Art and Tarot. Reflections: I Van Gogh

It is only a subjective assumption, which in fact does not prove anything and only facilitates a pleasant moments of navigation, by the not always calm waters of that rough and complex sea, which in my opinion, is speculation. But I am struck by a certain phrase that Vincent van Gogh dedicated to his brother Theo, in one of those fascinating letters, that some wise editor and not lacking, at all, business vision decided to transform into a beautiful book, thinking that it would result a work at least meritorious, based on its uniqueness, expressiveness, passion and content richness.
Vincent commented, in the period between September and November of 1883, when he resided provisionally in Drenthe, that "if you want to grow, you have to sink into the earth." And this phrase, which surely many people will find curious but inconsequential, a tarot player or simply an amateur symbolic wealth hidden behind the mysterious cards of the Tarot deck, will immediately bring to mind, part of the inherent content to one of the most curious and fascinating Major Arcana in the deck: the Hanged Man.

El Ahorcado, a letter to which the figure XII corresponds, represents a curious character, hanging upside down from a tree, type of torture, to put it in some way, which formerly applied to traitors. This torture, carried to more cruel and painful terms, such as the reverse crucifixion, refers to the tradition that was applied to St. Peter, who proclaimed the existence of a single and true God, thus making "betrayal" of the proud Roman Pantheon
But the betrayal referred to by this Major Arcanum-whether or not, based on the Triumphs and Failures of Petrarch, as some sources point out with some meaning-does not refer to the mundane betrayal we may commit against others or against the guidelines of the established powers, but, on the contrary, and in a more intimate and personal way, addresses the betrayal that we can commit with ourselves, regardless of whether this, in a collateral way, affects our environment and by default, to our relationships.

It is, in fact, about pursuing and achieving that old axiom -used, even, by Jesus Christ- based on a simple phrase, a priori, but with superlative and wise connotations: know yourself. In a psychological way, what this Arcanum suggests is that in order to grow, one must master an essential quality: humility. So the character represented here, hanging upside down and with his head practically at ground level, is metaphorically speaking, at the height of the worm, freeing himself of that negative charge-pride, arrogance, arrogance, etc.-that have led to that situation.
The letter, in itself, like Janus, the Roman god of the two faces, contains another curious meaning: by turning it around, the situation of the character is completely different - which confirms that there is always a solution, or at least, a a loophole for hope - for if before the excesses of his personality had led him to an obviously distressing situation, now, however, freed from his negative charge, he is 'rewarded', representing himself happy and dancing an Irish giga.
In a word: transformed. I imagine Van Gogh, when he wrote that phrase to his brother Theo, must have a similar thought: something like that, to reach genius, or at least mastery or acceptance, you have to work from silence, effort and humility.

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