Tarot Justice

My Justice card is done!

I found Justice to be a rather difficult concept to illustrate, once I decided not to use the ubiquitous set of scales in the image. I gave a lot of thought to the idea that there are really two kinds of justice implicit in this card. There is social justice, which I think is the first kind that usually springs to mind when we hear the word. We think of "law and order" , and bringing a criminal to justice. We think of the social justice movement (or some of us do, anyway) and standing up for the rights of oppressed people. Those of us with an environmental bent certainly think of the rights of non-human species and how we need to give them a voice when they are under attack. (I recently joined the organization EarthJustice -- I love their slogan: "Because the Earth Needs a Good Lawyer.")

But we all know that injustice runs rampant in the world today, and we don't always understand how so many people apparently get away with unethical, illegal, unscrupulous behavior. And that's where the second kind of Justice comes in -- a kind of psychic, or karmic, justice. Karmic Balance, which extends beyond this world into the realm of Spirit. I even thought about calling this card "Karma," because it does seem to be more expressive of what the card is really about. This is the idea that consequences follow every action, whether we see it or not. That we will always reap what we sow. There is great comfort in this idea, because it gives us hope that evildoers will someday, somehow, have to deal with the consequence of their actions. And it should also act as a check on our own actions -- no, we really don't get away with anything.

My friend Lunaea says that this card is about impersonal Justice -- cause and effect -- that there is no mercy in this card, as compared to the Judgment card, where compassion comes into play.

I wanted to create a card that expressed both these concepts of Justice -- social justice and karmic balance. For the social aspect, and because the deck has an earth-centered theme, I included a clearcut forest and many endangered or threatened species in the card. As many as I could pack in, actually! The river in this image is significant too. How many folk songs have we sung over the years that have a refrain like "Let justice flow like a river"? The most recent one is on the newest John Gorka album (Old Futures Gone), a tune called "War Makes War." He sings, "War makes war, it won't bring peace . . . Let Justice run down like water, righteousness like a mighty stream . . ." (BTW I think of the word "righteousness" as meaning "right action.") Listening to that song just now, I heard another killer line: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it's bent towards justice. . . " I see from the liner notes that he is quoting Martin Luther King Jr. No wonder it's so powerful. Thank you John.

When I saw the photos of the 500,000 protesters in New York City on August 29, they looked like a River of Justice to me too.

So the concept of Social Justice is set in the card, with the endangered species and metaphorical river of justice. The idea of Karmic Balance is expressed through the central figure, the man holding a flaming heart in one hand and a feather in the other. His posture suggests the familiar "scales of justice," and the heart/feather motif refers to Ma'at, the Egyptian Goddess of Justice, who weighs our hearts against a feather. What an image to keep in mind whenever we are tempted to do something that is less than ethical!

Well, I've written more than enough for one morning. Please let me know what you think of the new card.

Comments

[Andy T]

The idea of making the man the scale and tying it in with the state of the land is striking and unique. I like that his race is indeterminate; he could be Native American or African American or possibly a blend with other cultures as well. The balance is in the heart.

[melanie]

my idea of justice is also balance. I like it. :)

[Rita]

first of all...Thank you. for this beautiful card. i know that it was made some time ago, but i decided to leave a comment anyway :)

when i was looking to the card and then reading your thoughts on Justice, i couldn't stop wondering...some species are in danger because some people "love" them so much, they just feel they have to have it...they kill them because they want to have them in their living rooms or in a jacket...so i thought, doesn't it happens to human beings too?
In another way, in another scale, but the truth is, when we want to possess somenthing...we are kind of killing it.

I think the beautiful image of Justice you gave to us, with a light feather, give us that message...for our hearts to be light, for what we love so much be alive, we cannot possess.

Justice is quite next to Love.

It has it's own balance, we just have to trust.

Love has not height, love is soft and kind. When we love and set free our love and the ones we love, we feel SO free ourselves. So light. Like some musics say "i could fly..."

If we truly love the balance of justice is always right.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR WORK.

Rita

[joanna]

Thank you Rita - your insights are most appreciated. Blessings to you.