MAJOR ARCANA
Justice Tarot Meanings
Justice comes to us with a pretty self-explanatory meaning, truth, and justice. However, like all the major arcana we can really dig into the meaning of Justice to find avenues around the themes of honesty and truth that we may not have faced within ourselves yet.
With Justice, we are asked to cut to the truth of a situation, we become judge and jury and have to look at things objectively in order to make the right decisions and move forward into the following energy of The Hanged Man.
Justice Upright Meanings
In the upright position, Justice asks us to balance the scales within the context of our lives or the situation we are asking the cards about. We have to be honest with ourselves about what is out of whack and look at how we can rebalance things for the better. The main upright meanings of Justice are:
Fairness
Balance
Legalities
Rational decision making
Justice has a strong feeling of air energy, with its very level-headedness and emphasis on logical and statistical thinking. It’s also a card ruled by Libra! We are asked to look at the facts and put feeling to one side for a second so that we can gain clarity that we may not have managed to conjure previously.
Justice Reversed Meanings
In the reversed position, Justice mirrors the same energy we would see in the failings of our external justice system. It represents the outcomes that materialise when we ignore balance and truth in favour of our own opinions and beliefs. Some of the main reversed meanings of Justice are:
Injustice
Imbalance
Prejudice
Bias
Manipulation
The main keyword of Justice in the reversed position is dishonesty. It symbolises what happens when we throw morality out the window and take a more selfish standpoint.
Reading Justice in a Tarot Spread
Justice always pops up when we are out of balance when things need to be analysed and we need to clean house. Often this can refer to things like putting things in place to better look after your health and wellbeing or just finding ways to create more balance and harmony within key areas of your life.
It can also pop up when we are put into a situation where our morals and beliefs are being tested. We have to get back in touch with our authentic selves in order to find the truth.
Justice as An Invitation
When we frame Justice as an invitation, we are being asked to look through an objective lens and collect all the facts in order to make a logical and sound decision. It is a card that invites you to find your own way back to balance and to be able to identify when something isn’t aligned with your own beliefs.
For Justice, this invitation could be the following:
An invitation to assess the situation with objectivity in order to find clarity
An invitation to do a life audit and see where you could make improvements for your own benefit
An invitation to align yourself with your core beliefs before taking action or acting impulsively
An invitation to think about the ideas of right and wrong and identify the grey areas you may be faced with when dealing with a situation
Justice as Sage Advice
With Justice, we get very stern and straightforward advice. It can often seem a very black and white way of looking at the world, but often it is the lens we need to look through within this particular situation. As it’s an air card, Justice advice is definitely worth following as it is based on sound reasoning and logical thinking.
Some advice Justice may offer is:
There are two sides to every story and we must be able to see both sides equally in order to get the full picture
Life works on balance and when something is out of whack, it can have a knock-on effect on other areas of our lives
If you can’t be honest with yourself then how can you expect to see the world with clear eyes?
Justice as a Lesson
Often, Justice is our first lesson in honesty and being truthful to one’s self. After the lack of control we faced in the previous card, the Wheel of Fortune, Justice allows us to take stock of where we’ve landed and really learn about how we see the world and whether we are moral, ethical and honest.
Some lessons that Justice may offer you are:
A lesson in balance and creating balance in your life in order to stay healthy
A lesson in honesty, both with yourself and with others and how it can create stronger relationships and solid foundations for the future
A lesson in how our actions always have consequences
A lesson in how to make rational decisions, even if it means at the expense of our desired outcome
Justice as a Redirection
Justice often appears as a redirection when we are not being honest with ourselves, or we are only focusing on the parts that benefit us directly and not on the picture as a whole. It can often be a moment that brings us crashing down to earth, but it is most often for our own good or the good of others.
As a redirection, Justice could symbolise a need to:
See all sides of an argument or situation in order to make the most rational decision
Sacrifice what we impulsively want in order to do what is right
To stop acting from a place of emotion and start thinking about things in a more logical way
Justice - Number 11
The number eleven can be reduced down to the core number of two, a number that signifies balance and harmony. Both of these are what Justice works hard to restore.
The number eleven itself is also known as a master number due to its repeating digits. This also means that it often has spiritual significance. For example, a series of 11 such as 1111 can often be read as a sign as good things to come and is revered in the manifestation community to show that something good is on its way to you. Justice has a similar meaning, often representing karma and the idea of ‘what you put out into the world, you get back’.
Justice - Libra
Libra is often linked with the balance of all things, particularly good and bad and right and wrong. Libra is an air sign, meaning there’s a great deal of clarity and truth giving and taking that is done.
Libras are the polar opposite of Aries, being much more level-headed and often getting lost in their own ‘truths’. The Justice card helps us to identify when a truth is a personal truth based on learned beliefs, and when something is a factual truth. This helps keep us honest and balanced in all areas of life.
Justice - Ruler
The Justice card is another that falls into the ‘Ruler’ archetype. Justice is the ruler of truth and, of course, justice. It is an archetype that demands a subjective viewpoint and for all angles to be reviewed before making a judgement.
The ruler, as we mentioned in The Emperor card, is all about control. Unlike The Emperor, Justice isn’t gaining control over something, it is about returning control to where it is most deserved. It works more to be a mediator rather than a dictator.
