Adjustment:

 

Adjustment:

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

Adjustment corresponds to the 19^th path on the Tree of Life and connects the Pillar of Severity to the Pillar of Mercy by joining Geburah to Chesed along this path. The path is associated to Libra and the Hebrew letter Lamed. On the card there is a female figure who represents Maat holding a sword, in front of her hangs the scales of justice and everything in the picture is in perfect balance. She is surrounded by four pyramids, with one half of each pointing up and the other halves all pointing down. These pyramids are symbolic of the elements associated to the four directions, which she has perfect control over. She is surrounded by eight orbs, and she is standing on a big black one, with a small one on her head, these orbs seem to represent the Sephiroth, and probably indicates the marriage of Heaven and Earth. 

The Adjustment card symbolizes integration or re-equilibration, it seems to indicate re-establishing the Kingdom on a higher plateau, which means reconfiguring self and the world around it. This demands honest critical self-analysis, hence the symbolism of judgement, although Adjustment more aptly supports this idea. The old card was Justice, but justice presumes a self-favoring end is implied, however reality demands adaptation and compromise, so that sometimes we do not get our way. Henceforth, the four Powers of the Sphinx's significance is also implied in the symbolism of the card, these powers give the magician the ability to work harmoniously within the world of contending forces. As Crowley writes in The Book of Thoth: “This card in the old Tarot pack was called Justice. This word has none but a purely human and therefore relative sense; so it is not to be considered as one of the facts of Nature. Nature is not just, according to any theological or ethical idea; but Nature is exact.”  This quote indicates the need to harmonize the internal and external circumstances of life, and this is the way the daughter may find herself on the throne of the mother. As Crowley writes: “It is the final adjustment in the formula of Tetragrammaton,…” The card suggests equilibrating the elements on a higher level of awareness, as through transmutation complete transfiguration is necessitated. Along this path, it becomes paramount to harmonize oneself with external circumstances, by accurately evaluating one’s limitations and prejudices in relationship to the world around him or her and to act accordingly, by conforming to such conditions to establish control. The sword that the female figure in the card is holding, is symbolic of the intellect (Ruach) and symbolizes the importance of the Ruach for harmonizing with the objective world. The Ruach is also symbolic of the ego, and as a new self-awareness has been experienced through the act of piercing the Veil of Paroketh, the ego was shattered and now finds itself in need of viewing the world and itself through a new lens of reality. So, all that which has been attained is here united into a functioning whole and symbolized by the daughter taking the place of the mother. Or as Crowley writes in The Book of Thoth: “She is masked, and her expression shows her secret intimate satisfaction in her domination of every element of dis-equilibrium in the Universe. This condition is symbolized by the Magic Sword which she holds in both hands, and the balances of spheres in which she weighs the Universe.” Thus, this card represents the final step in establishing oneself within the conditions that correspond to the enquiry and although the task may seem daunting, it is a beneficent card as all the elements necessary for success are already in place. 

“Love is the law, love under will.”