Adjustment
The Daughter of the Lords of Truth; the Ruler of the Balance
Rider-Waite: Justice
The poised blade: every act answered exactly, balance kept by constant small corrections.
| Trump | VIII of the 22 (Atu) |
|---|---|
| Letter | ל Lamed, “ox-goad”, value 30, Simple letter |
| Path | Path 22, Geburah to Tiphareth |
| Astrology | ♎︎ Libra, cardinal Air, Sep 23 – Oct 22 |
| Old title | The Daughter of the Lords of Truth; the Ruler of the Balance |
| Rider-Waite | Justice (numbered XI there) |
| Colour | Emerald green (King scale) |
In a reading
Balance, exact adjustment, the settling of accounts; truth and judgement as natural law; a legal matter; equilibrium restored. Badly placed: legalism, bias, the balance tipped by prejudice.
Working with the card
| Do | Weigh it precisely and correct course now, without drama. |
|---|---|
| Bring | Honesty, detachment, a steady hand. |
| Beware | Cold judgment; endless weighing that never acts. |
| Ask | What is the exact consequence of what I'm doing? |
Correspondences
On the card
A masked figure, Maat and Themis, balances on tiptoe with a great sword held point-down; the scales hang from her crown with the spheres alpha and omega, and she stands within a diamond of lozenges that echoes the balance. Every element in the picture is poised.
Kabbalah
Lamed, the ox-goad, on path 22 from Geburah to Tiphareth: the goad that drives the ox (Aleph), and so the discipline that steers primal force. Lamed and Aleph together spell AL, God, and Crowley pairs the Fool and Adjustment as one idea seen from both ends.
Astrology
Libra, cardinal Air, ruled by Venus with Saturn exalted: the scales at the equinox, the moment of balance between the halves of the year. The decans of Libra are the Two, Three and Four of Swords.
Number
Eight, and Lamed's value 30. Eight is the Naples number of intellect and Hod. Crowley numbers the card VIII following the Golden Dawn exchange of Justice and Strength, and defends it as the natural pairing of Libra with the Fool.
Depth psychology
The transcendent function: the psyche's own tendency to compensate and to restore balance. Jungian readers see karma as the unconscious correcting the one-sidedness of the conscious attitude; Adjustment is that correction made visible.
Thoth and Rider-Waite
Waite's Justice sits enthroned with sword and scales and is numbered XI; Crowley's dancer is masked, in motion and numbered VIII, and he renames the card to strip out human moralising.
Where sources differ
Numbering: the Golden Dawn and Crowley give VIII; Waite and the Marseille tradition give XI to Justice.
The sign in depth
| Dates | Sep 23 – Oct 22 |
|---|---|
| Type | Cardinal Air |
| Ruler | Venus |
| Exalts | Saturn |
| Weakens | Mars (detriment), Sun (fall) |
| Motto | “I balance” |
| Body | Kidneys, lower back |
| Opposite | Aries, The Emperor |
| Gifts | Fairness, charm, harmony, aesthetic sense, cooperation, diplomacy |
| Shadow | Indecision, people-pleasing, superficial niceness, conflict avoidance, codependence |
More in the astrology chapters: Libra.
Related cards
Pairs with
- א0 The Fool Lamed and Aleph spell AL: the goad and the ox, the balance and the zero
- טXI Lust Adjustment (VIII) and Lust (XI) are the pair whose numbers the Golden Dawn exchanged
The decans of Libra
- ☽︎Two of Swords PeaceThe Moon, Sep 23–Oct 2
- ♄︎Three of Swords SorrowSaturn, Oct 3–12
- ♃︎Four of Swords TruceJupiter, Oct 13–22
Courts ruling Libra
Other paths touching Geburah
Other paths touching Tiphareth
Correspondences follow the Golden Dawn system as used in Crowley's Book of Thoth and Liber 777. Paintings by Lady Frieda Harris, © Ordo Templi Orientis. Where sources differ.