Justice

Since XI/VIII Justice has made another appearance, lets take the opportunity to look at the slightly different slant that can come from using different decks.  Aside from what you’re learning about each card in the deck, your biggest assets for interpretation are your eyes.  Very literally, what do you see in each depiction of XI/VIII Justice?

In the Dreaming Way tarot, we see the sword of accountability, the scales of fairness, the blindfold that holds everyone to the same impartial standards.  We’ve got a figure dressed in white, the colour of purity.  The scales are gold . . .the gold standard?  There’s silver and gold, black and white . . .  the divine balance.   Our long-haired Justice is clearly female;  why is XI/VIII Justice female, and not male?

 

The Tarot of the New Vision literally looks behind the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot: we see the scenes from that deck from behind the featured figures.  The sword and scales of inevitability are still visible.   Here, XI/VIII Justice is shielding those who are vulnerable: a woman, an infant, and a figure from the working class.  The mantle of the Justice figure sits heavy on her shoulders, though we can’t tell that the figure is, again, a woman, except by looking at the RWS card.  What do you make of the crown, with its turrets?  Or of the design on the back of the chair?

 

In the fun novelty decks, there is still plenty of symbolism for a pithy reading.  In the Housewives Tarot, XI/VIII Justice is taking us back to the days when misbehaviour earned us a swift paddle.  But notice the lollipop down there at the bottom right: Justice is also about the reward for going the extra mile.  This is Justice as the nurturing mother, who shapes her children’s behaviour.  It’s just desserts here: either the sweet lollipop or the spoon that mixes the cake batter.

You can find plenty of images at the Aeclectic site to explore the many forms of XI/VIII Justice as it moves from deck to deck.

Remember to connect the card — and the subtle differences in each deck — to experiences in your life, especially the experiences you live through this week.

So it’s another Major, is it?  Our 2nd weekly card turns out to be XI or VIII Justice.   Justice implies imbalances and disputes.  Even the numbering for Justice is disputed:  some decks and systems assign XI, others, VIII.  I’ll stay out of that discussion because I can see the merits of the arguments on both sides.

You’ll remember that Majors indicate that we’re working at levels deep in the psyche, with spiritual lessons that require adjustment to our basic values and beliefs.   Lots of things will be out of our control.

Justice is all about adjustment.  Karma.  Balancing.  Finding the centre point between 2 opposites.

In most decks you’ll see symbols like scales — nothing like the obvious, eh? — and a sword, along with some indicator of rules or laws.  There’s also usually a female figure, often blindfolded.  Taken together, these illustrate Justice as enforcing the rule of law, as basing its decisions in rationality, while taking the intuitive into consideration, and as being unaffected by external trappings like social or economic status — treating all equally.   All the figures and tools are acting in service to Justice.  Personal considerations are laid aside while in service.

There’s an interesting implication of maturity in Justice.  When it shows up, it indicates that karmic debts are being — or about to be — paid.  Why the delay in requiring payment?  We’re not subject to the same kinds of responsibilities when we’re young as when we’re adults.  So Justice implies that we’ve “come of age”, we’ve reached another level of responsibility for ourselves and our choices.  If the choices in our past have created imbalance, we’re given circumstances that offer us the opportunity to restore the balance, from a mature point of view.

Justice is unrelenting, untiring, never off duty.  You can run, but you cannot hide.  When Justice shows up, it’s time to learn the lesson, and you’ll get circumstance after circumstance after circumstance that requires attention until you’ve made choices that indicate you understand where the imbalance lies and what caused it.

So, the questions to ask when XI or VIII Justice is before you are things like . . .  Are all sides being heard in this matter?  Am I trying to have my own way at someone else’s expense or vice versa?  Where’s the garbage in my attitude that I need to toss away because it’s becoming toxic?  Is there something I need to take action on in service of Justice?  And when challenging circumstances that are beyond your control are happening with a Justice indicator, the big question is always, what is this situation trying to bring back into balance?

Now, what happens if we look at XIX Sun with XI or VIII Justice together?  2 Majors together indicate Big Things Afoot.  A few of the possibilities are that . . . Something hidden is being brought to light and will require actions or realisations in the name of Justice.  Things are being brought into balance so that you’ll be able to be more authentically yourself, more able to self-actualize.  If you’re literally facing legal matters, they will affect how the public sees you.  Would you say that XIX Sun in connection with XI Justice as applied to pending lawsuits indicate a positive or a negative outcome?

As you consider your life this week, notice when you feel XI or VIII Justice illustrates your circumstances.  And take any opportunity to bring balance to the world around you this week.