11-Justice

Alternate names: Adjustment

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God? . . . Heed the rod and the One who appointed it. . . . Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights? --Mic. 6:8-11 NIV

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Meliny's BASIC DESCRIPTION & SYMBOLISM: She wears the red robe of directed will. She is a woman of action, yet balance. The Thoth Justice card shows her perched on the sword, it's tip pointing downward, so that we are aware of how carefully she must work to maintain equilibrium. Such balance is the result of directed will, not inaction.
Her right hand holds the sword because this is the hand of conscious action. The Sword is intended to be used to cut away old ideas and attitudes that disturb our inner balance. Justice wears a crown symbolizing that we have authority over our own lives. We must exercise our wills to USE the authority to keep balance in our lives.
The scales show that balance requires both separation and connection, for the scales could not function without separate cups, nor could it function without a connection between the cups. We can see that although the cups are opposed, they are not antagonistic, and that their opposition is a deeper form of cooperation.
FIRST THING THAT STRUCK ME (RW): Red and gray.
LAST DETAIL I NOTICED: The left hand has a bit looser grip on its scales. (One creates balance, one allows balance.)
COLORS: red of active will; grey showing that it's not all 'black and white,' but a blend/balance; yellow on the 'tools' as well as the background--mental/intelligence
TIME: autumn equinox

TRADITIONAL MEANINGS UPRIGHT: Equity, rightness, probity, executive; triumph of the deserving side in law.
Equality, impartiality, fairness, honesty. Weighing a decision, equilibrium between understanding and action, balancing all factors (i.e., selfishness and compassion, severity and mercy). Balance of individual rights and social stability. Mediation, courts, legal concerns. A fair and observant person with the ability to judge. Accountability, cause and effect, karma. A chance to set matters straight. Balance as a result of directed will and action.

TRADITIONAL MEANINGS REVERSED: Law in all its departments, legal complications, bigotry, bias, excessive severity.
Injustice, dishonesty, unfair actions or decisions, misuse of law. Legal losses. Blaming or judging others.

BIBLICAL: King Solomon was asked to make a decision regarding an infant's life. When asked to choose which mother to give the baby to, he determined to cut the baby in half. The mother then instantly revealed herself and the _sword_ (with which he threatened to cut the baby) _cut to the truth of the matter_. Justice carries the same sword of truth.
MYTHOLOGICAL: Ma'at; Athena, Minerva; Themis.
HISTORICAL: Traditional images of Justice are frequently female and blindfolded.
ASTROLOGICAL: (1) Libra--judge; (2) Saturn--discipline, tradition; (GD)Libra

ANIMAL/INSECT: dragonfly, spider; house fly, termite
PLANT: pine
OILS: palmarosa, myrtle, spearmint

MUSIC: silence
FILM/BOOK: Wow . . . there's so many . . .
OCCUPATIONS: judge, police, customs official (*not* lawyer!); dietician, weight loss advisor

PEOPLE OR SITUATIONS IN MY LIFE: My crazy neighbor.
The experiences of making a decision not to cooperate with my neighbor and seeing the image of Michael (who should actually only be casting out the devil, not casting his guts out) led me to Justice (the card). I've been mulling it over, getting ready to put the text for the page together while I wait for the postcard, and getting ready for my neighbor to get back from vacation. So I thought, "What's the worst she can do--take me to court?" And then, "What's the worst thing about going to court--having to waste an afternoon?" I shed my concern.
I developed a duel image of Justice in my mind: God's and man's, I guess. I already had in mind an image and biblical verses for the page, and I was getting this righteous indignation thing going, the evil will be vanquished and all that. So I got out a couple of Bibles. And I kept seeing "love thy neighbor, bless your enemies, pray for your oppressors . . . " Sheesh. Man's sword can't touch me, but am I ready for God's scales???

PERSONAL THOUGHTS: The pendulum swings back and forth, and sometimes around, but with 180 different options of degrees. The center is the balance--the calm in the eye of the storm. Duality is a perspective based on standing on the edge of the circle. But how do the wheel and pendulum appear when seen from the center . . . or from the top???

QUOTES FROM OTHER SOURCES: 186,000 miles per second. It's not just a good idea, it's the law.

OTHER DECKS: Healing--yellow circle brings to mind the sword going around leaving trails like Jimmy Page, iron mask
Cosmic--does nothing for me. Thoth is my favorite.
COMPARED TO OTHER CARDS: I pulled Justice out of the RW deck. Then I thought about the HP (1+1=2) masquerading as the Pope, and wanted to look at her next to Justice, and pulled that card out. I thought the Hierophant might as well join in, and while I was looking for that, I spotted the Emperor. I laid all four out on the desk, and noticed that I always had an aversion to those three red-robed, seated figures. Too authoritarian. But the more I experience them in my life, the more I come to understand and appreciate them.

OTHER: TaRoma: (Libra, Air, Venus) For negotiations that are true to yourself while being just and fair, and for making well-balanced decisions.

The Voice	Justice	The Vision

http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/major/Justice/11IMHO.html