The Hanged Man is a powerful card even within the Major Arcana.

When he appears it often means that there is a major decision that you are waiting to make.

Most likely there are outside factors that you are waiting on to make your decision, possibly making you indecisive.

The Hanged Man represents the period of suspended action that the querent is in before this decision.

Depending on the other cards in the spread, this could be a calm period, or one full of anxiety.

Look to the other cards to figure out what the best path is:

should the querent make a decision quickly, should they let things sort themselves out (this is true with the Tower), is there a situation they should really get out of before making a decision, etc.

Speaking of sticky situations, when reversed, the Hanged Man could indicate that you are at a standstill within a situation.

Almost like your aspirations are on the back burner.

But when he appears reversed it means that the period of standstill is coming to an end for better or worse.

Alright, now for a card with a potentially bad rep: Death.

The human relationship with death has become dread. 

Dread of the unknown, dread of the inevitable.

But this card is far from dreadful.

When the Death card appears, it is a good sign of change.

That through change, the querent will grow into a better version of themselves.

Kind of like the relationship death has with nature:

In the winter, everything dies, only to be reborn again in spring just different.

Death is the balance of nature and the world, trust that the change this card foretells will lead to a better spring.

When reversed, it represents a reluctance to change.

That you are resisting something that needs to happen, no matter how painful it might be.

It could also mean that there is a negative change being brought by outside forces.

Onto a more sobering card, Temperance.

Get it… sober and temperance? Okay, any who, Temperance.

Temperance represents balance, and the idea of moderation.

Patience is a virtue and Temperance is all about looking before jumping into extreme situations.

When reversed, Temperance indicates an imbalance or conflict.

Beware addiction when Temperance reversed appears with the Devil.

Speaking of the Devil, lets dive into this controversial card.

It’s easy to just dismiss the Devil as the stereotypical implications the name usually carries.

But as everything in the Tarot, this card is more complex.

The Devil represents inner constraint.

That there is a bond keeping you from achieving true happiness, but that bond is ultimately held together by the querent themselves.

You might be under the illusion that there are outside forces messing everything up, but in reality, something that you are doing is causing self-torment.

This card urges you to assess the real reasons behind your issues:

is there an obsession holding you back, maybe an unhealthy relationship, or even addiction.

Take caution against things that could make your situation worse.

Overall, the Devil gives the same message reversed or upright,

but when reversed it could indicate that past addictions are affecting your path, especially if it appears in the past position.