XX Aeon, Rebirth from the Quest Tarot is often known as Judgement in other decks. I looked up a lot of information on this card in about 8 different books and some on-line resources. I really could have spent all day wandering through it, but I had other things to do. So I’ll just give you a little run-down of what I discovered:
From most of my resources, as well as with the association pictured on the card, this is a fire card and is represented by fire opal (or sometimes malachite).
However, a lot of the information I found talked about how this was a feminine card about fertility, transformation, and intuition. A few books, such as Rachel Pollack’s Tarot Wisdom, did highlight the fire quality.
I drew my own stone for the reading and got Moonstone ~ again about femininity and the Moon. But this stone is associated with water. In fact, many of the descriptions I found I would associate with water. I guess that is why there is fire and water pictured on this particular card. Moonstone is also associated with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, who is all about love (okay, and hotness).
The rune associated with this card is Pertho (pictured on the card in the upper-right circle). This rune is all about mystery, hidden things, fertility, and the feminine.
The planet association for this card is Pluto (signified by the symbol in the upper-left circle). The Greek God name is Hades. You know ~ ruler of the Underworld. Pluto is all about evolution and unavoidable change.
The Kabbalah association is Shin, which means flame or tooth (this is pictured in the circle just to the right of the center XX). The Practical Kabbalah Guidebook by C.J.M. Hopking states that XX Judgement is “Yesod in Assiah,” represented by the moon and introducing us to cycles of change.
I think this card is a great alternative for people who are put off by the “normal” pictures of Judgement: Angels blowing trumpets, depictions of Revelations and the Last Days, and sermons of Hell-Fire and damnation by overly-judgemental gods.
In reality, this card represents a balance and a duality between fire and water, the masculine and feminine, and other factors that I will spend some time exploring in-depth in the future.
What are your thoughts on Judgement and on this alternative card?
