The other day I got the chance to give blood. It was my third time, after not giving any for 10 whole years, so I hardly knew how to prepare. At first, part of me was scared and didn’t want to go, but part of me wanted to give, because it had been such a long time, and it was also a chance to do a good deed in the month I was born.

Speaking of giving blood, around the start of the month I drew cards to see the trend for this September, what events or advice it might bring. And the card that came up for the first week was very interesting: The Hanged Man.

Usually The Hanged Man doesn’t feel like a very good card. Just looking at the picture is uncomfortable. But even though he’s hanging upside down, his face stays calm, with no sign of pain. It could mean it’s time to keep still and stay with your own thoughts for a while, and to learn to look at things from new angles.

Another interesting meaning is that you may have to sacrifice yourself. That’s the interesting part, and it matched me going to give blood exactly.

Thinking about it further, I also found that The Hanged Man is a Water card. Water should really mean emotions and love, but I think it can also stand for sacrifice, or for donating a liquid like blood.

While I was giving blood, I saw all kinds of people who’d come to donate, from students and office workers to market traders, and even monks. It made me feel good, and made me want to come back and give many more times.

So even though The Hanged Man means sacrifice, this sacrifice didn’t cause any heartache at all. It even made me feel good. So next time you get The Hanged Man, it may sometimes mean donating, or a sacrifice in a good way.

P.S. Besides The Hanged Man, the cards I drew were the Three of Cups, the Six of Pentacles and the Ace of Cups. All of them are fairly good cards, so I think they let me read The Hanged Man in its positive sense.