TRUMP XX "THE AEON" (JUDGEMENT)

Crowley: Be every act an act of love and worship. Be every act the fiat of a god. Be every act a source of radiant glory. Final decision in respect of the past, new current in respect of the future; always represents the taking of a definite step. (BT p. 260)

In times past, when the consensus reality was, to a great degree, determined by the interpreters of truth through revelation, and the day of final judgement was said to be at hand, the man of reason could deny its universal truth and seek to calm his and other's anxiety through the exercise of reason over revelation. Today is unique over all yesterdays in that not only is the revelation apocalyptic but the visions of reason are equally catastrophic. In times like ours where can one derive a non-fatal vision of the future?

This is the card of our times. Are we facing the Apocalypse and Final Judgement, or "merely" the end of one evolutionary stage and the beginning of another?

The amino acid Methionine has a corresponding dual nature. As punctuation it signals the start of protein synthesis by marking the beginning of a gene on a strand of messenger RNA. It also functions as an amino acid within the protein chain which the mRNA holds in coded form.

The traditional interpretation of this card refers to the Final or Last Judgement, apocalypse or the end of civilization. It pictures the arrival of a messenger or angel who gathers and leads the ones to be saved from the coming destruction by fire; ending one era and signaling the beginning of another.

"DECREASE" - kua 41, and "THE AEON" - trump XX echo this confusion of ends and beginnings that manifest during times of transition.

Kua 41, Miscellaneous notes: THE HEXAGRAMS OF DECREASE AND INCREASE ARE THE BEGINNING OF FLOWERING AND DECLINE. (p. 589)

Kua 41, The judgement: ... IT FURTHERS ONE TO UNDERTAKE SOMETHING. ... (p. 158)

Crowley: Final decision in respect of the past, new current in respect of the future; always represents the taking of a definite step. (BT p. 260)

The kua of "DECREASE" is the beginning of flowering. Turn it upside down and you get kua 42 "INCREASE;" which is the beginning of decline. The principle is that the bottom of one cycle coincides with the top of another. While one era reaches its peak of development, described by "INCREASE" there is the simultaneous birth of the new era signified by the kua of "DECREASE."

To get a better understanding of how the philosophers of the I Ching viewed the process of change, study the accompanying figure. The curves represent two cycles of history, of equal amplitude and frequency, but in opposing phases. They may be understood to signify two points of view regarding the meaning of events as they are occuring in the present. One view characterizes the attitudes of those who perceive that the time of relative abundance and progress has come to an end and who fear the future as one fears a fall. The other view is that of those who perceive the end as also a beginning and are thus hopeful that the coming changes will improve their lot.

From the top, looking down with fear, the message of the times is manifested in the kua of "INCREASE." The fall from the heights promotes an apocalyptic vision of judgement and punishment in the minds of those who have perceived current events as signifying a time of climax. The best of times are seen to be in the past. To the extent that all members of the society have not shared the abundance of the time of "INCREASE" there is fear that the coming change will be revolutionary, catastrophic, or even apocalyptic. For a more comprehensive treatment of this perception read again the chapter on "THE TOWER" and the chapter on "DEATH."

From the bottom, looking up with hope, the message is perceived in the form of kua 41 "DECREASE." The needs and aspirations of the disaffected and disenfranchised are to be fulfilled in the future. The current situation marks the beginning of a long slow climb to another "peak." The hope is that the coming changes will be evolutionary and will afford opportunities for the eventual betterment of those who have not shared in the comfort and abundance of the passing age. Again, to the extent that the society has shared its abundance and fulfilled the needs and aspirations of its members; to that extent will the emotional forces of fear and hope be under control. The transition will be made with an amount of destruction inversely proportionate to the amount of love the society manifests.

Crowley said he believed he knew the nature of the coming age and who its lord is to be. We may accept or reject his judgement or continue to observe and question.

The basic message of both trump XX and kua 41 is of a transition from one era to another. Compare what is said regarding this time of change.

Crowley: ... concentration of political power, ... general need for the concentration of religious thought. (BT p. 116)

Wilhelm: (kua 41) ... decrease in the prosperity of the people in favor of the government ... draw on the strength of the inner attitude to compensate ... (p. 158-159)

Crowley warns: ... dark ages likely to precede the full flowering of the new era. (BT p. 116)

In search of hope in an age of despair, the philosopher settles for an optimism based on catastrophe. Raymond Aron