La Giustizia: Justice
Verse
“The double-edged blade of truth rests,
sheathed within the throat of Justice.
They perform a balancing act,
a display of faith and focus,
a protest for fairness,
with awareness
of the potential price of their valiance.
With one hand on mercy
and the other on severity
they bridge the gap with mildness
and cannot be moved.”
Keywords
Upright: Imminent justice. Truth. Fairness. Inner compass. Consequences.
Reversed: Personal biases. Corruption. Guilt. Losing faith in old beliefs. Judging yourself too harshly. Justice being impeded.
Correspondences
Sign: Libra
Aroma: Juniper, Niaouli, and Lemongrass
Description
Where the Wheel of Fortune was propelled by karma and cycles, Justice is driven by fairness, truth, and established laws. The way the wheel turns may establish which side of justice you land on.
A figure stands between the twin pillars once again, they are mildness balanced between mercy and severity. They carefully swallow the sword of truth, aware of the fact that with one false move, their life could be in danger. Justice rarely comes easily. One must be focused on the truth, firm in their decisions, and aware of the consequences of their actions. The wings represent spirituality, divine intervention, and divine consequences.
In a reading, this card can be a sign that justice is imminent in regard to an uncertain situation in your life. Depending on what side of justice you are on this could be a good or bad thing. However, justice is always fair and unbiased, so the consequences of your actions will not be overly severe. If you are currently trying to make a life-altering decision, it asks you to act according to your inner compass and meditate on the possible consequences. Always focus on the truth, even if that truth is hard to swallow.
The reversed may reflect that your inner sense of justice is thrown off. You may have done something you feel bad about or you may just be losing faith in old beliefs. It may also suggest that you need to overcome personal biases and look at a situation more objectively. It asks you to own up to any wrongdoings, but also don’t be too hard on yourself. Outwardly, there may be a situation in your life where justice is being impeded.
Design
For this design, I wanted to portray justice as a sacrifice. The pursuit of justice can sometimes feel like a circus act. In a perfect world, it should be straightforward, but there are always hoops to jump through. The idea of the sword swallower came to me because I wanted the figure to be perfectly balanced, but also in danger. They have to remain focused on the task at hand and embrace the risks. The sword is a classical symbol of justice cutting through the throat chakra, the source of truth. This is the only card that uses imagery from the minor arcana except for the magician, but here, the sword is divine and ethereal. It is more than just the symbol of its world. There is the threat of violence here with a single wrong more. No justice, no peace.
Key Symbols
The Twin Pillars: Jachin and Boaz are the Gateway to Solomon’s Temple. They represent duality in its many forms; male/female, dark/light, seen/unseen, conscious/unconscious, etc, and together create the middle path. This balance of opposites is one of the cornerstones of magic.
Sword: unyielding truth and justice
Wings: divinity and freedom
Color Theory
You may notice that the same colors are used here as in Strength. These two cards are sometimes swapped in their places in the fool’s journey and hold very similar energy. However, red is also present here representing the extra severity present in this card vs the softness of strength. Justice is not always compassionate, but it is always fair.
Red: Severity, Strength, Grounding, Focus, Support
Orange: Creativity. Identity. Pleasure. Passion. Desire. Inspiration.
Yellow: Instinct. Wisdom. Confidence.
Green: Green: Love. Compassion. Emotion.
