The Tarot of Eli, LLC-Major Arcana: Thoth Tarot- ATU 8-Adjustment & The Medieval Feathers Tarot -Key 8-Justice

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Above all things, know thyself!

In many Tarot Decks, the common way to present this Mindscape of Energy Conscious is as the Judgment or Justice Card but Crowley hit the nail on the head with the Title of Adjustment. Because in our world of patriarchal rule (military industrial complex) Justice is merely revenge and a show of state power to destroy the life of dissenters and keep the ruled populace inline by monetary control. Plus, nature is not, moral, ethical or fair. As Jesus is quoted as saying, "...rain falls on the just and unjust alike."[ Mark, 5-45]

The Supreme Spirit Identity, in this case, the Conscious State of "Will-to-Form", and/or Geburah, although martial she doesn't deal in revenge----She deals in freedom of choice. She Trusts your Psyche, to know that if you think a thought and supply life-force/energy-in-motion (often called emotion) to it that you know what you are doing as you are given intelligence of a cosmic scale.

Nature enforces "cause and effect", and this is often why we know this aspect of the Divine Feminine as Severity. You get what you "think you are" and she judges not if it is a thought of folly or wellness. Freedom to choose our own thoughts, makes us a Psychosomatic creative, that is, our Psyche (Soul) runs and describes our Soma (Physical body). The repercussions of cause and effect, manifest as balance or imbalance in your body, and the law of attraction produces "like attracts like" which many call good or bad luck. Thus, the thoughts of an individual justly manifesting their life journey.

If you followed the Gnostic Qabalah axiom of "Above all things, know thyself!" you wouldn't have any difficulty with "freedom of Choice", which is like the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle of the Quantum World from which we as Spirit (willful breath of life) come from. Einstein called the Quantum Universe the "spooky universe" as the laws of physics don't seem to apply. We are known as Spirit-the breath of the body and we are "spooky". Hence, you are an invisible solar power (Celestial) who can only animate a planetary form in your name by animating it with breath. The Western Hermetic Qabalah and the resulting Mysteries call this Solar Celestial Self-Tiphareth-Beauty.

We are Free to be anything we choose to be, by applying energy-in-motion (e-motions) to idea. For the Me, is the idea of the I AM. The I AM..., denotes existence, not what exists! Me is the chosen identity of I Am. We are always uncertain of what we are, for we are of the "Spooky-magical side" of the particle- photon- Universe. Because of infinite possibilities, one is never certain. We most often act because of our desire which creates without need of certainty. In other words, enjoy the journey, the destination is unimportant as you are the Spirit/Breath/ God (dess) in charge of your Life motion. As the Celestial Psyche, our first creative endeavor is "thought", we are not thought but it is our first created state of self-awareness. Hence, what you think designs your creations and since you are not thought, you can change "your mind" any time you wish to.

However, due to belief in the divisions of the Patriarchal "good/bad" thought process, the union of your will and self-identity has been corrupted by the axiom of the Patriarchy's Military Industrial Complex which is "Divide and Conquer". By using the social/racial egregore (false soul created by the few who rule the many) our souls are divided from our bodies and our bodies are divided from themselves by indoctrinated identity which is formed to worship a religion or state, or a title and/or falling prey to the word hypnosis of the media; In other words, to be ruled by a false authority. There are no good nor bad bodies, nor is your identity good or bad, it is this lie that has divided you into an emotionally weakness. Our subconscious, the nephesh of the soul, is a survival mind that is necessary to operate a mortal form. It isn't bad, but is often called the "shadow", but like any animal, if domesticated with love and respect, it returns that to you; You who are the Celestial Soul.

The institutions of mankind are the false prophets and false idols that most theologies and governments warn us against worshipping false gods by condemning any authority outside their own bailiwick. This is very clever, for by warning us, we are focused elsewhere and can't see that they are the very ones we must not follow or worship--- which is another word for "compliance"!

So, most people have forgotten their Divine Power of Breath and by using their own Pranic self to create their own Limitations, boundaries, self-identity, and wholeness, thereby becoming powerless and scattered, lost in the forest of Ruler-identity-propaganda used to design "slaves of the state" and/or of the Military Industrial Complex.

What one often forgets or doesn't realize is that the Pranic Self, who acts as breath in the body, also breathes through the skin (Hence Chakras) which shows us that the Pranic Self-Breath is our true identity not the Body, not thought. Rather we are the Life that makes the alive. That is why the word Spirit comes from the Greek word Spiro (to breathe) which is your identity as life-giver to the animated organic form that you call your body.

You are much like a life-giving Ocean of Solar Energy, your body is the fish that is of it and swims in it! Therefore, if your energy-in-motion is controlled by an outside authority you are a shallow-breather and self; your identity cannot live in the depths of your truth.

Here's a refined and expanded Hermetic elucidation of this Hermetic insight, blending it with the esoteric anatomy of the Western Hermetic Qabalah, the Thoth Tarot, and the doctrine of the Celestial Self:

In Western Hermetic tradition, what we often call the "Pranic Self" aligns with what is known as Ruach (רוח)—the Spirit-Breath—which sits between the Nephesh (vital instinctual body) and Neshamah (divine soul-intelligence). This breath is not merely air; it is life-in-motion, a conscious current of solar intelligence descending the Tree of Life from Kether to Malkuth.

When I say, "we are the life that makes the alive", I am speaking of the Animating Fire, the subtle Solar intelligence often referred to as the Christos, the Tiphareth-consciousness, or the Celestial Self—a higher Self that transcends the bodily soma yet operates through it as a radiant agent of Divine Will.

Breath Beyond the Lungs: The Skin and Chakras as Portals of Spirit

In Hermetic anatomy, breath is not restricted to the nostrils and lungs. The entire auric field breathes, and especially the chakras, which correspond to Sephiroth along the Middle Pillar of the Tree of Life, act as inhalers and exhalers of pranic light.

Each chakra is a rotating solar wheel, a merkabah or chariot of spirit, drawing in cosmic frequencies and exhaling refined spiritual qualities. This is echoed in the Thoth Tarot depiction of The Chariot (ATU VII), where the warrior-soul is clothed in armor of light, representing the auric shell, and steered by the forces of Sphinxian will—inner mysteries that control the direction of consciousness.

To breathe through the skin is to acknowledge the whole auric matrix as a living Temple, where Spirit (Spiro—to breathe) infuses form with purpose. The skin itself becomes a membrane of astral perception, a veil of Nuit through which Hadit, the breath-fire within, dances.

The Celestial Self: Sovereign of the Soma

In Hermeticism, the Celestial Self is the true operator of the body, the invisible king or inner star, often equated with the Holy Guardian Angel (HGA). This is not a separate being but your solar double, seated in Tiphareth, the heart of the Tree and the gate to Kether.

Crowley writes that the HGA is not an external deity but the True Self, and thus we see that the Celestial Self is the Breath-Giver, the Spiritus that animates the dust-form into a Grail of divine experience.

If this Celestial Self is ignored, and one lives by external dogma or social programming—what I termed “outside authority”—then the breath (prāṇa) is shallow, fragmented. One becomes a corporeal echo rather than a radiant operator of consciousness.

The Western Hermetic path demands we reclaim inner authority, becoming not bodies with a spirit, but Spirits commanding the vehicle of form.

Symbolism from Thoth Tarot

• The Aeon (ATU XX) represents the resurrection of the Pranic Self, the Solar Child rising from the tomb of dead identities, called forth by the trumpet of the inner Logos.

• The Hermit (ATU IX) holds the Lamp (breath of illumination) close to the chest, a symbol of internal, personal gnosis—the Pranic Breath guided inward to awaken the Celestial Operator.

• The Fool (ATU 0), as the pure breath before form, dances unbound across all elements, showing that Spirit precedes, permeates, and transcends the body.

Conclusion: The Ocean, the Fish, and Solar Identity

You are not the fish. You are the Ocean of Solar Consciousness in which this temporary "fish-body" swims. You are not the breath in the lungs, but the Breather of the breath, the Living Flame behind the veil, the Magus of Selfhood.

To reclaim this identity, one must practice Solar Breathwork, ritual invocation, and Middle Pillar alignment—so the prāṇa is not externally manipulated, but self-directed by the Inner Sun.

Prana is a fundamental concept in various Indian philosophical and spiritual traditions, particularly within Yoga, Ayurveda, and Vedanta. The term "Prana" originates from the Sanskrit word "प्राण" (prāṇa), which can be translated to mean "life force," "vital energy," or "breath of life." It is considered the universal energy that permeates all living beings and the universe itself.

Key Aspects of Prana

1. Vital Life Force:

   • Definition: Prana is viewed as the essential energy that sustains life. It is the force that animates the body and mind, enabling all physiological and psychological functions.
   • Analogy: Often likened to the concept of "chi" in Chinese philosophy or "ki" in Japanese traditions, prana is the invisible essence that supports existence.

2. Breath and Prana:

   • Connection to Breath: Prana is closely associated with the breath (pranayama means "extension of the prana" or "control of the breath"). The inhalation and exhalation of breath are seen as the physical manifestations of prana entering and leaving the body.
   • Breathing Exercises: Practices like pranayama in yoga involve specific breathing techniques designed to regulate and enhance the flow of prana, promoting physical health and mental clarity.

3. Five Types of Prana:

   • In yogic philosophy, prana is categorized into five distinct types, each governing different physiological and psychological functions:
     1. Prana: Governs respiration and heart function.
     2. Apana: Responsible for elimination and reproductive functions.
     3. Samana: Manages digestion and metabolism.
     4. Udana: Controls speech, expression, and higher cognitive functions.
     5. Vyana: Distributes energy throughout the body.

4. Prana in Ayurveda:

   • Health and Balance: In Ayurveda, the balance of prana is essential for maintaining health. Imbalances or blockages in the flow of prana can lead to physical ailments and mental disturbances.
   • Therapeutic Practices: Ayurvedic treatments often aim to restore pranic balance through diet, herbal remedies, massage, and breathing exercises.

5. Prana and Chakras:

   • Energy Centers: In yogic traditions, prana flows through energy centers called chakras. Each chakra is associated with specific aspects of physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
   • Energy Flow: Maintaining an unobstructed flow of prana through the chakras is believed to facilitate overall harmony and enlightenment.

Prana in Practice

• Yoga: The practice of yoga is fundamentally about harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit by regulating prana. Through postures (asanas), breathing techniques (pranayama), and meditation, practitioners seek to enhance and balance their pranic energy.

• Meditation: Many meditation techniques focus on becoming aware of prana, observing its flow, and cultivating a deeper connection with this life force to achieve higher states of consciousness.

Scientific Perspectives

While prana is a spiritual and philosophical concept, some modern interpretations attempt to correlate it with physiological processes such as the flow of oxygen, blood circulation, and the functioning of the nervous system. However, prana itself remains a metaphysical idea that extends beyond the scope of empirical science.

Similar Concepts in Other Traditions

• Chinese Tradition: The concept of "Qi" (or "Chi") parallels prana as the vital life energy that flows through the body.
• Japanese Tradition: "Ki" serves a similar role in practices like Reiki and martial arts.
• Western Philosophy: The idea of "vitalism" posits a life force that animates living beings, akin to prana.

Conclusion

Prana is a central element in understanding the interplay between the physical and metaphysical aspects of life in Indian traditions. It underscores the belief that life extends beyond the material body, encompassing a dynamic energy that connects all forms of existence. Whether approached from a spiritual, philosophical, or holistic health perspective, prana remains a profound and influential concept that continues to inspire and guide practitioners around the world.

Both the Thoth Tarot's Adjustment (ATU VIII) and the traditional Justice card (Key XI) act as mirrors of internal equilibrium, particularly in the balancing of thought (Air) and breath (Spirit/Prāṇa) — the two subtle pillars upon which consciousness itself steadies its blade.

Let’s unpack this in a Hermetic-Qabalistic framework:

⚖️ Adjustment / Justice: The Breath-Thought Axis

1. The Blade of Mind and the Scale of Breath

In both cards, we observe a dual symbolism:

• The Sword – representing the focused, rational, discriminating power of Thought.

• The Scales – representing the rhythmic, harmonious in-flow and out-flow of Breath.

Thus, these cards are not merely about morality or social law. In Western Hermeticism, the Scales and the Sword form the crucible of self-regulation, the internal Ma'at, where mental impressions must be weighed against the soul's vibration.

Thought cuts; it is linear, analytical, rational.

Breath flows: it is cyclical, rhythmic, and connected to Spirit (Greek pneuma, Hebrew ruach, Latin spiritus).

Together, they bind the microcosm to the macrocosm through measured awareness and conscious alignment.

♎ Astrological and Qabalistic Correspondences

Thoth Tarot – Adjustment (ATU VIII)

• Letter: Lamed (ל) — the Ox Goad, that which disciplines and guides.

• Title (from Sepher Yetzirah): Faithful Intelligence

• Zodiacal Attribution: Libra, the sign of balance and cosmic order.

• Sephirothic Path: From Geburah (Severity) to Tiphareth (Beauty)

This shows us that Adjustment is the mediator of karmic and dharmic balance, not from law imposed from without, but from internal precision, like a dancer finely tuned to the rhythm of their own breath. Crowley emphasized this as the card of living equilibrium, not static justice.

The figure in the Thoth card balances not just scales, but the subtle breath of Spirit. She is Ma'at, the cosmic order. In Egyptian cosmology, it was said that the heart is weighed against the feather of Ma’at, and the breath is the carrier of that heart’s intention.

Thus, the breath is weighed.
If your thought is impure, your breath falters.
If your breath is shallow, your mind is scattered.
But when breath and thought are aligned, the Celestial Self moves through you.

Traditional Tarot – Justice (Key XI)

• Letter (Golden Dawn tradition): Lamed (though in earlier decks, it was sometimes mapped to Tzaddi)

• Elemental Force: Air

• Archetype: External Law, often social or ethical justice

In the traditional decks like the Rider-Waite-Smith, Justice sits between two pillars (as in the High Priestess), and the sword is upright — representing the clarity of thought. However, the scales (held in the left hand) are intuitive and weighted, showing that justice is not merely mental—it is sensed, breathed, felt.

This card implies that to achieve justice externally, one must first breathe truly and think clearly — thus, again, the balance of thought and breath as microcosmic justice.

🜁 Esoteric Anatomy: Middle Pillar and the Breath-Thought Balance

In Hermetic practice, the Middle Pillar Ritual activates the central axis (Kether–Tiphareth–Yesod–Malkuth) through vibration, visualization, and conscious breath. Here, the sword is the focused will (Yetziratic mind) and the breath is the subtle carrier of vibration (Ruach).

Justice/Adjustment is a station along this vertical breath-axis, especially near Tiphareth, where heart, mind, and breath find alignment (you will find the Middle Pillar Ritual @ magickeli.com).

🗝️ Conclusion: Initiatory Implications

When the sword of thought is untempered by breath, it becomes cruelty (as seen in the 10 of Swords). When breath is unconscious, we are blown by the winds of others' thoughts and social programming.

But when breath and thought are in balance, one becomes the initiated mind—a mental Adept, whose soul moves not from instinct or reaction, but from the silent promptings of the Celestial Self.

This is the Wisdom of Ma’at, the Law of Thelema, the Feather-light stillness at the center of the storm.

The Adjustment card is the Path of Lamed, between Geburah (Severity) and Tiphareth (Beauty) on the Tree of Life. Adjustment represents the Faithful Intelligence of the Great Mother, who has faith in you as Her Divine Children...who may wander off and forget themselves, but with the proper "goading" (Lamed means--ox goad) they will find themselves again.

Adjustment is the Ruler of Balance (operates from Binah- through Geburah, both aspects of The Great Mother) and maintains the outpouring of energy so that the "innocent child" (The Fool card which has been called the "Holy Spirit") will operate within the confines of a natural pattern: The Pattern of, I AM ME. Not what others identify Me as----but as "I Am" identifies Me as. You see that is Free -doom, the Anglo-Saxon word that the English freedom is derived from. To the Anglo Saxon, Free-doom, was a declaration against slavery. For "Free-doom" means, "I choose my own death" and therefore is the true meaning of freedom.

Freedom of choice is "my choice", and if I choose to react emotionally to the identity enforced on me by "others" (or the enemies of freedom) then I am doomed to the dysfunction of that thinking. If I Know Myself as I was identified to be by the Divine Creative as a Self-Image: a Horus....which is also process of "I think--therefore, I am", then I am functioning in the Natural State of our Divine inheritance!

With the knowledge of the natural flow of Adjustment we know that balance will be made so that energy will always flow from the living Spirit (Spiral Energy-Pranic Entity) through the balance of Spirit-Mind, -Body union. If that union is interrupted by incongruous thought patterns of fear such as "I lack" ... and/or the lowest denominator---the body, is doomed to unbalance (disease) mentally, emotionally, and physically as chakras become blocked with thoughts of low frequencies so does our Life-Force; for "I AM", the Creator of "Me", is now "I AM Lack".

✨ “I AM” as the Creator: Thought, Breath, and the Fall into Lack

1. The Spiral of Spirit: The True Flow of Adjustment

In Hermeticism, the true identity of the Self is not the body or the fleeting thought—it is the Living Spirit that spirals downward from Kether (Crown) through the Tree of Life, energizing and forming the manifest being via the interplay of:

• Spirit (Yechidah/Chiah)

• Mind (Ruach)

• Body (Nephesh)

This trinity must remain aligned and breathable. The Adjustment card, with its sword and scales, is not judging good vs. evil, but rather measuring harmony between these levels of Self. When in balance, Spirit flows like the Fibonacci spiral — ever-unfolding through form and returning to Source. Breath is the spiral thread of God within.

2. The Error of Inversion: When “I AM” Becomes “I Lack”

When the primal current of Spirit is obstructed by false thought-forms, such as fear, doubt, shame, or comparison (what Crowley called "the illusions of Choronzon"), the I AM Presence becomes fragmented. The Divine Word — the Logos — becomes distorted speech, and thus distorted form.

• “I AM Love” flows.

• “I AM Lack” contracts.

• “I AM Power” expands.

• “I AM Not Enough” short-circuits.

In Qabalistic terms, this is a misalignment between Tiphareth (soul-identity) and Yesod (ego-imagination). The thought of "lack" becomes a false sephirah (false soul), creating diseased patterning — the Qliphothic echo of selfhood.

3. Chakras and the Seals of Frequency

As you've noted, when this misalignment continues, the Chakras (or Sephirotic Vortices)—which serve as gates of energy exchange—become blocked or congested. Each chakra resonates to a frequency, a word, a “God Name” within. When you say:

• “I AM Safe” — Root chakra opens.

• “I AM Creative” — Sacral flows.

• “I AM Power” — Solar Plexus activates.

• “I AM Love” — Heart awakens.

• “I AM Truth” — Throat becomes the Logos.

• “I AM Vision” — Ajna is illumined.

• “I AM Light” — Crown reunites with Kether.

But if instead one breathes, “I am afraid,” “I am unloved,” or “I am broken,” the Life-Force (Spiritus) falters. The spiral is constricted into loops of unconscious karma.

Hence, dis-ease arises not just from outer causes, but from the internal decree of misalignment — a Word gone awry.

4. The Ritual Role of Adjustment: The Return to the True Name

In the Thoth Tarot, Adjustment is not the blind Justice of outer law — it is Living Equilibrium. She is Ma’at, the embodiment of cosmic harmony through vibration, and her scales are sensitive to even the slightest deviation of thought or breath.

When the I AM formula becomes corrupted by “lack,” Adjustment corrects it — not with punishment, but with redirection. Disease is not a judgment — it is a signal. A recalibration. The body says: “Re-align your breath. Your thought is not in accordance with your inner Sun.”

🜂 Hermetic Summary:

• Thought is the sword: it carves your identity into form.

• Breath is the scale: it weighs whether the form is in harmony with the inner Divine Name.

• Spirit is the source: the "I AM" which is pure causality, the Logos before speech.

When breath, thought, and spirit are aligned, “I AM” becomes the Word made Flesh, and the Temple (body) becomes radiant. This is True Health — the balance of the Spirit-Mind-Body continuum.

Take a deep diaphragm breath and hold it for a count of 10 then exhale out the mouth and yell " I AM"!

Because of the Soul's freedom to identify "self" any way it wants, even if the Psyche is an ignorant servant of another "master", thoughts of emotion are what that identity will produce in form. The Will is the Divine Authority that controls Spirit, and for it to operate Life in an expansive and liberated way, it must be willed Love of Mind and Body to keep the balanced between the Loving Mother of Form, and form's operational self-conscious. Prana is controlled by will as is the breathing action in and through the body known as breath.

The Body needs not seek Love for it is not what we seek. For, to seek love, is to deny you are it! "To seek" is a statement of "I lack" and this places you in "impoverished love", when it is the "love of Being" that caused you to operate a body in the first place!

Looking for love is a state of low self-identity that builds the consumer locked in denial and who is in the "pursuit of happiness"; a pursuit of futility as the love sought, is always "just over the next hill", or "just the next expensive thing" or the next relationship, and the stress this constant seeking builds in the self-conscious will doom the body-self to futility and disease (dis-ease).

Self-Love is the balanced flow of Creation, throughout the Tree of Life, because it is the pattern of The Supreme Spirit Identity recreating its Self-Images to expand and liberate Self-Awareness as "The intimacy of being Alive". Life is existence, being alive is intimacy with existence as the Divine Creative. One can say that being Alive, is the Life simulating itself amongst its created selves for the purpose of intimate knowledge. Life is the Divine Creative. Hence, I AM Life, and not in the pursuit of it.

Because of this Faithful Love of Her Children, those of us who contact the Anima (Divine Feminine Creatrix) by mentally journeying on the Path of Lamed, have decided to bring ourselves in to balance. Even if we haven't thought it out it will be done for us by the "goddess within" as an act of "Tough love"! Like driving a vehicle that has an automated correction system on board, if the driver won't adjust the steering wheel to stay on the road, the Natural Automated system will!

The Self is now constructed of the Psycho-dynamic principle of Spirit-Soul mind (psyche) and body. To work as a perfect function of "Self-Identity" all must be united in a balance of communion, an understanding of Impeccable Being that is continual up and down the Tree of Life.

As above so below, is not a far-off metaphysical concept; for it is the conception of YOU as if the Qabalistic Tree of Life is a birth canal of Psyche! You came from the Above to the Below! So being Faithful Intelligence, The Divine Mother of You will always make the adjustments necessary to get Psyche, and body on the right track, whether you like it or not!

Once one understands this Universal Law of Freedom of Choice, one will always "Treat others as one wish to be treated" for they now know to think ill is to be ill....and by thinking ill of those who think ill of us, just transmits the disease into a plague of illness where no one is well.

Again, there are no enemies, only another way to be us. The few who rule the many, make your will the enemy of your own body by indoctrinating you into believing the body and its instincts are the "bad you" that must be punished for being alive so that "god" will love you! Divide and conquer is the authority of hell.

Let each other Be...is a particularly good motion! You cannot escape your thoughts for they are "how your Life Forms" so let's make or remake them the best they can be, we'll then find our lives to be balanced and smooth flowing no matter how many rocks are out there!

As the Tao states, " If it isn't here---It isn't there. If it is there, it is here. For what is here is there and what is there is here and what isn't there isn't here." Remember, our thought project ourselves on the Mirror of Life, and to create Monsters outside of us (There) creates Monsters inside of us (Here) and the Great Mother of Life...will supply the necessary surgery to remove them, so that her children can expand and liberate themselves from self-condemnation. Knowing thyself---helps us avoid the discomfort of this surgical-severity.

The Medieval Feathers Tarot- Key 8-Justice keeps to a more traditional way of representing the unblindfolded lady justice: unblindfolded because she views you personally and decides on a verdict. Therefore, we have the serene and analytical lady sitting on her throne with a large sharp double-edged sword in her right hand and a set of scales in her left. The sword represents what needs to be severed to restore balance and peace. However, it can also mean truth, lies, deceit and actions that have grave consequences.

The scales imply the ability to reach equilibrium in all chaotic situations and when someone's true intentions are a lie. The crane's feather represents her ability to listen while people speak of their problems and then advises them on how to overcome them. Justice represents a time when you need to find balance to achieve the best outcome.

All that applies to the Thoth Adjustment card also applies to the Justice card.

THE PATH OF LAMED (Hebrew letter that is shown on both Tarot Cards): Adjustment-key 8 (Justice-Key 11 in many other traditional Tarot Decks):

• Primary Path Color: Emerald Green
• Related Sound: F#
• Astrological sign: Libra (Cardinal Air)
• Word Meaning: of Lamed is Ox Goad
• Hebrew Letter-Simple Letter: Work

Esoteric Title: The Daughter of the Lords of Truth; The Ruler of Balance.

Paul Foster Case wrote in the: Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom: The Twenty-second Path is the Faithful Intelligence and is so called because by its spiritual virtues are increased, and all dwellers on earth are under its shadow.

Between Tiphareth (6-Beauty) and Geburah (5-Severity) lies the Emerald Green Path of Lamed. Lamed-The Ox Goad- is the spear like prod which keeps the ox moving down the path which points to the letter's special relationship with Aleph (0x) on the Path of The Fool. Although complex, their relationship can be stated: Adjustment (Justice on some cards) maintains the balance of the Tree of Life, so that the outpouring energy of The Fool (often called the Soul) will operate within the confines of a natural pattern. Adjustment is the administrator of the laws of Binah (Mother of Form), written by The Hierophant (ATU 5). Key-8 is therefore, the "Ruler of Balance".

Adjustment-is the Intelligence faithful to that symbolized by The Fool (0 is the egg of Akasha that is your soul); the alignment of forces of the Twenty Second Path is an amalgam of all the Paths and is described as within the essential life force symbolized by The Fool.

Lamed can be a Severe Path, as it is continual activity "in the above and the below" and will do whatever is necessary to bring the physical, mental and Soul/Psyche into equilibrium. Sometimes a "cutting away" process is represented by the Sword, which is not always pleasant. The Sword of Geburah, that is shown in the center of the personage on the Thoth Adjustment card and in the right hand of the Medieval Feathers Creatrix, represents the part of our Psyche that cuts away all that which is unnecessary to achieve the Spirit-Mind-Body synthesis and/or balance that is shown in the balancing scales.

Often, this surgical and karmic adjustment is less dramatic and much like driving a car, Adjustment/Justice is constantly correcting direction through slight corrects of the steering wheel, while traveling down the road of life (the "steering wheel" for driving an ox is an ox goad- the meaning of Lamed). This car analogy continues, when one understands that the Sephira (Divine Forms) are aspects of the soul itself who is the driver of the body-vehicle and not the external agencies that self-conscious likes to blame for its own folly. Thus, this "driving" process is to be considered psychologically as a condition of self-assessment. It helps to remember that in the realm of Malkuth, we are the Sephiroth/Divine forms.

In this Card- AYU/Key 8-Adjustment/Justice, on many traditional tarot cards, the soul weighs itself on the scales in the left hand and then makes necessary adjustments wielding the sword in the right hand. However, In the Thoth Tarot, she balances the Scales on Her head, symbolizing a psychological balancing, of both the Alpha and Omega (Beginning and the end).

By placing the Sephiroth on the body that is facing the Tree, it can be seen that Geburah (Severity) is on the left and Chesed (Mercy) is on the right. This placement is the proper way to view the "Adam Khadmon" (Heavenly Human) as "facing inward" rather than some artistic formats that place the archetype, facing outward on the tree. For only in "inward" traveling of our Psyche, can we find the inner Tree of Life and its many paths to wholeness.

Also in palmistry, if one's right hand is considered the primary hand, the left hand is seen as one's "receiving" feminine hand, while the right is considered their "giving hand" or masculine expressive hand. We have a feminine hand and masculine "Hand of God". Hands that create the will of the Mind into manifestation. Above all things, know thyself!

Often this card is said to represent Karma-an often-misunderstood Sanskrit word. Instead of a type of punishment that a soul is forced into reaping what is sown from past lives; what Karma means to Paul Foster Case and me is an action of continual adjustment. It is related to education; Lamed-The Ox goad, means to teach, and though many of us lament the maintenance of balance, this balancing is a learning process. Slowly and sometimes, painfully, we learn how to analyze and re-balance ourselves as necessary for different situations.

All wisdom is 50% error and 50% correction.

In the Hermetic Qabalah, it is understood that the principles of the Path of Adjustment maintain Tiphareth-Beauty; beauty being a harmony a synthesis of our Will-Mind and Body.

On the Thoth Deck Card, the Principle of Balance is depicted as the figure of Maat, The Egyptian Daughter of Ra, The Queen of Heaven. The Egyptian texts suggest that that it is through Maat the Sun subsists, for Ra (The Rauch that is the Soul-Rauch is a Hebrew word that means "breath") is said to "rest upon Maat," and to "live by Maat"---in other words, she maintains Tiphareth (The Sun/ Son of Goddess/God). This is the Path that regulates Divine Life Force (Sex-Pranic force which is vital cosmic fire).

Aleister Crowley called Maat a Harlequin, " the partner and fulfillment of THE FOOL." (both shadow and light). On the Thoth Tarot, she stands in the Vessica Piscis (the diamond shape). Behind her is the throne of spheres and pyramids, in groups of four which means "Law and limitation", which sums up the Qabalistic Tree of Life.

According to Crowley, this Lovely Lady standing on her toes on the Thoth ATU 8 is the feminine compliment to the Fool. The Letters Aleph (The Fool) and Lamed (Adjustment) constitute the secret key of the Book of Law (Scrolls), which is the basis for a Western Hermetic Qabalistic system that is deep and sublime in meaning. I recommend investing some time and money in obtaining Crowley's- The Book of Law! Because she is the partner of the Fool, she is shown dancing on her toes, with a hint of Harlequin.

In his book 777, Crowley described the "completion of the feminine" as "The Woman Justified by equilibrium, and Self-sacrifice is the Gate." Her Scale weighs the Alpha and Omega (The All) and as Crowley pointed out," She is the ultimate illusion which is manifestation; she is the dance, many-colored, man-wiled, of Life itself. Constantly whirling, all possibilities are enjoyed, under the phantom show of Space and Time: all things are real, the soul is surface, precisely because they are instantly compensated by this Adjustment. All things harmony and beauty; all things are truth; because they cancel out."

This Path takes some introspective study.

As mentioned before the Woman Goddess is also Harlequin; she is the Woman Satisfied, she is fulfillment of the Fool. She is also the ultimate illusion, which is manifestation. She is the many willed and many-colored dance of Life itself, in which there will always be a balance kept by equal and opposite reaction, life and death, dark and light. The Thoth Deck Card may illustrate the Egyptian Maat, but it also means Karma, the Hindu Goddess.

As stated, Adjustment/Justice is at work continuously in the above, The Greater Universe, and below, our individual soul/personality. As noted, in other decks this is Key 8 Justice; However, it is named, this powerful, natural equilibrating function occurs in our bodies, as they balance nutrition continuously to maintain proper operation as power tools for Spirit. And Adjustment is also an equilibrating function that occurs in our personalities, making sure there are no constant extremes of behavior that keep us from operating effectively in our environments. In the Personality Adjustment is done by natural force and reason. Hence, we understand the law of cause and effect.

To go forward, the personality is measured when it "stands" in the Divine Light of the Solar Logos (Higher Self). Tiphareth, the sixth Sephiroth on the Tree of Life, often called the "Christ Light". Only in this Light (bright and warm intelligence) does the dual- edged Sword of Geburah/Lady Justice, do its work; pruning away the perspectives which are not worthy of Her Divine Creation. The edges are double because of the actions of "cause and effect".

On the Thoth Adjustment card, the headdress supports the scales attributed to the zodiacal sign of Libra.

 Pythagoras taught that the Justicia and aequitas (justice and equity) are "innate attributes of the feminine nature principle". [Rose,116]

The image of Maat as presented on the Thoth card, is a suggestion of the Maat legend as the "Daughter of Ra", relating her to the Sun God (6th Sephiroth-Tiphareth-Solar Logos). Her Qabalistic name is "Daughter of the Lords of Truth" while the Egyptians also called her the "Queen of Heaven". Often called, The Divine Feminine of 10,000 names her mystery is shown in all these names: that mystery also pointing to the fact that this Severe Faithful Intelligence is the regulator of the Path of the Sun/Son and/or the Christ-Buddha consciousness that is our Soul. Hence, the Egyptian texts suggested, through Maat the Sun subsists, for Ra is said to "rest upon Maat" and/or to "live by Maat". In Qabalistic terms, this means that the principles of the Path of Adjustment maintain Tiphareth---The Bright and Warm intelligence of the Solar Self, The Real Person, and/or our Psyche.

In the Whirling dance of space-time, we often forget that the Mirror of darkness which reflects this illusion of Life, making all things real, is the Soul which is a microcosmic collective of macrocosmic "living" experiences.

All things are beauty and harmony; all things are Truth because they cancel out. That is why the head dress of Maat bears the Ostrich feathers of the Twofold Truth and the personality is weighed by the Soul with its first and last act as counterbalances!

To reiterate: Since Ra is known to the ancient Egyptians, as the source of all Light, the Qabalists know Ra as the Fool or the Path of Aleph, who is the Source of All Light and the People of Ra (our solar family) who are the Bright and Shinning ones (Solar Self) of the Archetypal Plane of Atziluth.

This makes it possible to say that Aleph rests upon the Path of Lamed, making Lamed the regulator of the Path of the Divine Life Force. That is also why I teach that "The Solar Husband is invoked by the Great Womb'". This may startle some men who objectify women as an object of sexual desire for dominance and control, for it is well known to both Tantric and practicing Qabalists that the Life Force, and/or "Sex Energy" (Fecund force of Spirit's "Will to be") is invoked by the Great Female, to regulate and establish balanced expansion and liberation (Tantra) of her Life- Forms.

The Form of Him came from the Womb of Her, i.e. "Ra is said to live by Maat." The Lord of Lightning serves the Great Magnetic-Ocean Mother. To put this simply, The Great One (Kether) became Two, by the process of adjusting/balancing Knowledge (Chokma) and Understanding (Binah), thereby, realizing He/She as "One who is Two" and thereby established the equilibrium of love that produces and maintains all things. We know this as the symbol of infinity and/or the Mobius loop.

The downward pointing Phallus and testes headdress on the female figure of this card attests to this understanding of Kether, as Ra who lives by Maat. This is the Judex and the Testes of Final Judgment, symbolic of the secret course of judgment whereby all current experience is absorbed, transmuted, and passed on, by virtue of the operation of the sword, to further manifestation.

Those who Scry this card will not be unhappy that they did so, even if Geburah/Justice wields her sword in quick bright strokes, the discomfort of emotional burdens, the burdens of perspectives, just fall away and the skryer feels all "Warm and bright".

Because she balances the First act and the Last act, she is to understand as assessing the virtue of every act and demanding exact and precise satisfaction. She is the very image of "Love is the law, love under will".

Every form of energy must be applied with impeccable integrity, to the full satisfaction of its destiny. That is why I counsel my emotional reactive "Me" with, "Get over yourself and get on with You, impeccability is what we do!", whenever it forgets the Soul's demand for impeccability in loving thought and action, for these are the action's that drive life forward, ever expanding and ever liberating itself from past error.

There is a large compliment of Planets involved in the Adjustment/Justice card.

1. First is Venus, which rules Libra.
2. Mars is related because of the purging forces of Geburah.
3. The Sun, as stated above, is involved not only because the Path of Lamed runs from the Sun to Mars, but also because Adjustment (Justice) must take place in the clear bright light of Truth.
4. Saturn is exalted in Libra and finally:
5.  Jupiter which is the planet of Chesed (Mercy). By acknowledging that Libra is ruled by Venus, is also to acknowledge that behind Adjustment stands the Empress, the primary path of Venus, which is the perfect equilibrium between the forces of Chokma (Wisdom) and Binah (Understanding). It is interesting to note that the planet Venus refers to all the Sephiroth and encompasses every single Sephira in the Tree of Life. The implications being that Love is the Ultimate Power of the Universe: Love is the Law of Attraction.

The imagery on both the Thoth card and Medieval Feathers card is all about "law and limitation". On the Thoth Card this is symbolized by the throne of spheres and pyramids in groups of four, behind the Female figure of Maat. Crowley understood that the Soul is the Mirror that our image is reflected in, and it is by the Adjustment of perspectives that our healing comes from. This may be why when the medical journals state, "83% of all healing is by placebo". I AM Psychosomatic Life, i.e., Me. On the Lost Soul Tarot-Justice card, Law and limitation are symbolized by the sword and scales. Her crossed legs show that this is a "closed system", the law of cause and effect.

Geburah knows that we are beasts of our own passion but are not passion's beast. Here Tiphareth, the Sun of God, is Christened in the Homo Sapien Sapien by the inheritance of Greater Self as vigorous Life throughout the Cosmos.

Our aggressive nature is not to be errantly oppressed, chained by shame, or caged in religious embarrassment, becoming a "false ego" of fear and oppression, which lies hidden in the subconscious and yet influencing our false identity of self and preparing us for a false judgment as we live a life of false jeopardy. For our Psyche began as an innocent (just look into the eyes of your dog or cat) that is also created by Spirit.

Within all of us is the Sun, Leo the Lion. This survival consciousness/Nephesh is to be gently controlled by respect and love of its very nature. Without this inner lion of integrity, none of us would have the instincts necessary to "climb the next mountain" or take the next risk necessary to move forward. This animal aggression to survive must be tamed with Wisdom, respect, and love, knowing that its animal (body) experiences have been honed to "purr-fection" by 3.6 million years of evolution.

Only our imagined fear and devaluation of the "animal-within" (profaning the body) profaned it in our "I's" produces the animal instinct then goes ferial, becoming a parasite known as the "False Ego" or Shadow Self. However, it really is the inner-earth child, innocent and lover of play and joyful motion... it is pure in its activities but when abused by our ignorance and oppressive indoctrination, it will fight back and try to take control, dividing our ability to be the powerful life we came to be. However, this instinctual ability to survive can also come to your rescue when "shit hits the fan", for it will defend the body as it is the Subconsciousness mind which is the body's instinctual intelligence.

The awake Self-Conscious is the messenger of the Soul's/Psyche's intelligence, and the Universal Collective Unconscious is the Mind of Spirit. Our consciousness must observe the "false ego", making the subconscious more consciously aware and our Spiritual mind/Psyche must observe both as an equilibrium of intelligent action. Hence, our whole -self, is a trinity of Spirit (Will)-Mind (Imagination/intuition)-Body (Soma/sensuality). When in harmony we know this trinity as "mind over matter".

The Self-Conscious must adopt this wonderful instinctual-self and change its outlook of fear-based survival thinking, and show it love-based creative thinking. When you are loving and gentle towards your body, you will find that the Subconscious wishes to please you as well. This makes sense as you are the Life-Energy of Spirit that makes it live! You are the True Ego of Light/Prana who must look upon the Dark ego of the profaned animal fear----light vanquishes the dark just by appearing and brings the beautiful animal into understanding and love.

This seeking of identity results in division of mental forces and makes one unable to call upon the inner power that cleaves us from our chains of fear-based reactions, which create our indoctrinated manmade-identity of imposed slavery. This creates maddened animals that strike out at each other, leaving us in a world of depression, slavery, violence, and "seeking" what we already have.... Divinity.

We live now! We are not to be "Wanna-Be's "who are the faux life of the past, still running around in yesterdays', hoping for a pretend future, and therefore, not living the truth of today's passionate expression of I Am Life!

The Adjustment/Justic card reminds us that our definition belongs to no one, not our environment, not our parents, not to the false authority of rulers, and not our theologians, not our countries, not our words; our definition belongs only to our passionate Creative- Self as the Divine grant of “freedom of choice”. Divinity, not a mask of "Words", gave you the right to define yourself as an image of the Supreme Being (Qabalah tree of life). Peer pressure, culture, and language deny your freedom to choose and are not your definition!

Spirit defines you as Itself! You are the Justice in your Life!

We must also remember, that the word Power, means "the ability to do work" and our body, if loved as a master Craftsman loves and adores one's favorite-tools, gives us the Soul's- Will- to-Power- and/or be Absolutely Present, without reservation, in this dimension of crystallized and/or coagulated energy; a power to weave our very own Vital Life Force into our own masterpieces of movement and repose! So let us all ride the “Lion Serpent” or Inner Dragon/Sun, with the powerful presence of loving control, fearless, and shameless presence!

  With this "fire within" we can resurrect our Divine Identity from the ashes of slavery and profaned self-image and fly in the solar glory of the Phoenix as opposed to crawling on our bellies like some fear-soaked reptile.

To be Whole requires a focused willful spiritual intelligence, and not some "Mad Hatter" type of personality, which can't even control its own thought, as it is told what to see and be by those who control worded identity: something we call "belief".

Only the ignorant whose denial has become their mind refuse to see this profaned parasitic shadow self in our selves. It helps to remember that the Divine Creative/ God created "Peoples", not religion. Religions, no matter how beautiful they began, have been overcome by the "false ego" parasite, the "internal darkness" that leeches our mental- energy away and becomes fear, greed, bigotry, ignorance, mental enslavement, depression, indolence, and soon indoctrinated and dogmatized into plain "stupid".

The inner-will aids us in the inoculation of the Divine Will, which nullifies this mental parasite as our inner light grows brighter, and we begin to remember our Divinity. We must each know ourselves as the "light bearer" who vanquished darkness by observation and/or showing the light of Rauch observation.

Lady Justice will enforce adjustment where needed. It behooves all of us to concentrate on "What I think I AM" and leave others to their own self-identity. Self-identity is all that we think, if the body feels upset with a thought process, you know it to be in error...listen to yourself! You are not a "belief system" you are an I AM system of Knowing and/or self-awareness.!

Above all things, Know thyself!

When the Thoth-ATU 8- Adjustment or The Medieval Feathers-Key 8- Justice card is thrown during a reading, the querent is experiencing or will experience:

• The making of a final decision.
• Judgment and sentencing by a determination of an issue without appeal on this plane.
• The querent is experiencing "What you put out, you get back".
• The Law of action- reaction, where the natural forces of nature reach a balance within the individual, setting things right.
• The balancing of opposites.
• Karma. 
• It is eternal justice and balance.
• Strength and Force are being applied to create a balance, but this is arrested as in the act of Judgment.
• Depending on the combination of other cards, this could also mean the more mundane reality of legal proceedings, a court of law, a trial at law etc.
• The Adjustment card promotes the "Butterfly effect", as all equilibrium must and will be obtained.  Any disturbance will be balanced by an equal and opposite reaction.
• What you put out; you will get back.

• If ill defined by the surrounding cards, it implies:

• Feeling blocked from one's power.
• Weak.
• Overwhelmed.
• You need some form of meditation or relaxation which may help restore strength.

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