Tag: Justice

The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana: SunFest 2016: Justice

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

Justice: Without me, your life would be chaos. Nothing would balance. Cause would have no predictable effect. No action would have a logical and predictable reaction. Your life would be meaningless because everything you did would have no discernible meaning. From your limited point of view, this isn’t always obvious, but rest assured that I am the force that resides not only at the center of the major arcana, but also at the center of the Multiverse. If you don’t believe me, look at your life. Every good thing and every bad thing in your life is a fair and just result of a choice you made. This is my law—it’s called karma. Sometimes it’s instant and sometimes it takes lifetimes. I challenge you to look at your life honestly: If everything is going smoothly and you are happy, congratulations! You have made some good decisions, either in this life or one before. If there are problems, look back along the chain of events that… Read More »

The Strength-Justice Tarot Controversy

Posted C. LaVielle13 CommentsPosted in Major arcana, Tarot

Some of my best friends read with decks in which Strength is numbered 11 instead of 8 and Justice is 8 instead of 11. In fact, I own eight tarot decks and five of them use this numbering system. Horrors! How can this be? The first tarot cards we know of, The Visconti-Sforza decks, were painted in Italy in the 15th century and didn’t number the major arcana cards. At least the ones I’ve found on line didn’t. Most subsequent decks did number them, but their order has been constantly switched and different cards, such as the virtues Faith, Hope, and Charity have been added and subtracted to accommodate various metaphysical theories. In The Devil’s Picture Book, Paul Huson mentions a 15th century manuscript with a marginal note that gives a number to each major arcana key. In this system, Strength is 9 and Justice is 20. The French Marseilles decks (1600-1700’s) were the first to use the Strength 11, Justice 8 numbering system. They… Read More »

The Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey: Justice, Part III

Posted C. LaVielle1 CommentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey

Justice, key XI and the Wheel of Fortune, key X sit at the balance point of the Major Arcana. Ten cards precede them and ten cards come after them. Together chance and karma create the fulcrum around which the hero’s journey turns. If we consider the Wheel of Fortune to be the mechanism of manifestation, then Justice is the force within the cosmos that brings balance to the wheel. The wisdom of the tarot matches the Egyptian concept that it is Justice that brings balance to the universe. Libra, the scales, is the astrological sign attributed to Justice. It sits smack dab in the middle of the zodiacal year at Fall Equinox and it’s all about balance, harmony, and beauty. The Hebrew letter Lamed corresponds to Justice. As a verb it means “to teach or instruct” and as a noun it means an ox goad. The meaning of the letter Aleph is ox, and Aleph corresponds to The Fool who signifies pure cosmic energy. And… Read More »

The Major Arcana and the Hero’s Journey: Justice, Part II

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey, Uncategorized

The Ancient Greeks’ concept of Justice was more pragmatic than the Egyptians’. According to Egyptian mythology it was Maat, or Justice that set order to the universe at the moment of creation, and so Justice is the primary force of their world. (see Justice, Part I) The Greeks claim that it was Ananke, the primordial goddess of compulsion, inevitability, and necessity, that set everything to order. She emerged fully formed at the very beginning of time, a serpentine spirit intertwined with her mate, Khronos, or Time. Together, Time and Necessity hold the egg of the universe fast in their powerful coil. She is the mother of the Fates, or Moirae and although even mighty Zeus defers to her, she’s not a popular or commonly worshiped goddess. Nobody, except perhaps a politician, enjoys bowing to her. As far as we know, only one temple to Ananke ever existed. It was in Corinth, and this most powerful of all goddesses had to share it with Bia, meaning… Read More »

The Hero’s Journey and the Major Arcana: Justice, Part I

Posted C. LaVielleLeave a commentPosted in Major arcana, Tarot, The Hero's Journey, Uncategorized

Maat is the Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, balance, and harmony. She regulates the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the deities and set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. She is a most ancient goddess; archeologist have found depictions of her from the middle of the Old Kingdom, c. 2600 BCE. To the ancient Egyptians, she was not just the goddess of truth and justice, she was truth and justice. The early kings described themselves as “Lords of Maat” who spoke aloud the Maat they conceived in their hearts. The Pharaoh’s Vizier, who was a combination of Prime Minister, Chief Security Officer, and Chief Judge, was the High Priest of Maat. Paul Doherty’s fascinating ancient Egyptian mystery series features Chief Judge Amerotke as its sleuth. He not only invoked Maat everyday before he entered the courtroom but also had a very rich and fulfilling relationship with her. In the underworld, Anubis weighs the deceased’s heart… Read More »