in earlier times, when authorities couldn't catch a criminal, they would hire an artist to draw a "shame picture" of him hanging from one foot. Much like the "Wanted" posters found in the post offices, it was a way to publicly disgrace the offender. So in the Marseille and Italian decks, this card is associated with humiliation, a meaning I connected to instantly. Wednesday I pulled muscles in my back wrestling with a large, heavy box of cat litter. Here's the meditation teacher (who's always encouraging other people to be mindful) who was in such a hurry that she didn't pay attention to bending her knees and lifting carefully. Tonight I'm supposed to guide the meditation meeting, and I'll have to confess why I can't sit for longer than ten to fifteen minutes at a time. This upside down fellow would tell me, "Practice what you preach, sister."
       The Mountain is associated with delay, obstacles and challenges. I can easily see this in my forced, slow movement, restriction of movement and pain. Interesting how one mindless action can have an abundance of unexpected results. And the Eight of Staves associated with this card show just how quickly these consequences can come about. I wonder if you can hold an ice pack on your back while hanging upside down?