Traditionally this card is called "Justice," but Aleister Crowley took objection to the heady moral overtones of that assignment. In most philosophical discussions, concepts of "right" and "wrong" rarely hold up to scrutiny, and what is the point striving for justice if the scales are that easily upset? The card became Adjustment, and many modern decks have rolled with that change -- which is in itself a pretty interesting adjustment.
Sacrificing your own ideas of what is "right" is important when it comes to balancing on the sword-blade of truth and letting the scales hang in perfect balance. If you want to keep a keen, impartial view, you'll be required to stay in constant motion -- as the world heaves and roils around and under you, tempting and distracting you from your aim, hopefully you'll find yourself instinctively adjusting your position accordingly, chasing that perfect neutral center. That's why Justice is blind; most tightrope-walkers (or funambulists, if you prefer) would rather see nothing at all than dare look down or know exactly how far they have left to go.
Once a person has found that pivotal position, all you need is a lever to move the whole world. From an early age, Russian artist Nicholas Roerich lamented the toll that warfare was taking on the world's artwork, relics, and monuments. What began as a personal manifesto eventually became a treaty signed by two dozen nations in 1935; it declared sites of art and culture which bore the symbol seen on the banner above to be neutral and protected, the way the Red Cross protects hospitals. Roerich literally changed the definition of warfare by honing in on a single point and applying pressure from the correct angle -- and for a time, at least, the treaty guaranteed that leaders, soldiers, and civilians would also have to adjust their notions accordingly. While his wild and unusual landscapes inspired by travels in Tibet are certainly worth poring over, it's his ecstatically neutral Madonna Oriflamma (pictured above) that I chose to fill in for the angel who usually plays the role of Adjustment.
10.14.2008
ADJUSTMENT
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It was really tough to assign this subject matter to a card -- I almost swerved from Adjustment to making it The Hierophant instead. And then when I looked up the card to see whether I thought that would be a good match, I was shocked to see that the symbol he held was an almost perfect match of the icon on the Madonna's banner. It seemed fated! But after a lot of reading and consideration, I decided that thematically I was on much better ground with Adjustment -- and ultimately, that sort of compromise is exactly what the card is about, so it seems more appropriate than ever.
ReplyDeleteWith so few cards left to choose from, though, it's getting pretty tough!