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Path 31, Judgement.
The symbolism of Path 31 relates to the ascent of Life through the Intellect. The opposite of the sensual Path 29, The Moon. This link between the Personality and the Physical World is dominated by the element of Fire, symbolic of the powers of Thought and Mind. Across the lower reaches of the Tree, the elements of Fire and Water balance each other, to come into explosive, but liberating, contact on Path 27, the Tower.
Artifice and Organisation are found here on Path 31. The tribe, the village and town, the city and country all have their place on this path.
Path 31 is linked strongly with the legend of Prometheus, creator of Mankind, who risked the wrath of Zeus to bring Fire to his suffering children. His reward was to be chained to a rock where an Eagle pecks daily at his liver, only to have it grow again overnight. The Eagle, although associated with Zeus, is a magical symbol of the Sun and Scorpio. Only the Eagle can fly high enough to gaze on the Sun, the symbol of the true Self, or Individuality.
The strange symbology of this story relates to the mixed blessing that the Fire of Conscious Thought brings, and its responsibilities. Prometheus will only be freed when the Centaur Cheiron sacrifices his life. This half man, half beast is symbolic of our lower selves, whose life must be offered up to that of the Soul, our real Self. This really represents the handing over of a lower (but physically powerful) vehicle to the service of a higher part of ourselves, the Individuality.
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