The Hanged Man is the 12th Trump in the Major Arcana.  The traditional meaning of this card is self-sacrifice for the greater good, faith in the integrity of one's actions, a period of waiting or transition and finding knowledge within.  This card can represent the inner journey, psychism and meditations.  It might be suggesting that it might be good to wait for a better time to make a move.  Be patient and wait for the right opportunity or energies to manifest.  Wait for external circumstances to be right.  When the time is right, you'll know and be able to take full advantage of the situation.

"Negative:  You're waiting for the perfect time, person or circumstances.  Your dream of that perfect time is a little unrealistic and if you keeping waiting for it, you may never act.  Waiting for a "better opportunity" is inappropriate right now.  Now more procrastinating!
Reversed:  You're waiting for yourself to be ready.  External circumstances may or may not be perfect but that doesn't matter.  What matters is whether you're ready, inside, to take this step.  When you're in the right frame of mind, or emotionally prepared, you'll take action." - Gail Fairfield

The image on the Animal Tarot is that of an opossum hanging by it's tale.  It is cute in a creepy rodent sort of way.  And the cartoonish Gummi Bear Hanged Man is just whimsical enough to bring a smile to my face.  Of course the bottom line is not so much what they look like as what they say to me.  That's not necessarily as easily determined.

My first reaction is that it's time for me to stop "playing 'possum" and staying in a state of suspended animation.  I've spend the past two years taking a wait and see approach to things.  I've let external forces and situations (especially the one with the mom-in-law) determine my life.  That is not me.  My normal approach to life is to grab it by the horns and wrestle it into submission.  Or at least that's what I'd like to believe.  Of course I'm finding that the more I stay in this state of suspended animation, the harder it is getting to move again.  I might have been waiting for myself to be ready and motivate myself to move again, but I have to be careful not to become paralyzed by it.

I realized that this time has also been a healing time for me.  An opportunity to get over the way I was terminated from my last job and prepare myself to move forward.  In some ways it's as though I've been in a healing coma.  I had to focus on internal issues and personal matters before I could connect to the external world.  In some ways I guess I've been like a butterfly in a chrysalis.  Now I'm starting to break free and it won't be easy but it is necessary.

I think I am ready to take this next step.  In fact I think I have to take this next step because if I don't then I'll just start to stagnate.  There is only so much navel gazing one can do and I guess I've reached my limit.  It's time to getting ready for that push forward again.  Time to wake myself up and shake myself loose.  I think I'm up to the challenge but I have to make sure I have my mindset right.  Things won't change overnight.  This is just the start of a new journey.