Have you noticed that some Tarot decks have the VIII and XI positions switched in their major arcana sequence? I remember the advice of my professors in university who would insist that we look for problems and inconsistencies while doing research. Trying to solve a problem or make a complex issue more clear makes for a good essay. What does this inconsistency mean to the Tarot reader and seeker? Is there something bigger here to uncover? I hope to provide some answers in this article and many more as I move forward with PathandTarot.
The Questions
On a quick glance into the depths of search engines I see that this is a topic already in motion for a long time. There are indeed some quick answers that we can gleam from a quick search.
The primary deck of this site right now is The Wild Unknown by Kim Krans, and it has the VIII position as Justice and XI is Strength. The imagery is wonderful with Justice being two cats, one white, one black signifying the scales of Libra judgment.
Strength is represented as a Lion that captures the animalistic essence of what true strength is. The Lion is the king of jungle in most stories, and for The Wild Unknown it is the power of mastering your own emotion through self-control.
Los Scarabeo’s Universal Tarot, a deck that I used for a short period has Strength and Justice opposite to The Wild Unknown. Justice is set as XI and Strength is VIII.
Two decks, with two different interpretations of the cards, which one is right?
An article by Jeremy LamPkin at tarotsmith.net called Rider-Waite vs Crowley-Thoth uncovers some information that helps explain the difference. The explanation is that there are two schools of thought to recognize when considering Strength and Justice and their position in a Tarot deck.
Is that all there is? Just a simple dichotomy of Rider-Waite and Crowley-Thoth in Tarot? Rider-Waite inspired decks will have VIII as strength and XI as Justice while a Crowley inspired deck will most likely have them reversed.
Musical Choices
Thinking back to my music roots, maybe we could say that this difference is like choosing between a Gibson or a Fender guitar. Both are guitars, however, both have very different sound qualities. In music recording gear choice is important to get the right sound and create the right production for the song. Maybe that is the same way with tarot. The right deck needs to be used in the right situation.
So what?
The Marty Yeager deck I briefly spoke of in the intro post is another example of where Strength is set to XI and Justice is VIII. Maybe it’s not enough to track the difference in numbering the major Arcana because it seems with each deck I look at there are inconsistencies to uncover.
The Marty Yeager deck has no imagery on the minor Arcana Ace to 10, and the minor Arcana resembles more traditional playing cards. The court cards have their human representations, but Ace through 10 are just their symbols swords, wands, cups, and pentacles framed in outer space. Pretty cool, but what does that mean compared to the Rider-Waite or Crowley-Thoth dichotomy?
If we actually look at the Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley there are far more changes than just the placement of Strength and Justice in the major arcana sequence. Strength and Justice are renamed to VIII Adjustment and XI Lust along with other cards in the major Arcana.
The court sequence of The Wild Unknown is Daughter, Son, Mother and Father and aligns with the Crowley-Thoth court cards Princess, Prince, Queen, and Knight.
So what can we make of the long standing tradition of Tarot deck design and the many differences from deck to deck? Not really sure. When we talk about Rider-Wait and Crowley’s dichotomy we are referencing a time in the early 20th century.
Music roots
If we come back to music, and I usually will throughout this blog, the tradition of jazz also took form in the early 20th century. Jazz, like Tarot has it own tradition and conventions that have changed over the years. To be a good jazz player you need to learn your music fundamentals, and then throw them away and do what is hip and what is best for the song.
Is Tarot just a secret club of rock stars who setup their own rules and are really good at keeping secrets? I don’t know for sure. What I do know is that Strength and Justice seem to set decks apart in subtle ways that remind me of a time music would set the world on fire.
I have told you much about the technical details of the Strength and Justice question but what do I think about the difference? If all decks are unique in their own way, then maybe you just have to pick your favorite deck and be a rock star with it.
Does Human Form Matter?
If we consider the division in the major Arcana at X Wheel of Fortune, The Fool up to the Hermit, all represent human archetypes. From X Wheel of Fortune on-wards represent concepts beyond the human form. So we have to ask ourselves what belongs a part of the human condition in Tarot? Strength or Justice?
The Yeager deck I was gifted and The Wild Unkown deck follows the tradition of having Justice set at VIII. For now, it feels like Justice belongs in the human condition. The way I can rationalize this is that Justice demands we choose between right and wrong, and when it comes down to it, all we have is free choice to make the world we want to live in. Choice is a condition that is truly human, while Strength is something we have to achieve through work. You could choose to have Strength or not.
Strength on the other hand can be divinely given to someone. There are lots of stories of super human strength. Usually a concept of justice appears to help the story make sense of this strength.
Some could say that Justice fits better as position XI because of the duality of the number 11. Using a little numerology we can divide 11 into 1 and 1. Having two 1’s each on their own scale for the purpose of a perfect balance.
Another way to look at it is the symbol for infinity used in Strength resembles a sideways 8 doesn’t it ( ∞ )? Strength seems to invoke the infinite. To me it feels at home in the divine setting.
Conclusion
In the end both positions of Strength and Justice are valid, and both carry with it a long standing tradition. How can you rationalize the difference and have it make sense for your readings? Why not have more than one deck? Tap into the difference of Strength and Justice and use it where it suites you.
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Attribution for Images from Universal Tarot: ©Lo Scarabeo srl, via Cigna 110, 10155 Torino, Italy. All rights reserved, used by permission
The Wild Unknown Card images courtesy of The Wild Unknown
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