Justice

Upright

The second septenary opens the world of Man, and it opens with the balance. Cheth's hieroglyph is a field — an enclosure, ground measured and bounded. Papus's Justice is the active principle at the human level, and what it does actively is measure: not mercy, proportion. The sword belongs to the card as much as the scales do, because in his reading a judgement that cannot be enforced has not been made. Divinatory sense: justice, equilibrium.

Reversed

Measurement misapplied — the letter kept and the proportion lost, which is how a correct procedure produces a wrong result. Or the scales held by someone with an interest in where they settle. Reversed also covers judgement passed without the sword: perfectly sound, entirely unenforced, and therefore not yet real.

Correspondences

Papus's number

8

Hebrew letter

Cheth (ח)

Hieroglyph

A field — enclosed and measured ground

Septenary

Second septenary (8–14), the world of Man — first term, the active principle (Yod)

Divinatory sense

Justice; equilibrium

In a Spread

At the commencement, the matter begins in an account being settled. In opposition, a standard the querent is being measured against and may not have agreed to. At equilibrium Justice is exactly what the position says — the situation is balanced, and will stay balanced only while both pans are watched. As the result: proportion is restored, to whoever it favours.