Tarot cards often embody great concepts that are particularly important and hold society together. The justice tarot card clearly fits that profile, since the use of fair laws and regulations that settle problems according to clear and objective criteria is one of the things that separate humankind from other animal species.
Upright keywords: Justice, responsibility, consequences, cause, and effect, detachment, balance
Reversed keywords: Injustice, legal complications, indecision, and bureaucracy.
Astrologically, the Justice card is associated with the planet Venus and the sign of Libra.
Like the High Priestess and the Hierophant, the Justice card often shows the main character sitting on a throne between two pillars. Here, the character is usually female, holding a sword and scales, symbols of Justice in traditional art.
Unlike many depictions of Justice, this figure does not wear a blindfold. The absence of the blindfold, which traditionally signifies impartiality, partly explains the card’s meaning.
As expected, the Justice card connects to the concept of justice in every sense. However, Justice in tarot is not always as impartial as in a court of law. This card deals with a more subjective justice, where what is right matters more than the letter of the law.
As such, the meaning of the Justice card is also one of righteousness and calls for the triumph of the deserving side in any dispute. This is a kind of Justice that does not do what it should do by the book but does what is right.
The number 11 card of the Major Arcana, Justice, represents the detached judgment needed to analyze our feelings about love and romance. We must determine if our pursuit and experience of both have been healthy or unhealthy. By stepping outside our experiences and evaluating them, we can see if they were good or bad.
If you are single, this card asks you to judge what you want in love and romance. You must uphold your standards or face unpleasant experiences that come with hypocrisy. This card is not swayed by emotion; it carries a cold, calculating energy that is unimpressed with the messiness of love and romance.
If you are in a relationship, this card might suggest it’s time to hire a lawyer, mediator, or psychologist. Less dramatically, it expects you to assess your relationship analytically. This way, you can make the wisest decision to either keep the relationship going or to leave it.
Career encompasses school and education if that is your current stage; work that is necessary, but not what you would consider a career path; and your actual career path. Regardless of your current stage of development, Justice represents the testing you must go through to prove you are learning what is being taught, the evaluations of your work performance, and the success or failure of your career goals.
If you are a student and this is your card, then you need to review your grade point average (GPA) and think about how you are doing against the judgment of your instructors. Pulling the Justice card indicates that the time for testing and proving is upon you. How will you measure up?
If you are working, but not doing something you would consider a career, then this card will indicate that it is time to be evaluated and see if you are still improving, need improving, or need new work. From time to time we need to determine if what we are doing is what we really want to be doing if it is still something worth doing, and, maybe, finding out we no longer need to be doing it.
If you are in a career path, then this card can get you thinking about the state of your achievements up to this point. When you evaluate your industry, your role in it, and future goals, are you “on balance” to achieve them. If you look objectively at your accomplishments and future prospects, do you see prosperity, staying the course, or a need for dramatic change?
The Justice card has a different energy when reversed, like most major arcana meanings. It reveals a more sinister aspect of justice, following the letter of the law rather than its intent.
The reversed Justice card may indicate legal complications or bureaucratic issues. Paperwork and red tape can turn justice on its head, releasing the perpetrator and punishing the victim.
Conceptually, this reversed major arcana can also represent bigotry and severity. It judges people for who they are instead of what they have done.
Reversed, this card certainly can indicate indecision or a poor decision about or within the relationship. If there is a decision to be made, it might be best to delay the decision and revisit your choices. You may feel there is some aspect of the relationship that is unfair or out-of-balance. Something is amiss and you should find out what before making any crucial decisions.
When this card appears reversed in a work or career question, be careful about signing contracts. Ensure your insurance and legal support are up-to-date. There may be a legal issue unfolding now or soon.
Consider getting additional input for any decisions. Sole responsibility for a situation might not end well.
The Fool now takes some time to look back and digest all the lessons learned so far. The wonderful tapestry glimpsed during the lesson of the Wheel of Fortune has unveiled a wider system of causes and consequences, and the Justice tarot card reminds the Fool that they need to take responsibility for their actions and be righteous and honest with themselves.
The card is aptly named because this is meant to fill the Fool with a strong sense of Justice that will ensure the rest of their journey is meaningful and does not bring any unnecessary harm to anyone else or to the world at large.
In the Marseille deck and most early Renaissance tarots, Justice was numbered 8, and Strength was numbered 11. Secret societies at the end of the Victorian era deliberately inverted these two arcana. Their numerological and historical studies led to this change in the most modern deck.
Today, the sense of righteous belonging in a greater world is disappearing from leaders’ priorities. Greed, individualism, and shortsightedness drive global growth without long-term vision or empathy for those in need.
The world needs a sharp wake-up call. Ignoring the lessons of the Justice card and remaining blind to the consequences of selfish actions could spell our doom.
Justice in tarot draws the line between right and wrong, favoring the right side despite any technicalities. It urges you to stand for what is right and shows you how to get the support needed for true Justice to triumph.
Today, this sense of righteous belonging in a greater world seems to be disappearing from the priorities of leaders and corporations. Greed, individualism, and shortsightedness drive global growth without long-term vision or empathy for those in need.
The world needs a sharp wake-up call. Ignoring the lessons of the Justice card and remaining blind to the consequences of selfish actions could spell our doom.
The Mythic Tarot (1986)
The Haindl Tarot (1990)
Osho Zen Tarot (1995)
Law of Attraction Tarot (2011)
Spellcaster Tarot (2016)
Ostara Tarot (2017)
The Justice major arcana works well as a focus for meditation when you need to center yourself or resolve inner conflict. When you don’t know the right move, focus on the Justice tarot card. As you concentrate on this problem, you will soon realize one path is clearly the right one.
By stripping away outside elements and distractions, Justice makes everything clearer. It shows you what is right, beyond a shadow of a doubt.
