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The Tarot of the Bohemians (Papus) · 49 of 134 · tr. A.P. Morton

Page 22

JUSTICE. JUSTICE. 8. ח 8th Hebrew letter (Heth). ORIGIN OF THE SYMBOLISM OF THE EIGHTH CARD OF THE TAROT. Hieroglyphically the Heth expresses a field. From it springs the idea of anything that requires labour, trouble, an effort. Continued effort results in the establishment of an equilibrium, between the destruction of the works of man accomplished by nature, when left to herself, and the preservation of this work. Hence the idea of balancing power , and consequently of Justice attributed to this letter. Astronomically the Heth corresponds to the sign of Cancer in the zodiac. THE EIGHTH CARD OF THE TAROT. Justice . The ideas expressed by this symbol are of Equilibrium in all its forms. A woman seen full face, and wearing an iron coronet, is seated upon a throne. She is placed between the two columns of the temple. The solar cross is traced upon her breast. Here we find the continuation of the symbolism of the 2nd and 5th arcana. The Seated woman occupies the Centre between the columns, the first idea of the equilibrium between Good and Evil. She holds a sword, point upwards, in her right hand, and a balance in her left. Occult science (2), at first theoretical, has become practical (5), and has been taught verbally. Now it appears in all the pitilessness of consequences, terrible for the false Magi (the Sword), but just toward the true Initiates (Balance). The signification of this arcanum is central between the 5th (ה He) and the 11th (כ Kaph) arcana. This card is the complement of the eleventh, as the fifth was of the second. In the 1st septenary all the cards which, by addition, formed the number 7, completed each other; in the 2nd septenary all the cards which, added together, form 19, act in the same way. 7 12 The Chariot is completed by The Hanged Man 7 + 12 = 19 19 = 10 = 1 8 11 Justice is completed by Strength 8+11=19 9 10 The Hermit is completed by The Wheel of Fortune 9+10=19 The eighth card of the Tarot represents the conception in preservative of the second card. It synthetizes in itself the meaning of the second and of the fifth card of the Tarot, and represents the reflex of the seventh. It signifies-- 1. In the Divine . God the Son of the 2nd septenary. The woman fulfilling, the functions of God the Son. THE MOTHER. Reflex of the Father. Preserver of God the Son in Humanity. 2. Passive law of the 2nd septenary. JUSTICE. Reflex of Realization and Authority. 3. The woman of the 2nd septenary . Nature fulfilling the function of Eve. ELEMENTARY EXISTENCE. Reflex of the Astral Light. Preservation of Natura naturata in the World. 8. ח Justice. AFFINITIES SIGNIFCATIONS Primitive Hieroglyphic: A Field Kabbalah: NIZAH Astronomy: Cancer Month: June Hebrew Letter: Heth (simple) The woman fulfilling the functions of God the Son. THE MOTHER __________ Law JUSTICE OBSERVATIONS Nature performing the function of Eve ELEMENTARY EXISTENCE The elementary existence is the means by which the astral vivifying fluid or astral light (7) manifests itself through the ether or astral matter (9). This is demonstrated by the following arcanum.
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Themes
Anthropomorphismtheology

Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery.

The card depicts a 'woman seen full face' representing divine functions like 'God the Son' and 'The Mother', attributing human form to divine principles.

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Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

The text relies heavily on Hermetic correspondences linking Hebrew letters (Heth), zodiac signs (Cancer), Tarot cards (Justice), and divine functions (God the Son) as interconnected symbols.

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Emanation Hierarchycosmology

A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above.

The text describes a structured divine order involving 'God the Son of the 2nd septenary', 'Reflex of the Father', and 'Nature fulfilling the function of Eve', indicating a cascading divine structure.

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Gendercosmology

The Hermetic doctrine that a masculine-feminine generative principle operates on every plane of being, not only the biological — present at all times as a structural feature of creation itself. Distinct from divine_marriage (a specific reunification event or symbol) and aeons (paired divine beings arranged in syzygies, not a universal structural claim).

The text discusses the 'woman fulfilling the functions of God the Son' and 'Nature fulfilling the function of Eve', highlighting a masculine-feminine generative principle on divine planes.

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Letters Of Creationcosmology

The twenty-two Hebrew letters as the building blocks through which God creates and sustains all existence.

The passage focuses on the Hebrew letter Heth (ח) as the origin of symbolism and connects it to other letters like He and Kaph within a system of creation.

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Magical Equilibriumcosmology

The balance of two contrary forces as the structural law of cosmos and operation — Lévi's equilibrium, expressed in Kabbalah by the senary: the will of God in its first cause, liberty in man, mathematical equilibrium in matter; the twofold vibration required to direct the Astral Light safely.

Equilibrium is the central theme of the passage, described as 'balancing power', 'Equilibrium in all its forms', and the result of continued effort between destruction and preservation.

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Microcosm Macrocosmcosmology

The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror.

The passage links the card's symbolism to 'God the Son', 'Nature', and 'Humanity', suggesting a reflection of divine structures within human or natural existence.

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Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text extensively uses numerology to explain relationships between cards (e.g., 7+12=19, 8+11=19) and septenaries.

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Related passages · 8 parallels
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 419
“Section 3 3. The Soul once seen to be thus precious, thus divine, you may hold the faith that by its possession you are already nearing God: in the strength of this power make upwards towards Him: at no great distance you must attain: there…”
Shared concept: Emanation Hierarchy — A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above. (derived)
neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 299
“Section 12 12. The souls of men, seeing their images in the mirror of Dionysus as it were, have entered into that realm in a leap downward from the Supreme: yet even they are not cut off from their origin, from the divine Intellect; it is n…”
Shared concept: Emanation Hierarchy — A chain of divine beings or principles flowing downward from a single transcendent source (the One or the Father), each level less perfect than the one above. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 46 (part 11)
“They say that what is called collectively Monads by Leibnitz -- roughly viewed, and leaving every subdivision out of calculation, for the present** -- may be separated into three distinct Hosts, which, counted from the highest planes, are,…”
Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror. (derived)
theosophy|The Secret Doctrine|Page 27 (part 3)
“Anger, my son, is the destruction of [[Vol. 1, Page]] 416 THE SECRET DOCTRINE. all that man obtains . . . and prevents the attainment of emancipation. The sages shun wrath. Be not thou, my child, subject to its influence. Let not th…”
Shared concept: Magical Equilibrium — The balance of two contrary forces as the structural law of cosmos and operation — Lévi's equilibrium, expressed in Kabbalah by the senary: the will of God in its first cause, liberty in man, mathematical equilibrium in matter; the twofold vibration required to direct the Astral Light safely. (derived)
hermeticism|Corpus Hermeticum 11: The Hymn|Section 1b
“It <i.e., Soul> fills it <i.e., the Body of the Cosmos> from within, and from without encircles it, making the All to live. Without, this vast and perfect Life [encircles] Cosmos; within, it fills [it with] all lives; above, in Heaven, con…”
Shared concept: Correspondence — The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others. (derived)
christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 4 (part 4)
“We may say that the world, as we know it, is constituted entirely of forms of heat, or of motion, or of electric conditions, or light, &c., &c. All this is true in so far as it refers to the relations which it bears towards ourselves. All…”
Shared concept: Microcosm Macrocosm — The human being as a small-scale image of the entire cosmos; the body, soul, and intellect mirroring the structure of the heavens and the divine — distinct from correspondence in that it makes the human the privileged mirror. (derived)
christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 9, Section 1c
“For just as, supposing we were in thought to represent the soul itself in bodily shape, and represent this indivisible substance as surrounded by bodily parts, we should, in such a case, give the surrounding parts a different meaning suited…”
Shared concept: Anthropomorphism — Attributing human characteristics, emotions, or form to the divine; embodied divine imagery. (derived)
neoplatonism|Iamblichus: On the Mysteries|Chapter VIII-au
“The Pythagoreans, likewise, adorned numbers and figures with the appellations of the Gods. For they called the equilateral triangle, Minerva Coryphagenes, or begotten from the summit, and Tritogeneia because it is divided by three perpendi…”
Shared concept: Numerical Mysticism — Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality. (derived)