Association of the Week: The Balance
The Balance is not only a zodiac sign but, more generally, the symbol of earthly and heavenly justice.
We find in many ancient religions the notion of a trial in the afterworld in which every soul is weighted according to its good and bad deeds.
In Ancient Egypt, the God Osiris in Ma’at’s presence (the goddess of Justice) would weigh the heart of the dead and then decide of its destination – either towards Aaru (equivalent of Heaven) or remain in the Duat (the equivalent of Hell). The same weighting of earthly actions can be found on Ancient Persia and in Tibet. In Christianity, the balance is the attribute of God, the Father, who shall weigh the deeds of men in the day of the Final Judgment.
The Arabic Alchemy uses the symbol of the Balance in the mind frame of the “Spiritual Alchemy”. The science of the Balance consists then in measuring the “desires of the Soul of the World” and it establishes the proper correspondences between the spiritual world and the manifested world. The balance then marks the equilibrium between light and darkness. Consequently this art also gave rise to the relation between the planets, minerals and the four elements.
Now you take the floor: what do you associate with the Balance?
