← “Röhrig Cards” deck

Judgement

“Röhrig Cards” deck · card #20

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"Should I reveal the great secret to you, my friend? Do not wait for the Day of Judgement: it happens every day."
Albert Camus

The Judgement that the spiritual seeker encounters here is not a strict and punishing judgment, but rather a liberating state of rebirth. Through the influence of the Sun, alchemical transformation has so ennobled and purified the human body that the rebirth of the spirit can take place. In order to attain mastery, the initiate must walk the path of death and resurrection several times, growing purer and more transparent each time.

The card of Judgement embodies the state of resurrection that follows the death of initiation. The man and woman who live because of their deaths know that every awakening means more than simply serving them personally. Since every individual is a representative of a family, a group or a race, everything an individual understands or teaches also serves other people. In this light, the spiritual path is neither lonely nor long, but instead carries us toward the greatest awareness of responsibility for ourselves and others. People who have reached this stage no longer belong to any dogmatic, esoteric religion, but live within themselves the unity of all religions — a genuine universal religion.

Card number twenty in the Tarot of the Aquarian Age depicts a remarkably beautiful young woman, whose wide-open, knowing eyes gaze lovingly upon everything she sees. When we compare this card with the card of the High Priestess, we recognize that the same young woman is depicted on both cards. On the second card, her eyes are closed; on the twentieth card, her eyes are fully open. She has awakened, having revealed her mystery, and now she helps awaken others, blowing loudly on her trumpet. She is like the Archangel Gabriel, who awakens people from an enchanted spell, from their long sleep, into a new state of consciousness.

On the left side of the card is shown the process of Judgement, as drawn by Pamela Colman Smith in her Tarot deck. Seven notes issue from the trumpet blown by the angels. Beneath the trumpet we see a young woman on the right, a man on the left, and a boy between them. All three are naked, their nakedness symbolizing that they have risen from the graves of their limited consciousness. Nakedness in the Tarot invariably signifies consciousness. The graves signify that the bodily aspect has been left far behind. The male figure on the right represents tradition: all the philosophical, religious, intellectual and artistic paths of the past, as well as the masculine side of each of us. The female figure represents feeling, the heart, worshipful love and intuition, as well as the feminine side of each of us. The youth in the middle combines the aspects of father and mother within himself, and is thus ready for mastery and prepared for full awakening.

This twentieth card also has a bearing on our present day and age: our twentieth century literally proclaims awakening aloud. A collective, spiritual awakening into higher consciousness and toward a more responsible attitude to the environment and our fellow human beings, regardless of differences in skin color or race, is the one true mission worth every individual's effort.

SHIN (tooth) is the Hebrew letter belonging to card number twenty. If people had no teeth, they would not be able to eat, and would be doomed to die. Similarly, human destiny is also divided into small parts; thus time was born: hours, years and centuries. Everything completes itself according to the great cosmic plan. Time unfolds within the spiritual life of humanity. Only God knows everything — the beginning and the end.

The rune PERTHRO (dice-cup) is assigned to card number twenty. As the rune of fate, PERTHRO symbolizes the weaving of the three Fates of Norse or Germanic mythology, who represent past, present and future. In reality, all fate takes place simultaneously within the realm of the runes.

The astrological sign of this card is dedicated to Pluto, god of the Underworld. Pluto rules the realm of the dead, and is thus closely connected with death and transformation. The path of the Tarot now leads the initiate to the highest stage of completion, embodied by the next card, the World.

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