Tarot Arcanes: Justice, Hermit and Wheel of Fortune

8 - Justice or The Balance and the Sword

The eighth Arcane is represented by a woman seated on a throne, her forehead surrounded by a crown armed with lance points; in her right hand she holds a sword with the point turned upward and in her left hand a pair of scales. It is the ancient symbol of Justice, weighing acts and counterbalancing evil with the sword of expiation. The justice that emanates from God is the equilibrium reaction that restores order, that is, the balance between Right and Duty. The sword is here a sign of protection for good and a threat against the wicked. Justice's eyes are covered with a blindfold to signal that she weighs and strikes without the conventional differences that men establish between them. Justice is the Universal Law that reminds us of the balance that cannot be disturbed and the necessity of moving with Wisdom without altering the plates of giving and receiving that are the result of past actions. Justice acts by allowing the acquisition of Wisdom in the form of experience. The initiate must acquire the power to govern with Justice, that is, with balance between the scales' plates. The scale is used to measure the weight of the heart that performs the action, while the sword is used to separate Good from Evil and thus effect judgment. In the image, the heart is weighed against a feather of the goddess Maat, personification of Justice and Truth.

Meaning: The law, balance, life stability, logic and necessary procedure of ideas, feelings and actions. Fatality, immanent Justice, ineluctable consequences of all actions. Logic, judgment security, impartiality, spirit independence, honesty, integrity, regularity, discipline, respect for hierarchy, submission to property and custom. Decree, decision, resolution, unshakeable purpose, rules of conduct. Method, exactitude, movement, work. An administrator, a manager, a judge, a man of law or an agent charged with maintaining order. A man of dialectics, quibbling and full of casuistry. Routine, conservative nature, fear of innovations. A subordinate knowing how to obey, but incapable of initiative.

9 - The Hermit or the Veiled Lamp

The ninth Arcane is represented by an old man walking with a staff and carrying a lit lamp in front of him, which he hides halfway under his cloak. This old man personifies the Initiate. The lit lamp indicates the light of intelligence that must extend over past, present and future. It is also a sign of his capacity to access the true inner Light which is Christ. The half-hidden cloak signifies discretion and the ability to isolate oneself from the world. The staff symbolizes strength and prudence. With this staff, which he holds in front of his feet, he not only tests the ground but also dominates the dragon. The dragon is the symbol of public opinion, conventional thought, the illusions of collective imagination. The Hermit expresses silence, isolation and prudence. He is the wise one who advances little but always advances without ever retreating.

Meaning: The potential of the living being, the potential force within the seed. Tradition. Experience. Heritage of the past. Deep knowledge. Prudence. Circumspection. Meditation. Silence. Discretion. Reserve. Isolation. Continence. Chastity. Celibacy. Austerity. The wise man has withdrawn from the world, dead to passions and perverse ambitions. Deep, meditative spirit, adverse to all frivolity. Experienced doctor of mind, soul and body. An Initiatic practice of Universal Medicine. The Hermetic philosopher possessing the secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Initiator. Master capable of directing others' work and discerning what is in embryo in the sphere of human development. Midwife. The character of Saturn, serious, taciturn, gloomy, distrustful. Sadness, misanthropy, skepticism, discouragement, avarice, poverty.

10 - The Wheel of Fortune

The tenth Arcane is represented by a wheel on its axis, between two columns. To the right, the Angel of Good struggles to climb to the top of the circumference. To the left, the Devil or Angel of Evil is thrown to the ground. The Sphinx, balancing on this wheel, holds a sword in its lion claws. The Wheel personifies Destiny, always ready to strike right or left and which, depending on the wheel's rotation under its impulse, raises the lowest and pulls down the highest. This Blade represents the two currents of humanity: one part of humanity that evolves, that is in the direction of the Sphinx, and another part that involves, becoming more animalistic. The Initiate here becomes aware of these two currents that regulate the evolution and involution of humanity and the universe. The Sphinx is the symbol of Initiation, the Enigma that surrounds Man and his spiritual origin. The Sphinx reminds Man who he is.