Libra is one of the three Air signs, along with Gemini and
Aquarius, as well as being one of the cardinal signs. As such, its energy focuses on the outer
world, rather than our inner world, and its main thrust is on social contact. It seeks partnership – friendship, business,
marriage. It’s not about the passion of
a personal relationship – Libra is not thought to be a passionate sign - but
more about the ‘contract’, if you like – the need for equality and fairness
within relationship. Libra is the
peacemaker, the negotiator, the mediator.
It’s ruled by Venus, providing a sense of refinement, and an awareness
of beauty and harmony.
As usual, let’s start our exploration of Libra in the tarot
with the Major Arcana. In my previous
post, I mentioned the idea of balance in various traditions – Egyptian and
Greek mythology, Christianity – all of which use scales to symbolize the
weighing up of whatever’s ‘in the balance’.
That, and the use of the blindfold in some of the imagery, leads us to
the Justice card.
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Justice (trimmed):
© Sharman-Burke/Caselli Tarot
|
Depending on which deck you use, this is probably either the
eighth or the eleventh card in the Major Arcana. Most (but not all) Rider-Waite-Smith-based
decks will have Justice as XI in the Major Arcana – the mid-point of the Fool’s
Journey. Personally, I like the idea of
it being the 11th card; having it as the fulcrum of the journey,
half-way between the start and the end ‘embodies’ that sense of balance.
Some RWS-based decks (for instance Juliet Sharman-Burke and
Gionvanni Caselli’s, shown here) place Justice at VIII. I haven’t found a clear reason for this in
the case of the Sharman-Caselli deck, but my guess is that it’s because they
wanted to have all four virtues appear in order: 8 – Justice, 9 – Temperance,
10 –Strength, and 11 - The Hermit, the card to which they attribute the virtue
of Prudence. Regardless of the card’s
position in the Major Arcana, the image contains most of the ‘traditional’
(i.e. RWS-based) symbolism – the scales representing perfect balance in one
hand, the sword of truth in the other.
Libra has a reputation (unfair, in my opinion!) for being
indecisive. Following from Virgo’s need to analyze everything in great detail,
Libra weighs it all carefully but is always having to take new factors into
account, upsetting that delicate balance, hence appearing to be constantly
changing its mind. For this reason, my
favourite version of the tarot card associated with Libra, Justice, comes from
the Thoth deck (although Crowley has re-named the card ‘Adjustment’).
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Adjustment VIII (trimmed):
© Thoth Tarot
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Like many versions of the Justice card, the image still
shows a figure with a set of scales, although here the scales appear to be
balanced on her head. She holds the
sword of truth in both hands, between her legs, while balancing on her toes.
The entire image of one of balance and harmony – including the coloured spheres
(blue for spirit and intellect, green for creativity) in their symmetrical
placement. But how long can this balance be held? All it takes is one distraction, one thought,
one new factor, to be added to the scales, and the whole thing is no longer
balanced. So it’s not that Libra is
indecisive per se – it’s more that
that the picture isn’t static; there’s always something else that needs to be
considered, something else to knock us off track. That’s why I like the name
‘Adjustment’ – we’re always having to make adjustments as new elements come
into play, in order to maintain our (always precarious) balance!
As our ingress into Libra is also marked by the Autumn
Equinox, let’s also look at cards that are associated with this festival. One deck that uses the Wheel of the Year as
its base, rather than astrological associations, is the Wildwood Tarot, created
by Mark Ryan and John Matthews, and beautifully illustrated by Will Worthington. Here we have two cards from the Major Arcana
that sit at the Autumn Equinox – The Wheel (X) and The Mirror (XII).
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The Wheel (trimmed):
© Wildwood Tarot
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The Wheel reminds us of the constantly changing seasons, and
that what comes around, goes around. The
equinox is but a moment in time – one where the hours of day and night are
balanced, before the hours of darkness increase at the expense of the
light. In many traditions, the autumnal
equinox marks the start of a period of withdrawal - not just in terms of
physical withdrawal or hibernation - but a time of introspection and inner
journeying, contemplation and rest.
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The Mirror (trimmed):
© Wildwood Tarot
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The Mirror shows us our reflection and allows us to see our
inner selves, and by sitting on the Equinox represents the point at which our
journey changes direction – from outer to inner; the point where we’re balanced
between the two. And although Mark Ryan
and John Matthews aren’t making any astrological associations in their deck,
the mirror is often used as to symbolize Libra. Both through Venus’ rulership
and its affinity to the 7th house, Libra is concerned with
attraction and partnership. Aries, the
sign opposite Libra in the zodiac, is about ‘I’: -how we meet the world as
individuals, how we’re seen. Libra is concerned with ‘the other’ - what we look
for in our relationships with others.
The mirror allows us to see what others see in us. ‘Mirror, mirror, on
the wall, who is the fairest of them all?’ indeed!
If you’ve enjoyed this post, you might be interested in my new e-book, Astrology in Tarot, now available from Amazon.
Beginner’s Guide to
the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated
by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections
Thoth Tarot created by Aleister
Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris, published by US Games Systems, Inc.
