JUSTICE
Symbolism
A regal, crowned figure sits between two columns and in front of a veil. She sits with the authority of a queen, as if judging in a court or ruling a decision. The columns show she is aware of two sides of the story, and the columns are the same colour and not judged as different.
The veil shows that causes and justice are not always visible, but often hidden. The fact that her right foot is visible, but her left is not, is also a sign of this message.
She holds a balanced scale in one hand, showing that all life is in balance and works according to the law. She has a sword in her other hand, showing our ability to bring justice and to cut out of our lives what we no longer need.
Keywords
Upright: Law, Karma, balance, embracing duality, impartiality, wisdom, discernment, fairness, uprooting past, responsibility, choices and lessons.
Reversed: Injustice, blame, guilt, dishonesty, no responsibility, inner critic, blame-shifting, unconscious attraction.
Upright meaning
Justice is the card of the Law, and her greatest message is that life is governed by rules, with every circumstance having a cause behind it. Nothing happens through haphazard chance, cause and effect or the Law of attraction is always in action, even if it cannot always be seen. There is meaning behind every experience, and Justice asks us to look for the karmic lessons in life.
We so quickly judge injustices and unfairness in the world. This is what are taught to believe in. Justice asks us to look into the hidden causes and deeper reasons behind why things take place in our lives. It is also a call to own our choice of how to create our lives. This may mean recognizing our unhealed programs, instead of blaming the world.
Justice calls for compassion at times, and severity at others. She knows life is never black and white, and that there is a good side to the bad and vice-versa. There is always a depth to her teachings, and her message is that life is not just fair, but perfect.
We are often in need of the Justice’s sword to cut out old attachments, but we must become aware of them first. We may have to own up to our dishonesty and encourage others to do the same. This becomes a call to practice greater sincerity, by owning our mistakes, and more honestly looking after ourselves.
Reversed meaning
Justice’s shadow reflects our denial of the Law of cause and effect and our harsh judgement of the world. This denial is so common, and we are normally taught in some way, that life is unfair and unjust. The darker experiences are often those most difficult to accept. With this reversal, we judge others ‘wrongs’ and we judge our own, and this is where our inner-critic is having a field day.
Justice is often hard to see, hence the huge veil in the picture. When we see one side to a story only, it is easy to judge and condemn any ‘wrongs’ being made. Unfortunately, this lopsided judgement throws a lot of blame and shame onto the ‘guilty’ ones. When we paint an action with shame, it becomes much harder to own up to, and easier to repress. This, in turn, encourages the repetition of unconscious patterns.
Without looking deeper into why unconscious actions are made, we miss the deeper reasons behind a problem. We end up pointing fingers and blaming others. We will even blame-shift as we fear owning up to our own mistakes. This primarily happens because of how uncomfortable it is to feel the shame surrounding an event or action.
So this reversal asks us to avoid the shame/ blame story, to take responsibility for our mistakes, and to watch out for our unbalanced opinions on what is right and wrong.