In the Rider-Waite deck we see a person sitting upon a stone bench, is this a man or a woman? It appears rather androgynous doesn’t it? In most of my other decks it is defiantly a woman. And sometimes she is blindfolded. Here in one hand a sword is held and the other a set of scales. One foot peeks out from beneath her robe while the other remains hidden. She sits between 2 stone pillars.
What does the symbolism mean?
The pillars represent duality and choices: light and dark, male and female, yin and yang.
We see the double edged sword raised towards the heavens which represents the air element and that of logic and reason. Every decision we make is double edged. It will not only have an effect on us but others as well. In addition after the decision is made it will come back around to us which we will see in the card of The Judgement later on in this Tarot Background series.
The scales held in her hand represent balance, while her fingers pointed down represent grounding; time to make a balanced, logical decision which will bring about a balance of past and future events.
Free will or destiny? – We are all thinking individuals which means we all have the opportunity of choice, we are free to do whatever we want. However our free will is governed by our past choices. If we do not understand ourselves, how can we expect to make a free choice? Only by seeing and accepting the past can we free ourselves from it.
When we see something in a Tarot reading that we don’t like, we have the opportunity to take action to correct it, to change the path we are on. However, we may have this foresight and be forewarned about an upcoming event, yet we must truly understand why it is coming and work on the causes within ourselves for the things we do and the ways we react.
We have to know how to use our free will or we will be constantly repeating our past behaviors. Our actions we have taken in the past have formed us and we our future selves are formed by the actions we take now in the present.
In a Tarot Reading:
Throughout our life we are presented choices, these create our future. Past decisions we’ve made are coming back to us now. This card usually deals with reason and fairness, logical and not emotional decisions. The High Priestess is more of an emotional intuitive balance, here we need to buckle down and cast the emotions aside. You may have to make a major decision, one that will have a significant impact on your future so weigh your options and be balanced and fair in your dealings. You have good judgement at this time and you’re not swayed by personal considerations or bias. You should be able to see the truth of the matter, act in honesty and remember that the choices we make now will influence our future.
The Justice card also deals with legal matters or legal documents, so a prenuptial agreement, marriage license or certificate, divorce, parenting strategies, wills, trusts or anything to do with legal documents.
The Justice card usually indicates a legal ruling upon a matter falling in favor of the rightful side and usually has a beneficial outcome!
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” ~Napoleon Bonaparte
Blessings!
Tricia of FreeBirdJourneys.com
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