The dilemma of The Hanged Man

Ah this poor soul, hanging upside down with a permanent headache. But I have always felt that while this is seen by many a stagnant and perhaps unmoving card, it is quite the contrary. I feel that this is a slow moving card yes, but one that calls for reflection rather than action.
Take The Fool for example. He is not afraid of stepping off that cliff, no matter in which way he lands.
Now think that this could be The Fool that has landed on his head. Ouch. May be next time he needs to think before he jumps. And so he swings to and fro there as the Hanged Man.
Mostly his face (at least in Rider Waite style decks) is depicted as serene, he is ok with it and with stilling himself a bit. But he also knows that eventually he is going to have to make the decision to move forward.
I tend to disagree with some of the views that see him a bit as a victim, perhaps he consciously chooses to still himself because he knows that this is no time for rushing,  he knows that this situation calls for reflection.
He is looking at everything upside down, he is willing to see a different perspective or to try and take a different approach.

The Hanged Man is about letting go of the need to act impulsively. Because in fact what is after this card is Death, the changes are starting to occur, and he is ready to set them in motion.
In readings (and of course depending on the surrounding cards), this could ask you to take a different approach, take a step back and reassess a situation. You may be are going to need to examine all angles before making a decision.
But know that, eventually, you are going to have to come off that tree.

The Fool and the Treadmill

The Fool stopped running. "Oh my God!" he thought, the bridge has collapsed! But wait. What is it that I can see under that tree? A treadmill? What would a treadmill be doing under a tree?
The Fool walked over to the treadmill and realized that it was not just an ordinary one. Nope. It was quivering. Wait. It was moving, sideways. And then it lifted off! The Fool did not think twice, a magic treadmill! And it could fly, like a magic carpet!
The Fool jumped on it quickly and the magic treadmill flew him to the other side of the ravine, landing him safely.

The Fool in Tarot can be incredibly careless and risk taking, but the point in the above is that, if we do not take risks sometimes, we may never reach "the other side". We may never see what is ahead and we may never enjoy something new or different. As improbable as it is to find a flying treadmill under a tree, life is also always reminding us that opportunities are always around the corner. And they won't come back twice.

Like in this wonderful rendition from Ciro Marchetti The Fool can  balance on more than one thing at once. And if he falls, well, there is always next time. The Magician is just around the corner and has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

When you draw The Fool in a reading perhaps the advice is to let go of your own fears and inhibitions. Take a risk, do something that you would not normally do, carpe diem.

'A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.'

William Shakespeare