The Hanged Man

“Do you believe in God?” Raven said.

“I don’t know,” Anne said.  “Sometimes, maybe.  It’s a habit, praying.  It doesn’t do any harm.  It’s like crossing your fingers when walking under a ladder.  We all need any luck that is going.”

Raven said, “We did a lot of praying in the home.  Twice a day, and before meals too.”

“It doesn’t prove anything.”

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He said, “I was reading once – I like reading, I’m educated – something about psicko – psicko –“

“Leave it at that,” Anne said.  “I know what you mean.”

“It seems as how your dreams mean things.  I don’t mean like tea leaves or decks of cards.”

“I knew someone once,” Anne said.  “She was so good with the cards it gave you the creeps.  She used to have those cards with queer pictures on them.  The Hanged Man --.”

From:  Graham Greene, A Gun For Sale.  London, William Heinemann, 1936.

Tarot image of The Hanged Man:  Erin Morgenstern.