The Tarot of Eli 2, LLC: Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot- Key 20-Judgement & The Archeon Tarot - Key 20-Judgement

#tarottradtionamagicklqabalahelitarot2strikingly.com

The end always passes judgement on what has gone before.

-Publilius Syrus

Key 20 – The Aeon of Awakening: Realization and Resurrection

The Rider-Waite-Smith TAROT-Key 20, traditionally titled Judgement, signifies a pivotal stage in the aspirant's spiritual unfoldment known as Realization. At this initiatory threshold, the individuated consciousness—the egoic personality—begins to dissolve its separateness, preparing to merge with the Universal Collective Consciousness. This is not annihilation, but transfiguration: a resurrection of awareness beyond the limitations of name and form.

The three coffins depicted in the imagery symbolize the tombs of the sensory-bound self: physical conditioning, emotional attachment, and mental rigidity. These “dead shells” of identity are relinquished as the inner Self responds to the Call of Spirit. The risen figures represent liberated aspects of Self, no longer entombed by the illusion of finality, but awakened to a greater continuity of being.

At the apex of the card, the angel—traditionally Archangel Gabriel—blows a trumpet, which in esoteric symbolism is a metaphor for vibrational activation. This trumpet is not merely a call to wake up; it is the breath of divine vibration, a Logos made audible. The act of blowing the trumpet parallels Pranayama, or yogic breath control, wherein breath becomes the vehicle of Will and the instrument of internal resurrection. Through conscious breathing, the aspirant aligns the rhythm of the microcosm (the body) with the macrocosmic song of creation.

This vibration initiates a renewal of identity, a movement from mortal mind to the immortal I AM. In this way, Key 20 is not a warning of final judgment, but an invitation to transcendence. It is the clarion call of the Higher Self awakening the fragmented ego to its true Solar origin—declaring not punishment, but liberation.

The Aeon is now, and Realization is not a someday event, but a now-moment recognition: "I Am not the one in the coffin. I Am the Voice that calls forth the living soul."

The Cross and the Clouded Self: Esoteric Mechanics of Key 20

In the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, Key 20 – Judgement—or more aptly in Hermetic terms, Realization—portrays a rich tapestry of esoteric symbolism. Prominently, the cross upon the white banner, unfurled from the angel’s trumpet, forms a red Greek cross upon a square field. This cross is a powerful symbol of measured equilibrium, representing the rational, discerning faculties of consciousness—the ability to weigh, judge, and draw conclusions from all facets of experience.

The cross, in its geometric perfection, intersects fourfold space (the square), signifying the grounding of spiritual forces into the world of manifestation. It is the signature of the Tetragrammaton—YHVH—fully realized in the material plane. Here, it also alludes to accurate judgment based on holistic perception: not reactive dogma, but reasoned discernment that arises when the individual integrates all aspects of their being—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual.

As Dr. Paul Foster Case—prominent Western Qabalist—explains, the angel is not a separate celestial being, but the True Self: the Solar Self, or Higher Genius, that presides over the lesser ego. It is the I AM calling the “dead” personalities (fragments of the psyche) into resurrection, integration, and unified identity.

The angel is surrounded by clouds, signifying that this Higher Self remains veiled to the conscious mind by the operations of the Element of Water, which in Qabalistic terms represents the Unconscious. These clouds obscure, not because the True Self is hidden maliciously, but because the waking personality is often submerged in emotional waters, instinctual reactions, and collective programming.

Thus, to “hear the call” is to rise from the coffin of forgetfulness and move toward the clarity of Reason—not cold logic, but Reason in its Qabalistic sense: the harmonizing intelligence that balances emotion, intuition, and thought.

This card teaches that Judgement is not condemnation, but discernment—and the first step to ascension is right perception. Only when the inner eye is cleared, and the clouds of Water lifted, can the voice of the Angel within be truly heard.

Icebergs and Celestial Rays: Hidden Currents in Key 20

In the background of the Rider-Waite-Smith Judgement card (Key 20), we find icebergs emerging from the sea—an often-overlooked symbol teeming with esoteric meaning. Like the suspended figure in Key 12, The Hanged Man, these icebergs represent a suspension or arresting of the astral currents, the flow of what the Western Qabalah refers to as "Mind-Stuff" or subtle astral substance.

Water, as always in esoteric symbolism, represents the Unconscious, the emotional and psychic substratum of human experience. Ice, then, is water in a crystallized and inert form—frozen thought, dogma, or unresolved emotional energies that have solidified into blockages. The iceberg is the mind's inertia—its unwillingness to evolve or thaw outdated identifications.

Furthermore, only a small portion of an iceberg is visible above the surface, while the vast majority remains submerged and hidden—a visual metaphor for the Unconscious Mind itself. This mirrors the figure in the Hanged Man, who is also inverted, viewing the world from a hidden or reversed perspective. Both symbols speak to the inner revelation that comes only when we descend into the depths, reverse our habitual viewpoint, and see beyond the surface-level appearances of reality.

Also present in the Judgement card are seven radiant rays streaming forth from the angel's trumpet. These rays are no arbitrary illustration—they represent the seven classical planets of astrology: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon. Each correlates directly with the seven major chakras, the psycho-energetic vortexes along the spine that govern human consciousness from base instinct to divine intuition.

The trumpet’s sevenfold light thus indicates a spiritual awakening and activation of the full energetic system, harmonizing the planetary forces within the human microcosm. The call of the Angel is not simply to “rise from the grave,” but to resurrect as a fully aligned being, in which every planetary vibration has been purified, balanced, and consciously integrated.

In totality, the imagery of Key 20 reveals that true Judgment is not external damnation, but internal transformation. It is a thawing of the frozen self, an awakening of celestial harmonies, and the reintegration of all soul fragments into the radiant wholeness of the Solar Self.

Resurrecting the Light: The Threefold Self and the Mystery of LVX in Key 20

In the Rider-Waite-Smith Judgement card, three central figures emerge from coffins, arms raised in an act of awakening. These are not arbitrary characters; they are symbolic representations of the psycho-spiritual triad within every human being.

• The man signifies the Self-Conscious mind, the reasoning ego that navigates the external world.

• The woman symbolizes the Subconscious, the intuitive and receptive matrix of memory, emotion, and psychic receptivity.

• The child, standing between them, is the offspring of their union—the personality, or the constructed interface through which the soul interacts with the world of name and form.

This triad reflects a fundamental Hermetic principle: the integration of polarities to produce a unified third. In alchemical terms, it is the Marriage of the Sun and Moon, giving birth to the Philosophical Child.

In the background, we observe three more figures, often overlooked, rising but not yet awakened to the Light. These represent undeveloped aspects of consciousness—those soul fragments or ego states still buried in forgetfulness, not yet aligned with the True Self. They remain greyed out, not as a condemnation, but to signify that they are still under the veil of sleep.

The color grey is rich with layered meaning. It is the neutralization of opposites—the blending of black (form) and white (spirit). In Qabalistic symbolism, it resonates with Chokmah, the 2nd Sephiroth, known as Wisdom. As the “force behind form,” Chokmah is the origin of all vitality in the Tree of Life and is often associated with the astral light, which pervades all levels of manifestation.

Yet, grey which is also shown as the image in the Archeon Judgment Card, carries the resonance of the dead, or more accurately, the spiritually dormant—those whose inner fire has not yet been ignited. This dual meaning mirrors the liminal state between death and rebirth depicted in the card.

Most intriguingly, the gestures of the three foreground figures encode a powerful occult formula known to initiates of the Hermetic Mysteries. Their arms form the letters:

• L – formed by the woman’s outstretched arms.

• V – shaped by the child’s uplifted arms.

• X – created by the man’s crossed arms.

Together they spell LVX, the Latin word for "Light". In Hermetic tradition, LVX is not merely light in the physical sense—it is the Light of Gnosis, the radiant intelligence of the Solar Self, the spiritual sun behind the veil. This formula is central to the work of many esoteric orders and is often associated with the resurrection of the divine identity from the tomb of matter.

Thus, the Judgement card is not about finality—it is the moment of inner resurrection, when the fragmented self hears the trumpet call of the Angel and remembers its origin in Light. The spell of forgetfulness breaks, and LVX dawns again in the heart.

The Qabalistic assignation to this card is the Hebrew letter Shin (pronounced "sheen"), the English translation of which means "tooth", a serpent's fang as life on earth is represented as a "serpent" of vibrational tones and/or frequencies of microwave energy. The word "tooth" suggests sharpness, acidity, and active manifestation.

The number of Shin is 300, which is the value of the Hebrew words RVCH, Ruach Elohim which mean "Life-Breath of the Divine Ones" and/or "Holy Spirit". Therefore, Qabalists call Shin the "Holy Letter". Hence, proper understanding of this letter entails those which tear down the limitations of form, just as teeth break up food. As a serpent's fang, it represents the power that kills the false personality (made by culture/indoctrination and dogma) and its false sense of separateness. We all belong to each other as One Great Mind of the Universal Collective.

Ruach Elohim, reminds us that we all are the breath of the body. Even the word Spirit reminds us of our true presence as it comes from the root Greek word Spiro, which translates to breath or to breathe. You are the Plasmic Prana entity that is the Auric Field of Solar Energy that surrounds the body. You are Spirit and you animate the body in your name of "I AM".

In the context of Western Hermetic Qabalah and the Tarot, the term Ruach Elohim (רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים) holds profound mystical and symbolic significance, particularly in relation to the Judgement card.

Literal Meaning

• Ruach (רוּחַ): This Hebrew word translates to "spirit," "breath," or "wind." In a metaphysical sense, it refers to the animating principle, the divine breath that sustains life and movement.
• Elohim (אֱלֹהִים): A plural form often translated as "God" or "Gods," it represents the creative and generative aspect of divinity. In Qabalistic thought, Elohim is associated with the Sephirah Binah (Understanding), which is the archetype of form and structure in creation.

Together, Ruach Elohim is commonly translated as "Spirit of God" or "Breath of God."

Qabalistic Context

In the Sefer Bereshit (Book of Genesis), Ruach Elohim appears in the creation narrative:
"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)

Here, Ruach Elohim is the divine force hovering over the primordial chaos, bringing order, life, and creation. In Qabalistic terms, it represents the interplay of the infinite (Ain Soph) with the manifest world, infusing the material plane with divine vitality.

Connection to the Judgement Card

In the Tarot, the Judgement card corresponds to Shin (ש) in the Hebrew alphabet and the element of Fire, symbolizing purification, transformation, and awakening. When Ruach Elohim is depicted on the card, it conveys several layers of meaning:

1. Divine Awakening and Resurrection

   • The Judgement card depicts the resurrection of souls, symbolizing a spiritual awakening or rebirth. The Ruach Elohim breathes life into these souls, calling them to ascend toward higher consciousness.

2. Purification and Renewal

   • Just as the Spirit of God brought order and light to the primordial waters, Ruach Elohim signifies the cleansing and renewing forces of divine grace. It points to a release of karmic debts and the restoration of balance.

3. Union of Spirit and Form

   • Ruach Elohim represents the divine breath that reconciles opposites: the spiritual (spirit) and the material (form). On the Judgement card, it emphasizes the soul's realization of its divine origin and ultimate destiny.

4. Call to Higher Purpose

   • The divine trumpet in the Judgement card symbolizes a spiritual call to action or purpose, much like the Ruach Elohim impels the cosmos into being. This is the inner prompting toward self-realization and divine service.

Qabalistic Symbolism of Ruach

In Qabalistic psychology, Ruach represents the middle aspect of the human soul, situated between:

• Nephesh (Animal soul, instinct)
• Neshamah (Divine soul, intuition)

Ruach is associated with intellect, will, and emotion. On the Judgement card, this indicates the harmonization of mental and emotional faculties with higher spiritual truths, enabling the individual to transcend worldly limitations.

Summary

In the context of the Judgement card, Ruach Elohim encapsulates the themes of divine awakening, spiritual renewal, and the transformative power of the Spirit of the Divine Creative. It highlights the soul's journey from material existence (symbolized by the figures rising from their graves) to divine unity and eternal life. This phrase serves as a reminder of the divine breath that animates and guides all creation, urging us to heed the call of higher purpose and spiritual ascension.

Perpetual Intelligence is the name Dr. Paul Foster Case (Founder of B.O.T.A.) has given the Path of Shin, i.e. the Judgment cards. This is a mode of consciousness whose name is derived from a Hebrew root meaning "to stretch", implying that the Perpetual Intelligence is an extension beyond the limits of awake conscious mode of most human beings. This name also implies everlastingness, eternity, and therefore, conscious immortality.

Also, interestingly the number 20 reduces to 2, thereby, we realize that the consciousness represented here is the culmination of mental activities originating in the cosmic memory of the Divine Hermaphrodite/High Priestess and/or the 2 who equal 1.

The Interim Judgment: Liberating the Soul from the Chains of Form

In its most profound Hermetic sense, Key 20 – Judgement serves as a spiritual interim report—a moment of reckoning in which the Soul evaluates its journey toward liberation. Here, liberation is not escape from the body or the world, but the unbinding of the Solar Self (the True I AM) from the limiting dogmas, artificial identities, and man-made indoctrinations that shackle the personality to the dense gravity of material illusion.

This card signals a critical assessment: to what extent has the alchemical union of opposites—commonly symbolized as “male” and “female”—been integrated within the inner temple of the aspirant? The figures rising from the graves are not merely resurrected dead; they are archetypal children—the product of the harmonization between active and receptive polarities within the psyche. This inner child is the personality redeemed through the fusion of subconscious intuition and conscious intention.

True ascension is not a disembodied escape, but a grounded elevation. We are called to root ourselves in the Earth—not as prisoners of matter, but as living conduits of the Divine, grounding Heaven into the world of Form. It is through our alignment with the planetary body that we become capable of raising the microcosmic mind—the natural, instinctive self—into resonance with the Macrocosmic Mind of the Supernal Triangle (Kether, Chokmah, and Binah).

We are not here to abandon flesh, but to ensoul it—to "enfleshen" the Pranic Flame of the Universal I AM, expressing divine vitality through incarnate experience. This is the sacred mission of the Enlightened: not to transcend the world, but to illuminate it from within—to breathe the Breath of Spirit into the bones of matter, and resurrect the Divine Child within every moment of life.

There is no punishment or reward (as in the justice card). Rather, on a variety of levels, Judgment determines if one is free or remains shackled to unresolved unconscious materials and/or "the false ego". Christianity has labeled this process as "damnation" or "salvation". However, both are temporary conditions resulting from self-scrutiny.

Hence, judgment represents evaluation at the end of a long cycle, such as retirement from a job, end of a marriage, graduation from college, completion of a book, or a building project. Therefore, this is not the "last judgment", but rather a process that repeats repeatedly in a person's life, at the end of cycles.

Key 20 – Judgement in the Archeon Tarot: The Sword of Consequence

The Archeon Tarot’s depiction of Key 20 – Judgement veers from traditional Western Hermetic symbolism and instead presents a stark, emotional reckoning. Here we see a ghostly, grey angelic figure, ethereal and spectral, wielding a double-edged sword. This celestial messenger is not summoned by a single clarion call, but by three trumpets, symbolizing the threefold nature of internal awareness: the Subconscious, the Unconscious, and the Waking Conscious Mind.

Unlike the alchemical resurrection and Solar liberation of the Rider-Waite-Smith or Thoth traditions, this image expresses a more psychological and existential theme—that of karmic consequence. The card suggests that life is composed of choices, and every choice echoes through memory, leaving behind emotional imprints and psychic residue. These accumulated decisions form a weight that presses upon the present moment.

This is not judgment as condemnation, but judgment as conscious review. The angel does not appear to punish but to cut through the lingering shadows of the past. The sword in its hand is not merely a weapon—it is the blade of discernment, the sacred tool of the Holy Guardian Angel who serves not as a judge, but as a liberator.

This double-edged sword represents the natural law of action and reaction—the karmic rhythm of the universe. With one stroke, it severs our unhealthy attachments to past decisions, not so that we forget, but so that we may accept what has been. This acceptance is key, for it allows us to redeem the present from the shackles of regret or self-condemnation.

The wisdom this card imparts is simple, yet profound: if you cannot make peace with the past, you forfeit the present. Judgment, then, becomes a holy moment of release—a sacred pause where we reclaim the power of choice by confronting and integrating what once held us back.

When the Key 20-Judgement card is thrown in a divination, it implies:

• Birth.
• Renewal.
• Awakening.
• Realization of utopia.
• Cosmic renewal.
• Birth of the new.
• Recognition of the great correlations.
• Expanded perception and liberation of previous concealed abilities.
• The quality of transformation.

If reversed:

• False identification.
• Self-delusion.
• Megalomania.
• Denial of the past.

Thank you for your interest, comments, and supportive donations. May you live long and prosper.

Traditional Tarot Card Comparisons blog and tarot store.

For more information on personal online tarot readings and/or Master Tarot Classes, and nontraditional Tarot Card Comparisons blog, just log onto elitarotstrickingly.com (link provided above). Thank you.

Western Hermetic Magick invocation and ritual website and magick blog.

June 2025 Thoth Master Class Special

These are 2-hour, one-on-one online Thoth Tarot Master Classes, tailored to each aspirant’s level and focus. For those who begin their journey in June 2025, the classes are offered at half price.

The regular rate is $95.00 USD per 2-hour session, but for new students who enroll in June, each session will be just $47.50 USD. Best of all, this discounted rate is locked in—you will continue to receive this special rate for all future classes, no matter the month.

To claim your June discount and begin your Master Class journey, simply click the registration button below.