Notes of a Hermetic Conversation on February 22, 2017
February 22, 2017 – Justice
Phillip, Joel, June and Jim were present.
We began with the Lord’s Prayer in the Tree of Life, then the Alphabet through Chet (the 8th letter of the Divine Alphabet). Then we did the second part of the fifth petition of the Grail Knight’s Practice.
We reviewed last week:
– Gravity, especially in the background. Like the Auditorium at the Threefold Community
– The Captain of the Ship
– A more balanced representative of Libra than traditional ones
She is very incarnated. Her sword is like the finger of John the Baptist.
The Scales = universal vs individual will. She balances the violations of the will.
Her hand is over her heart. The scales are horizontally orientated, yet the hand is over the heart (grace). The Sword is vertical, yet is more “karmic” in its being than “graceful.”
It is reminiscent of the Minor Arcana – suits of Swords and Cups (Scales). Knights of the Sword and Knights of the Word (Grail).
The Right Pillar = Pillar of Mercy, the upward moving stream, upward pointed sword. Sword of Mercy? Seems like a paradox. She is barely holding onto the sword, yet it is exactly vertical. Maybe she does not hold it intending to use it? Left Pillar = Pillar of Justice or Severity.
Last week we looked at the metamorphosis of the images, particularly of the batons. The batons and other vertical objects held by the different characters are leaning away in the case of the Magician and Empress; leaning towards in the case of the Charioteer; straight up and down in the case of the Emperor, Pope and Justice.
1 & 2 are so similar to 7 & 8. She is the reflective activating agent to the kingly aspect of the Chariot. The Magician is possibly holding a pen? Writing the book for the High Priestess? Whereas the Charioteer’s wand and horses become the sword and scales.
Both the Charioteer and Justice have an exposed yellow sleeve on their left, with red (Charioteer)/blue (Justice) on the right.
She is the Divine Feminine Hypostasis – from Christian Theology. She is the feminine aspect which allows the king to relate to the entire kingdom. 7=Mastery, 8=the Means by which Mastery is attained.
She is looking out, yet seems very inward, unfocused. Is Justice blind? Was the rope around her neck a blindfold? Interesting that we also thought the High Priestess might be blind.
Yet her mouth is pouting, like she has a lot to care for, a lot to focus/dwell upon.
Her thighs are large and strong – metamorphosis of the horses. Gravity, weight, girth – one could not move her from the spot. She is pear shaped, like the scale itself.
Scale is an interesting word – can refer to the whole device, or to one of the pans. Scale of fish? Scales falling from eyes?
The lines of the throne are shaped like a ship. She’s at the prow of a Viking ship. Cuts through the water, and closes it behind – leaves no trace.
We notice the loop by which she holds the scales is not connected to them. Is this a mistake? or intentional? The pans are not of the same size, nor are they quite in balance. Are they actually attached at the right bosom and left elbow? Is it a matter of perspective, of one pan being closer to the viewer? It’s a bit theatrical if they are attached to her robe. Mastery as the act of getting people into a story/teaching via theatrics. Or does it express entanglement with karma? The loop like an opening or wound in her heart. Karma is Shakespearean. The “stage” of the Chariot becomes the crossbar of the Scales – centers of theatrics.
The necklace below and the crown above make a lemniscate (octenary). The seam right above her necklace is like the pattern on the Empress’s scepter. Crescent shape once again. It is as though her face is emerging from the opening ball of the scepter. The sword is like the rope of a stage curtain – opening the ball of the scepter. She is the stage master.
Neither the horses nor the scales are attached mechanically/physically. There is a magical/magnetic connection. Where is the fulcrum?
Like the Magician: is this a play, a farce that is a mask for the operation of mighty forces?
The act of Grace is of greater power than the horizontal scale. The vertical is suspending the malfunctioning scale – grace is magically stepping in. Karma on display as a malfunctioning tool, made well magically through grace.
Anne Catherine Emmerich took on burdens – picked up the scales of others. She relieved the karma of other people by lifting the crossbar off the scales. Balanced through levity (from above) rather than gravity (from below).
Mercy takes on the sword. It is an upheld sword – “I relinquish my power over you.” This is true mercy, to let go of one’s power, not simply to be powerless. The position of the sword: she is just barely in contact with it. It seems as though it is naturally oriented vertically – she is effortlessly not allowing the sword to fall. Vertical balance.
Her crown has an accentuated third eye. It is a distinctively curved, horn-like crown (again reminiscent of Vikings). Horns were also noticed in the High Priestess (the veil). Horns and blindness are repeating themes. With the curves above and below her face, it is like she is focusing, amplifying, that which was received by the High Priestess. The hair on each side of her head is like miniature pillars – her face is like a miniature of the entire card.
What is Justice’s relation to Judgement (20th Arcanum)? Tomberg’s doctoral dissertation was on Degeneration and Regeneration of Jurisprudence. He does not focus too much on the imagery of Justice. Rather he speaks quite a bit on the contrast of “Jews” and “Greeks,” and their harmonization in Christ/Love. Her hand is over her heart. According to Origen, at the Last Judgement all beings are saved – even the Devil. Hell is real but empty in the end. Sophia can have certain connotations due to her relationship to Greeks and Jews. Is this a Sophia image? Or something more like the Holy Soul? The unfallen conscience – Columbia?
Joel then made a spread of the “Tarot Zodiac”based on Robert’s indications of the correspondences between the Tarot and the signs of the Zodiac:
Capricorn = The Star; Aquarius = Temperance. Both ruled by Saturn (The High Priestess).
Sagittarius = The Hermit; Pisces = The Hanged Man. Both ruled by Jupiter (The Emperor).
Scorpio = Death; Aries = The Fool. Both ruled by Mars (The Chariot).
Libra = Justice; Taurus = The Judgement. Both ruled by Venus (The Lover).
Virgo = Force; Gemini = The Sun. Both ruled by Mercury (The Pope).
Leo = Wheel of Fortune, ruled by the Sun (The Magician). Cancer = The Moon, ruled by the Moon (Empress).
We spent a long time taking this in. Moving outward from the pair The Star/Temperance, we come to the pair Justice/Judgement (the same planetary ruler for Libra and Taurus, Venus). The Trumpet and human beings in the Judgement are like the balance and scales in Justice, but with a new element.
We ended with the closing from the Knight’s Practice.
The Unknown Friends 