 As this card follows the traditional symbolism and
carries above all its obvious meanings, there is little to say regarding it outside the
few considerations collected in the first part, to which the reader is referredIt will
be seen, however, that the figure is seated between pillars, like the High Priestess, and
on this account it seems desirable to indicate that the moral principle which deals unto
every man according to his works--while, of course, it is in strict analogy with higher
things;--differs in its essence from the spiritual justice which is involved in the idea
of election. The latter belongs to a mysterious order of Providence, in virtue of which it
is possible for certain men to conceive the idea of dedication to the highest things. The
operation of this is like the breathing of the Spirit where it wills, and we have no canon
of criticism or ground of explanation concerning it. It is analogous to the possession of
the fairy gifts and the high gifts and the gracious gifts of the poet: we have them or
have not, and their presence is as much a mystery as their absence. The law of Justice is
not however involved by either alternative. In conclusion, the pillars of Justice open
into one world and the pillars of the High Priestess into another.
: Equity, rightness, probity,
executive; triumph of the deserving side in law. Reversed: Law in all its
departments, legal complications, bigotry, bias, excessive severity. |
