The idea for this came from the fact that in some tarot decks the Hanged Man card is known as the Traitor card.
The traditional meaning of the Hanged Man card had a few points that I thought fitted Ruby’s character in season 4 (particularly while Dean is still in Hell):
(1) that firstly, although the man hanging from the tree looks like he should be in pain, his face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering. The figure in the Hanged Man card, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, but life and not death. It has also been called the card of “The Great Work”. No one plays the long con in Supernatural as well as the demons do, and Ruby is a perfect example. She is lying in a crappy hotel room, having her blood sucked out of her by someone she should despise and yet she is calm and collected and patient because her actions will lead to the freeing of her Master from his cage in hell.
One of my friends pointed out to me that the Hanged Man in the card could also be Sam himself as he is inadvertently “hanging himself” by succumbing to Ruby’s influence, or that the Hanged Man could also refer to Dean who is being tortured in hell at this moment, and is conspicuous in the picture because of his absence.
Me? I’m happy to go along with all those interpretations, but I can’t say that they were intentional. ;-D
P.S. The tin at the end of the bed is meant to be the one that Sam buries at the crossroads. It doesn’t fit in with the timeline of Ruby and Sam sleeping together (unless he dug it up again and thats just…odd) but I felt it had to be in there somewhere.
Hanged Man
Prompt: Ruby
Medium: Watercolor, pencils, pen
Artist’s notes:
The idea for this came from the fact that in some tarot decks the Hanged Man card is known as the Traitor card.
The traditional meaning of the Hanged Man card had a few points that I thought fitted Ruby’s character in season 4 (particularly while Dean is still in Hell):
(1) that firstly, although the man hanging from the tree looks like he should be in pain, his face expresses deep entrancement, not suffering. The figure in the Hanged Man card, as a whole, suggests life in suspension, but life and not death. It has also been called the card of “The Great Work”. No one plays the long con in Supernatural as well as the demons do, and Ruby is a perfect example. She is lying in a crappy hotel room, having her blood sucked out of her by someone she should despise and yet she is calm and collected and patient because her actions will lead to the freeing of her Master from his cage in hell.
One of my friends pointed out to me that the Hanged Man in the card could also be Sam himself as he is inadvertently “hanging himself” by succumbing to Ruby’s influence, or that the Hanged Man could also refer to Dean who is being tortured in hell at this moment, and is conspicuous in the picture because of his absence.
Me? I’m happy to go along with all those interpretations, but I can’t say that they were intentional. ;-D
P.S. The tin at the end of the bed is meant to be the one that Sam buries at the crossroads. It doesn’t fit in with the timeline of Ruby and Sam sleeping together (unless he dug it up again and thats just…odd) but I felt it had to be in there somewhere.
Hanged Man: Ruby & Sam