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?"
File Created: 3/17/02
Last Updated: 7/25/02