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Happy summer solstice! If you’re in the northern hemisphere, enjoy this longest day (clouded or bright), for it will be balanced (as it is right now in the southern hemisphere) by the long night of midwinter. What goes around always comes around, in nature and in human affairs. The only question, as ever, is how do we choose to respond?
Our wrangler for this blog hop (we are a group of writers on the topic of Tarot who have linked our blog posts at a certain time and with a certain theme to give you a nice series of perspectives to enjoy), Alison Cross, gave us the challenge to actually pick a card from the Major Arcana and give our take on it in whatever way we’d like (love it, hate it, do a video, write a poem, build a spread, etc.).
And we had to use up all the cards first before doing duplicates, so by the time I checked the list, only two were left, The Sun and Justice. Well, The Sun seemed too easy (you’ll have to work your way along the hop with the links at the top or bottom of this post to find out what my fellow blogger, Shauna, wrote about The Sun), so I picked Justice.
Not normally one of my favorite cards. She’s a classic symbol, though, that serious, mostly blindfolded lady with the scales and imposing sword (shades of Solomon and the women fighting over the baby!). Very stern, very rational, probably a lawyer prior to her appointment to the Justice position. In this version originally drawn by Pamela Colman-Smith, she (or is it he, even?) has her eyes wide open to see all the evidence presented. I always found the large sword and imposing pillars of institutional authority to be very stiff and unsympathetic to the complexities of the human situation.
So, finding justice means balance, right? Well, maybe. But life and the universe tend to swing more like a pendulum than a set of static scales. Fairness can be inhumane sometimes; maybe this person needs a little more in their water glass than that one because they’ve just walked across the desert, and the other fellow has been sitting in the shade all day. So, justice is not only about making the situation even, is it? It’s not just about keeping everything balanced all the time.
That sword is very sharp; I think perhaps it needs to be sheathed in mercy more often than actually happens in this world. For me, true justice actually is the appropriate application of mercy and boundaries on behavior that make for a harmonious humanity.
Imagine a nice, fluffy scabbard for the lady’s sword; she could soften the blow of justice, or even just use the sword to separate the conflicting parties so they can see the virtue and advantage of reconciliation over retribution. A thought. Or, a feather, like the one in the Shadowscapes version of Justice. The feather represents the measure of the worthiness of the soul in Egyptian mythology. Much more peaceful, I think.
I vote for seeing Justice as an opportunity to clear the air of hatred and fear, and to carve a space for mercy, and ultimately, love. So there. 🙂
Off you go now, either backwards or forwards in the hop to check out the other cards.
I appreciate that you point out that “fair” isn’t always “equal.” Which makes me think of the scales in the Morgan Greer deck which are not even!
Exactly, Olivia and Alison. And Olivia, I do enjoy all the interesting variations per deck. I think the Shadowscapes scales are not even, either.
Nice insight there on difference between ‘fair’ and ‘equal’, Joanne – thank you! 😀
Lol that has just given me a flashback to a job interview I failed several years ago… It should have been a fairly sure thing, as they had contacted me and said – A-hem! we’d really like you to apply for this…
I was not that keen but thought maybe I should give it a go and see where it went… so I apply and get asked in for an interview and I get asked – How would you describe equality?
I say… Well… equality is not about treating everybody equally and the same, it’s about treating everybody differently as individuals…
They said – Oh! Excellent answer… would you care to expand on that?
I kind of looked at them… and then I ran through an internal dialogue of really? you really need me to expand on that? mmm…. I don’t think I’m going to like working with you folks and I stared out the window and thought of the better ways I could be spending my time… until – Karen? Karen! any more to say?
Eventually I said… No… my previous answer was excellent… I’ll stick with that! 😀
That is so…Karen! Yep. Not sure at all what they meant about expanding on that….
Haha! That’s an awesome story. Yeah, it reminds of why I hate interviews!
I have to join the previous comments, nice points of fair and equal not being the same! Sometimes we forget to consider the humane factors in a decision, being overly practical… I do believe in karma and that everyone will at the end get what they deserve, but I also believe that justice has to be given to victims in a more physical form too. Great post, thank you!
Representations of Justice is traditionally blindfolded, or blind, and thus objective and unswayed by appearance.It is interesting that she tends not to be in Tarot.
Right, Ania. I did notice that distinction between the Tarot Justice and the traditional archetype. Perhaps there’s a sense in Tarot of seeing beyond the surface anyway. A different set of eyes, so to speak.
I love how many times I’m seeing the Shadowscapes cards turn up in this hop! It’s my current deck, and Stephanie Pui-Mun Law is one of my favorite artists.
I’ll echo the comments on the difference between fairness and equality – a good thing to be reminded of. Great post, thank you!
Very well written. You’re right you know…Justice is indeed a double edge sword.
A loving take on Justice. I like her sense of balance, but agree, fair isn’t equal.
Interesting post – especially your comments about balance =/= fairness.
I struggle with Justice sometimes because in so many images it seems to be coming from an external place – it feels like it’s more about society’s justice (which we see on a daily basis is often corrupt) rather than our own intuitive sense of what’s just. In the Collective Tarot, this card is renamed ‘Accountability’, which feels good to me – it means that each of us is responsible for our actions and the consequences of those actions. If everyone was genuinely accountable for their actions, that might lead us towards a more just, fair and balanced society.
Love the point you made about the balance of Justice being something that changes, depending on the situation. This is why I mostly associate the card with the Thoth title ‘Adjustment.’ I can relate to what you say about Justice being a symbol for mercy and love too. It’s usually the way that self-acceptance and detachment are what make a person capable of addressing the needs of others from a compassionate but impartial perspective.
I especially loved what you said about true justice coming from a place of both mercy and boundaries! Thanks for an insightful post, Joanne 🙂