EXPLORING JUDGMENT (XX)

TODAY'S CARD is JUDGMENT (XX), the first version above is from the Steampunk Tarot (the Barbara Moore/Aly Fell deck).

This second version below is from the The Victorian Fairy Tarot, renamed "Awakening," and is my newest deck (a delightful deck, especially as I've always had a fondness for fairies):

The third one below is from one of my all time favorite decks, The Tarot of the Cat People, renamed "Rejuvenation":

And for COMPARISON, here's JUDGMENT in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck:

THE JUDGMENT (XX) card is another one I've generally not been, shall I say, overjoyed to have show up in a reading. Yet when I see how many notes I've made for it over several decades, I find this surprising. I clearly do relate to it when it pops up. A Tarot teacher I had decades back suggested to our class that it could be that the usual name and symbols on this card are a little off-putting. Judgment? Bodies coming out of coffins? I considered her comment but given that even way back then I was long accustomed to thinking symbolically/metaphorically, that really didn't explain my own distance from XX. I now realize there's actually not been a distance, just an definite reluctance to hear and act on the powerful messages it's been giving me over these many years. I clearly was not ready, despite all the calling, nudging, and support from this intense card. Now, as I approach my 70th birthday in January, I'm hearing almost as if for the first time, what the "meanings" I share below have to say to me. My hope is that salted among them will be something useful to you, also.

Is that spelling "Judgment" or "Judgement"? Actually either is acceptable I gather, but I prefer it with only one "e."

MEANINGS/INSIGHTS/READINGS FOR JUDGMENT, SOME LESS COMMON OR EVEN QUIRKY (Please note: The below is not intended to be an exhaustive exploration of this card; a quick google will produce a wider variety of takes should you not be familiar with it.):

As is said in some 12 Step programs "Keep the focus on the self." I.e., don't get caught up in trying to change someone else, even under the aegis of helping. It's in one's own self and process that change or rebirth happens.

It's not the person you think you're having trouble with, but all the ghosts and difficult old patterns the relationship is triggering in you. Own them and you will see the other person and the situation more clearly.

Very important at this time to wake up and smell the roses: back off from a very personal, self-defined view of interactions with others. Others bring their own stuff to the table as well. You are not responsible for everything nor are you the center of it all. You may not like what goes down but there very well may be nothing you did wrong, nor for which you need feel responsible. (Others will let you know soon enough anyway if you should.)

Be grateful for this trouble. What it's calling forth in you and/or others you need to know, no matter how unpalatable or scary or unfamiliar or challenging.

You are being called to be in your life in a new way. The first steps require facing naked truths about yourself you've put off dealing with the implications of or even buried altogether. (Surrounding cards may give clues as to where to start. Or maybe draw an additional card or two at random, if you need a stepping stone or two.)

What's inside you right now that feels attacking or critical is really an inept attempt on a part of yourself to help. Try to damp down your reactivity and hear what's being "said." The more you "hear" what this part of you offers, the more it will have its say in a caring way. And there are some transformative gems beneath its awkwardness.

Be forewarned! Old issues you think you worked out but actually buried are raising their cantankerous heads again. This is nothing to despair of, however, but an opportunity to fully understand and own, then truly lay them to rest at last.

Been "out of sorts" or just not feeling like yourself? This will change soon. You come by this vague discomfort honestly. This is a time of unconscious change.

This difficult relationship/situation is an angel in disguise. Just shifting your perception enough to accept the situation may change things considerably.

Judgment as expressed here is rarely about blame. It is an embracing of responsibility with understanding, that leads to reconciliation with one's self and sometimes with others as well.

A sense of rejuvenation (thanks to The Tarot of the Cat People). Something old returning to importance in your life in a new way or in a new form.

A need to step back and look at the situation as objectively as possible, forgiving yourself and others for any judgments that may then become apparent.

There's a possible growth, even rebirth in you and/or this situation. If you are willing to fully embrace the past and understand it in a new light. Then it will all become nourishing compost.

As the poet e. e. cummings says in the poem below "... let all go ... so comes love." Letting go of attachments (expectations, demands, opinions, etc.) to this person and/or situation releases you into the freedom of the greater love:

“let it go -- the
smashed word broken
open vow or
the oath cracked length
wise -- let it go it
was sworn to
go

let them go -- the
truthful liars and
the false fair friends
and the boths and
neithers -- you must let them go they
were born
to go

let all go -- the
big small middling
tall bigger really
the biggest and all
things -- let all go
dear
so comes love”

* * * *

'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.