Themis, let justice be tempered with mercy.
Condemn none without evidence, never on hearsay.

CHAPTER XI: ADJUSTMENT

THEMIS

Themis is the daughter of Gaea and Uranus, the Earth Mother, and the Ancient of Days.  She is one of the few Titans who survives in full power in the Olympian era of the rule of Zeus.  The Greeks saw her as the embodiment of the concept of connectedness.  She represents the abstract principle of absolute Justice, Law, or Adjustment.  To the Hindus, this is known as the Law of Karma.  To the psychotherapist, it means natural consequences.

The psychological drive of this archetype is the force of volition, pranic force, or spiritual power associated with the breath of life.  It is an urge toward growth, increase, and personal effectiveness, guided from above.  The motto of this stage is that, "Equilibrium is the secret of the Great Work."

The equivalent of this metaphysical principle in psychology is Jung's concept of compensation.  The unconscious contains the perspectives on life which balance the conscious attitudes.  They are revealed through dreams, moods, and behavior.  This interplay of opposites shows complimentary forces balancing one another.  This paradoxical union of opposites was reflected in the ancient worship of Themis at her primary cult site, Rhamnus.  Her dark or shadow side was also honored there, as Nemesis.

Jane Ellen Harrison, in her definitive work on Themis, traces her back through her history as a matriarchal tribal Goddess.  She originally represented an organizing function.  For this reason, she remained a trusted counsellor to Zeus.  He sought her opinions in matters of decision before, during, and after their marriage (before the arrival of Hera).  Their union is said to have produced the three Fates (among others) as their offspring.  The Fates spin, weave, and cut the thread of life.

Themis is inevitably linked strongly with her mother Gaea.  As a variation on the theme of Great Mother, Themis represented the earth-goddess of unshakable power because she is the absolute, inexorable Law.  The undeviating patterns of Themis keep even the gods themselves within certain boundaries.

When Themis is associated with her mother's earthiness she is called Ge-Themis.  She is to be distinguished from the agrarian world of growth, which is the province of Demeter.  She represents a deeper, psychic "grounding" of an individual, group, or community.  Each physical place on earth has its particular cyclic rhythm which strikes a deeper note than the mere passing of seasons.  This spiritual ground gives birth to local rituals and laws, which form the basis of cultural distinctions.  The governing maternal principle guarantees fertility.

The spiritual side of Themis can be distinguished from the more physical aspects through examining her oracular nature.  Themis was known for her mantic powers.  As the law of justice, she should certainly be able to perceive the future through extrapolating from cause and effect.  Oracles were the most revered form of divination in the ancient world.  They commanded great respect and awe.

Legend has it that Themis inspired and informed the priestesses at Delphi.  These priestesses sat over a fissure which emitted strong fumes.  The fissure was in a cave.  Under the influence of intoxicating vapors, the women uttered their prognostications in cryptic language.

Themis received her oracular power from her mother who had the same power.  Her mother gave her the oracle at Delphi as a gift.  According to myth, she later passed on the patronage of Delphi to Apollo.

Themis also has a heavenly, or celestial character, as head of the "Supreme Court."  On Mt. Olympus, she is the one who summons the gods to counsel, even though Zeus presides over them.  Themis, however, does preside over all the feasts, or banquets, where group members gather together.

The Greeks held a three-day rite in honor of Themis in October, a month associated with her sign Libra.  Known as the Thesmophoria, it is associated with Demeter/Persephone, also.  But it also acknowledges Themis and her underlying laws.  Like the great oracle at Delphi, the Thesmophoria is associated with a fissure or crack in the earth, opening into the depths.

PHYSICAL FORM

The origins of Themis as Titan of remote times indicates that she is a fundamental component of the materiality of the universe, and an instinctual force in the human personality.  Born from Gaea (materiality), she may be envisioned as "the laws of nature" concerning material phenomena.  These physical laws are the patterning principles of manifest existence, and human life, as well.

These laws represent the ecology of the macrocosm and microcosm.  They are based on efficiency, minimal motion, and dynamic equilibrium.  Physical laws include those of gravitation, planetary motion, angular momentum, motion, inertia, reactions, falling bodies, acceleration, etc.  Conservation is a recurrent keyword, such as "conservation of energy," "conservation of matter," "conservation of momentum," "conservation of electric charge," etc.

There are also laws of wave behavior, probability, probable population densities for molecules, and symmetry.  These last laws are important for quantum mechanics, which reveals an indeterminate universe distinctly different from the mechanistic Newtonian mechanics of local cause and effect.  Though Newton's inverse square law of gravitation seems mechanistic, Newton himself felt it a philosophical imperative to discover the "first-cause" (which is non-mechanical) before deducing causes from effects.

Since the laws of physics seem to be overthrown periodically by new discoveries, how can we trust in the concept of absolute "laws" of nature?  Themis underlies reality, patterning matter through dynamic equilibrium, no matter what mankind's current evaluation of her laws may be.  When "new laws" are discovered, we are receiving further revelations of Themis.  The principle of indeterminacy or uncertainty shows Themis frozen in the moment of judgement or decision, forever on the verge of rendering her verdict.

The principle laws of Newtonian mechanics were published in 1687 and included the following in a definitive concept of interaction:

LAW OF INERTIA: A body at rest will remain at rest, or a body in motion will continue in motion in a straight line with constant speed, unless constrained to change that state by the action of an exterior force.

LAW OF ACCELERATION: Change of a body's motion is proportional to any force acting upon it, and in the exact direction of that force.

LAW OF REACTION: Every acting force is always opposed by an equal and opposite reacting force.

LAW OF GRAVITATION: Every particle of matter in the universe attracts every other particle with a force proportional to the product of their masses and varying as the inverse square of the distance between their centers.

Science still seeks that elusive axiom known as THE UNIFIED FIELD THEORY which would unite both mechanistic and quantum models, or classical and quantum physics.  Carl Jung might have been commenting on the psycho-physical nature of Themis when he stated that, "If research could only advance far enough. . .we should arrive at an ultimate agreement between physical and psychological concepts."

Themis underlies the laws of thermodynamics:

1st law of thermodynamics = principle of conservation of energy;
2nd law of thermodynamics = entropy (energy converts from more to less orderly form).
Negentropy = Themis = orderly patterning principle.

Occupations associated with Themis include:

attorney
councilman
detective
D.A.
ecologist
judge
juror
librarian
paralegal
physicist
policeman
referee
senator
collective bargainer

EMOTIONAL IMAGE

Continuing with Jung's psycho-physical notion, we find that, "Psyche cannot be totally different from matter, for otherwise how could it move matter?  And matter cannot be alien to psyche, for how else could matter produce psyche?  Psyche and matter exist in the same world, and each partakes of the other, otherwise any reciprocal action would be impossible."  Themis is the principle of reciprocal action.

On the emotional level this translates into the give and take of daily life.  We are again confronted with the principle of attraction and repulsion, but in the arena of human relationships, rather than atomic substances.

Themis encourages the development of a balanced personality, one which recognizes both outer (material) and inner (psychic) realities.  A balanced personality honors both introversion and extroversion, reserving each for appropriate times and situations.  The balanced person divides their time between householder's duties and obligations and spiritual needs.

Themis has a preference for judging, as compared with perceiving.  Judging and perceiving types are naturally distributed about 50-50 in the general population.  Judging is not synonymous with judgmental, but reflects a style ofapprehending reality.  Judgers prefer closure to keeping options open and fluid.  They feel a sense of urgency before pending decisions, and a sense of ease and satisfaction once it is made.

Judgers establish and work toward deadlines, and expect others to do the same.  This can be a source of misunderstanding, since not everyone is driven by a work ethic that supercedes rest and recreation.  Their main drive is to get the job done, get the show on the road.  Their shadow-side can be critical of other types, accusing them of being aimless or procrastinating.  They exert pressure on themselves and others.  They may leap to premature conclusions before all evidence is in.

Themis provides a sense of proportion in one's self and life.  She represents the strength and force that suspends all action pending decision.  She represents the completion of education, once it is followed up with applied effort, action and work.

When all of humankind remained in the sway of Themis, the collective unconscious was so utterly dominant that few thought of transgressing the Law.  Besides the threat of being banished or shunned, there was an instinctual inhibition.  This was in the Golden Age before religion (Zeus) narrowed the psychic field down to the values of ego-consciousness.

There is a relationship between the law and boundaries, and personal boundaries.  This is the basis of respect and propriety.  In safe situations, or ritual, it is OK to let go of the boundaries of ordinary existence and experience ecstatic oneness.  But the No Boundaries condition is only safe in a society supportive of this state of consciousness and geared to inducing it and guiding the experience, or giving it particular value through initiation.  It is direct experience of the transpersonal dimension beyond, and ontologically prior to ego-consciousness.  It is the realm of "natural law" and brotherhood, a transpersonal value.

Themis came to represent control through social contracts among people.  Themis could see through to the truth of situations.  She holds the scales of justice, like the Egyptian goddess Maat, weighing the truth of the heart.  Principles of fair treatment under the law and egalitarianism are her "divine will."  When that contract is broken by a nation, organizations like Amnesty International intervene, attempting to provide at voice for the values of Themis.  They stand-in as a transnational conscience supporting human rights.

Themis acts on us through the natural consequences of our behavior.  Sometimes we know what is right, but do what we feel like and suffer the consequences.  Sometimes the judgment comes quickly, sometimes slowly.  The transpersonalequivalent of natural consequences is the principle of Karma.  It operates in the emotional or social sphere, by requiring that every "doer" receives the exact result, or reward of their actions.  This is the same law of cause and effect known in physics as the law of compensation.

In employment it is the principle of fair wages and collective bargaining.  In business, it is the basis of the fair market value, the "square deal."  We act foolishly if we ignore the law of compensation and try to get "something for nothing."  There is an exact balance of accounts and precise compensation for each and every act, according to Themis-consciousness.  This alone should be enough to make us careful not to hurt the feelings of others.  What goes around, comes around, according to folk wisdom.  Themis might have coined the Golden Rule:  "Do unto others..."

The proper understanding of the law of karma is a perfect solution to our social and economic difficulties.  Greedy or profit-mad individuals spend massive amounts of action and energy amassing fortunes, while the poor majority languish.  We are culturally conditioned into a consumer ethic by the media and Madison Avenue.  This is an unnatural trance state from which we can awaken.  The "Greed is good," mentality of the 80s is obsolete in the 90s.

If the principle of karma were deeply rooted in the public conscience, everyone would volunteer some fair exchange of their energies.  Every business transaction would seek first to render a service for that which is expected in return.  The first consideration would be how to make adequate payment, not how much can be taken through exploitation.  Pillage and plunder concepts are residues of lawless days of destruction of the weak.  They are based on the erroneous assumption that there isn't enough in the way of resources to be shared by all.

The moral tone of Themis insures that there is no blind rip-off, without an eventual accounting.  The concept of karma presupposes soul-migration from body to body, and suggests that ultimately all accounts are squared.

Keywords associated with Themis include:

 adjustment
judgment
amnesty
fair trade
ecology
duty
compensation
regulation
"tie that binds"
human rights
law and order
jurisprudence
punishment
reward
partnership
thermodynamics
contracts
ordinance
reincarnation
integrity
poise
decisive
consistent
proportion
verdict
summons
deposition
lawsuit

INTELLECTUAL IDEA

Jungian psychology has adopted the principle of compensation (counterbalance) in respect to psychological complexes.  These complexes compensate our ego's one-sided viewpoint on things.  Their perspectives are presented through our dreams and subconscious imagery.  These other viewpoints represent subpersonalities within our character.

It is in the nature of psychological complexes to suddenly switch into their opposites in a process termed enantiodromia.  This 180 degree switch is the basis for the principle of rehabilitation, or reform.  It is literally a re-forming of attitudes and thought-patterns, influencing values and priorities.

An example from THE BIBLE is the conversion of the crassly materialistic Saul into a spiritual man-of-God, Paul.  On a lower arc of personality, the same happens in recovery for reformed alcoholics and criminals.  The law of compensation is the basis of "rebirth" phenomena.  It represents the return swing of pendulum.  Themis encourages a balanced personality rather than radical, over-reactive mood swings.  They are symptomatic of an underlying imbalance.

According to Jung, the ideal of spiritual striving for the heights is inexorably linked with a materialistic, earth-bound passion to conquer matter and master the world.  The archetype of the Self expresses its paradoxical quality through radically opposite changes in the conscious attitude.

These 180 degree changes of attitude are to be expected, rather than appear as a surprise.  It is the pattern of oscillation, and indicates values in flux.  Contradictory attitudes held by the unconscious intrude suddenly into the conscious attitude of daily life.  Sometimes it is the conscience calling, sometimes the voice of the shadow.  It requires discrimination, and wise behavior to respond to such forces.

This good/bad paradox is embodied in the alter-ego of Themis, known as Nemesis. Nemesis-consciousness is characterized by pessimism and negativity--an "I told you so" attitude.  She is the goddess of doom and gloom, the proverbial "chip on the shoulder."  She is the shadow-side of Themis.  Another shadow of judgement is guilt--the result of self-judgement.  Guilt is the flip side of conscience.  It manifests from a wounded conscience.

The SUPEREGO is a Freudian notion of an unconscious conscience, which metes out punishment and reward to the ego, like a critical parent.  It is based in unconscious law, which in no way resembles the cultural codes we have developed to protect the innocent.  The Superego is a transpersonal force, but when it is debased it functions through the subpersonality or complex we call the Inner Judge.  Inner justice is far less egalitarian than external justice which is regulated by cultural checks and balances.

This judge is severe.  Unconscious justice has only one aim: punishment and refusal of pleasure.  Its nature is anti-hedonistic.  In its view, "you exist, therefore you are guilty."  This syndrome is accentuated in the psyche if the parents are rejecting, critical, or didn't want a child to begin with.

A critical inner judge condemns human frailty.  In unconscious law the thought is equivalent to the deed, and the punishment is to be bound in the chains of neurosis.  Thus we punish ourselves for crimes never executed in reality--crimes of unconscious fantasy.

The superego knows every secret, every unconscious wish, every inner defense.  Its punishments are severe--disproportionate to the "crime."  The inner District Attorney "throws the book" at the offender.  Punishment comes in the form of depression, dissatisfaction, self-reproach, and sometimes suicide.

The inner court does not believe in the principle of double jeopardy.  You can be retried an infinite amount of times for the same infraction.  The judgment of conscience is final.  There are no paroles, or "time off for good behavior."  The inner jury is prejudiced and cannot be challenged.

In the internal law court, the judge's code is also Lewis Carroll's:  "I'll be judge, I'll be jury, said cunning old Fury; I'll try the whole cause and condemn you to death."  The inner lawyer or unconscious ego is impotent in the realm of the inner judge, because the ego seeks first to protect itself.  In other words, the unconscious ego will never dare to fight for full acquittal.

In THE SUPEREGO, Edmund Bergler comments on the transcultural nature of the inner judge:

The superego's purpose is exclusively the individual's misery; its label of "forbidden" and "positively punishable" is attached both to cultural taboos and to actions accepted by the environment.  Inner conscience is not concerned with the maintenance of taboos; inner conscience recognizes the taboos only for the purpose of misusing them.  In everyculture, therefore, people torture themselves unconsciously, regardless of the fact that the external "don'ts" are fastened to different prohibitions.

Themis is the divine vengeance of the karmic law.  In THE BOOK OF THOTH, Aleister Crowley admonishes the aspirant to "Balance against each thought its exact opposite; for the marriage of these is the Annihilation of Illusion."

We are neither of the opposing thought-patterns.  They are archetypal patterns playing through us.  But our ego tends to identify clingingly to one or another of them at alternative times.  Nemesis makes the necessary karmic adjustments for our behavior when we fail to negate illusive thoughts through meditation.  Sometimes this manifests through inexplicable self-defeating or self-destructive behavior.  Sometimes we don't feel we deserve or earn our success.  This may be observant or it may be neurotic, an imbalanced evaluation.  Themis-consciousness restores the state of equilibrium

Nemesis, the negative manifestation of Themis, is stasis or stagnation.  In this consciousness, energies cancel one another our.  On the psychological level, we might see how Nemesis makes sure that any thought or projected desire will return in time to influence the sender.  Because of the psychological "boomerang effect" which even Jung noted, we should be very careful about projecting harmful thoughts toward others.  As the occultists suggest, these energies can come home to roost.

The launching of destructive thoughts is observed by this subconscious aspect of Self we know as Themis.  It knows all and responds accordingly, affirming the ancient law of cause and effect.  She also chastises us into fulfilling our duty and destiny, our spiritual potential, and our physical potential.

She works on all the planes--spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and physical.  Themis helps us develop a spirit of "give and take."  She counsels moderation in all things including archetypal obsessions, being "carried away" by the force of a god.  When we are rapt away, willy-nilly, from daily life, these "divine obsessions" make for very narrow personalities.  We can be consumed by identification with pure archetypal force, obliterating our finely balanced personality.  Themis helps us regain balance.

According to Denning and Phillips in THE MAGICAL PHILOSOPHY, "Justice is that quality, compounded of moral force and constructive purpose, which goads the sluggish mind and body to great achievement.  This is the torpid serpent aroused to almost rampant vitality.  Justice is the virtue of duty and the art of summoning power through creation of need."  Justice represents the testing aspects of situation.

The magickal aspect of Themis includes the balancing of male and female, active and passive, right and left sides of the brain, and other opposites.  This results, theoretically, in a mystical state of androgyny.

We see this force released in our society, more and more, as the old cultural boundaries and role models break down.  Now woman can become professionals, men may be househusbands.  Both participate and share more in the responsibilities and duties of life.  Themis brings us whatever it takes to balance out our individual psyches.  She is the irresistible urge in this direction.

Further reading on Themis may be found in,

 THEMIS, Jane Ellen Harrison
JUNG AND TAROT, Sallie Nichols, York Beach, Weiser, 1980.
LAROUSSE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF MYTHOLOGY, Robert Graves, Hamlin, London, 1978.

SPIRITUAL MYTH

The spirituality of Themis is expressed through acceptance of self, others, and nature.  It is an extension of the transpersonal principle of brotherly love to the whole Creation.  Its offspring is the sense of Destiny, one's rightful place in the universal scheme of things.  It feels almost as if we are magnetized in a particular direction.

Accepting our selves with our faults means we can maturely accept the world as it is.  This means we develop past the egocentric stage and identity crisis toward maturity and a better balance.  This was one of Abraham Maslow's indicators of self-actualization.  Another was the sense of brotherly love or humanitarianism.  It comes from the feeling that we are one with the Family of Man.  Themis also appears as the impartial "Witness" allowing us to objectively evaluate ourselves free of the bias of temporary emotions.

Spiritual masters tell us that karma (or actions) rightly performed can lead to spiritual emancipation.  Usually this involves some sort of SEVA, or transpersonal service.  Right livelihood is also a necessary choice.  Their criteria for what constitutes a "good" or "bad" action is simple:  Good deeds take us nearer to our spiritual goal, while bad deedstend to take us farther away from it.

When we are healthy, we naturally wish to adhere to the "good" because rediscovering our true selves yields the pleasure of finding our identities reflected in a pleasant environment.  This is the result of serendipity.  We expect good, and generally find it reflected back to us.  Yet we realize that the world is not necessarily fair.  We chase a myth if we feel that "justice always triumphs."  It's only realistic to realize that bad things can and do happen to good people.

Since all life is characterized by activity and change is the law of life, it is considered best to sublimate the chosen course of our actions.  Thus, we ennoble them, or put our "BTUs" of psychic energy where they count most.

To be path of liberation, karma must satisfy three conditions:

 1). Respect and adoration for the true knowledge of the higher values of life.

 2). A sincere and loving feeling toward all living beings, corporeal and incorporeal (includes entities of "higher" planes, archetypes, forces of nature).  Vegetarianism is an integral value of this attitude.  Why would one kill for food or sport, when there are other options besides dishonoring the value of life?

 3). Karma is to be performed without the desire for recognition or reward.  It should be performed with a spontaneous, active will, which flows from each one's unique nature (or personal sense of duty).

These are the simple pleasures of work which is under no restraint or compulsion.  It fulfills itself directly through the medium of necessity in that particular time and place.  Man functions in harmony with the environment and destiny.  There is no set way which is right for all; the "right man" may perform the "wrong action': and the "wrong man" may perform what is necessary, through spontaneity.

This brings up the issue of situational ethics.  Jung considered morality an instinctive regulator of action.  When we hold strong values, we are willing to speak out about them and act to uphold them.  The law of karma is like that of action and reaction.  It returns the legitimate results of our actions to us, in spite of our efforts to avoid them.  We reap what we have sown, as the axiom states.

The law of karma is only in effect up to the region where mind and matter cease.  It is the law of manifestation because every entity in the manifest universe is in action, thus creating karma.  Beyond the realm of spacetime and causality, the spiritual world operates on the law of love(the Eros principle in its cosmological sense).  But in our human realm of mind and matter, karma is universal.

Many cultures of the world have believed in the theory of the transmigration of souls, including the Pythagoreans, Hebrews, and Hindus.  It was expunged from THE BIBLE by a Byzantine queen, whose karma was very dark.  There is no way of escaping the workings of karma, according to these.

Reincarnation and metempsychosis are companion concepts.  They assert that if a man's karmic accounts are not settled at the time of his death, he has neither defeated nor mocked the law.  He must return in another form to make payment according to his actions, desires and attachments.

Even if we don't subscribe to literal reincarnation, it is easy to see that we recycle issues by drawing on imagery from the Collective Unconscious which relates to our unresolved problems and conflicts.  We draw from the genetic and subconscious store of mankind's experience for responses to what happens in our lives.  These psychic "downloads" may appear in the form of so-called past lives, and therapy on the entities and issues found there is often very helpful.  Past life exploration is a fruitful area for exploring unresolved issues.

As long as the soul is exiled from God, according to Jewish tradition, we must submit to the guidance of the Law.  Redemption only occurs when everything is restored to its pristine condition through human acts.  The redemptive mission of the Boddhisatva, or World Savior, is also based on this notion that no one is free until we all are transformed.  This state represents complete fulfillment of the Creation.  The Jews call it Tikkun.  Its nature is contentment and joy.

CULTURAL COUNTERPARTS

 MAAT (Egyptian)
KARMA (Hindu)
CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLE

A modern Themis sits on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Sandra Day O'Connor has succeeded in a very delicate balancing act which allowed her to enter the Olympian ranks of top justices.

Pythagoras upheld the ideals of balance and harmony.  His GOLDEN VERSES contained the admonishment to, "Carefully consider before you act.  You may not be able to retract.  Understand well all that you do, And you will have no cause to rue."

Thelma and Louise wreaked vigilante vengeance.

KEYWORDS

Sense of duty, justice, fatalism, pessimism, negativity, law, reform, weigh in the balance, equanimity, objectivity, sacrifice of illusions, separate fantasy from reality, contemplation, deliberation, morality, guilt, conscience, judgement, balance, mediator, correction, compensation, remedy, court, divine justice, settled, fixed, decided, plan ahead, closure, planned, completed, decisive, wrap it up, urgency, deadlines, reward/punishment.

DIALOGUE WITH THEMIS

Imagine Justice holding her scales aloft with the upward-pointing sword in her other hand.  When you feel inner conflict, the tension of opposing pulls within, meditate on her form to regain your equilibrium.  She will inform you how the opposites and work in a complementary manner, through continual interplay.

Let her speak to you when you have issues about morality or conscience.  If you are feeling guilty, confess to her.  You may find that you are judging yourself too harshly.  Guilt is what we feel over the wrong things we have done (actions); whereas shame is the feeling that we are essentially bad or flawed.

There are few records of her myth, but Nemesis was depicted as a winged figure.  She is a fatalistic entity with an offended sense of fair play, and the kind of jealousy, envy, or chip on the shoulder that comes from an old childhood wound.

She manifests in human relationships as the destructive negativism which taunts "It serves you right".  But positively, she is the balancing force that maintains realistic thinking and judgements.  She is healthy skepticism in balance with Themis.  She helps us achieve balance, and fair assessments of each event as a unique phenomena.  In terms of psychological complexes, Nemesis-consciousness is persistent and obstinate, and difficult to drive out.  Rather than denying her, she needs the balancing remedy of her sister's gentler perception.

Nemesis was at first a moral idea about the inexorable equilibrium of the human condition.  Her consciousness is the "great leveler," divine anger.  Divine wrath in ancient times came from offending moral law or making the gods jealous from acquiring an excess of good fortune through little effort.  The gods required propitiation through a sacrifice or they sent unhappiness (Nemesis) to plague the person.

Nemesis saw that order was maintained.  One of her methods was an injunction of silence to avoid attracting divine anger.  Today we might say that not boasting of one's excessive good fortune doesn't bring down the wrath of the gods on an over-inflated ego-consciousness.  As high a we go is as low as we go, in mood swings.  This is regulated by the serotonin/noradrenelin cycle in the brain.  When we get over inflated, someone or something will sooner or later pop our balloon.

THEMIS IN YOUR LIFE

 1.  Describe a time when you have changed values or opinions 180 degrees.

 2.  Can you remember times you felt completely out of balance, either physically or emotionally.  Or perhaps there was no room in your life for spiritual pursuits.  Also, recount a time you felt in the flow of things, perfectly balanced, and poised.

 3.  Do you have any experience with past life recall?  What issues were important in your memory?  How did this awareness arise?  Did this viewpoint complement your conscious attitude?

 4.  Is there anyone in your life you feel you owe a "karmic debt?"  Sometimes people or cultures feel indebted to those who have saved their life, until the debt can somehow be repaid.

 5.  Can you describe some examples of the balancing interplay of Themis and Nemesis in your life?  Does one goddess predominate over the other?  Do you ever strike a balance between optimism and pessimism?

 6.  Do you believe in destiny, fate, karma, or free will?  What personal experiences conditioned this belief?

 7.  Have you ever gone through a period of fatalistic thinking in your life?

 8.  Do you (or someone close to you) ever get possessed by Nemesis--venegeful, cutting someone down to size--pessimistic about the future of relationships were this goes on?

 9.  Name four or five moral positions which you are committed to, and willing to speak up for publicly.

 10. Listen to your conscience speak--this is the voice of Themis. Known to the Freudians as the Superego, this transpersonal force is guiding and healing when it is not contaminated by negative judgmentalism and criticism picked up during childhood.  How can you discriminate the voice of your conscience from those of your "negative parent tapes?"

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