Checked the link from my last post, and it worked for me, Aeon....
I think I may have possibly come close to believing that I may have an idea about the slightest possibility that I might have an answer to a possible question.....
...The complete quote from Crowley was "All these old letters of my Book are aright but Tzaddi is not the Star" (Book of the Law I:54)
Now: remembering of course that the Adjustment/Lust swap was to justify the Star/Emperor swap (or was it the other way around...?), then I wonder why the former pair of cards retained their hebrew-letter-order? For then, the order is wrong; and of course, the order of the latter pair of cards is not changed at all, just the letter associations.
So in two places, the Hebrew-letter sequence is altered.
So how could Aiwass/Crowley's assertion that "all these old letters of my Book are aright" when they have been jumbled around in some places?
I feel that the message here was a deliberate red-herring that spoke of other previous red-herrings inherent in the PUBLISHED works of the GD and its members - notably, Waite.
Whilst I await to find further info on the hebrew-letter associations with the Paths, I cannot spell this theory out with any confidence - it is still merely speculation on my behalf.
But as I mentioned in a previous post, I am struck with the profound similarity between the meaning of LAMED and the traditional image of the Strength/Fortitude card.
I know that literal interpretations of symbols can sometimes lead to what in my mind are 'incorrect' correspondences (perhaps simplistic would be a better word to use than 'incorrect'!).
Meaning that just because Lamed is traditionally associated with the astrological sign of Libra, doesn't mean that the use of the symbol of the scales of Justice signify that card's association with Libra, hence Lamed.
The reason given for Lamed's association with Libra is more to do with that sign's being the opposite of Aries, thus in Astrology the duality of the Self (Aries) vs. the Other (Libra). The image of the human taming the beast is given as representing the 7th House Sign.
Given that I am flirting with the idea that the letter correspondences with the cards may be all up the river, then I am willing to admit that Tzaddi may well not be the Star, as was stated (being that this is the subject of this particular thread, and I do wanna try bring it back on track).
I also find it interesting that given the Astrological-Hebrew correspondences, that Aries is involved - being associated with the other problem card in this 'gang of four': the Emperor.
I know my logic seems far-fetched, but I am a student of Semiotics (amongst many things) and this is the kind of twisted, multi-dimensional coding that Umberto Eco loves to write about so much. Case in point, read his novel "Foucault's Pendulum". Its this kind of thinking which makes books like "Da Vinci Code", "Holy Blood & Holy Grail" "Fingerprints of the Gods", etc so enticing to read - the signs that are set to be followed (like treasure maps) are so ingenuous and encourages lateral thinking. Ever played a game called "Monkey Island" or "Myst" - this is the mindset you need to get in to play these games.
...Puzzles, signs, codes, secret treasure...
...this is the stuff of Crowley's work! This is how esoteric groups kept their secrets..., well, esoteric!
Getting back to the point...
...leaving the obvious red-herring leaves the true seeker to ask "why?" And of course, then the seeker starts to hunt for an answer as to why this has been done. Perhaps we have stumbled onto something here......
... or perhaps I am being melodramatic....
LOL