Rider Waite / Justice

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 29 Nov 2002, and now archived in the Forum Library.

lupo138	29 Nov 2002
This card is somehow similar to the High Priestess, as Justice herself sits on a throne between two pillars. So it is obviously related to the middle pillar. On the other hand I am not sure about that - what do you know about the card ?

Thirteen	29 Nov 2002
Quote: Originally posted by lupo138 This card is somehow similar to the High Priestess, as Justice herself sits on a throne between two pillars. So it is obviously related to the middle pillar. On the other hand I am not sure about that - what do you know about the card ? I think you're very right that it is an echo of the HPS--but then so is the Hierophant. Wang notes that Waite dresses Justice in red, connecting her to Mars instead of Venus (Venus rules Libra--but then Justice apparently rules over all the planets in some way or other). As Maat, Justice is also related to the Sun (being daughter of Ra and the one who maps out the path of the Sun). And as Themis, Greek goddess of Justice and oracle of Delphi before Apollo, she's protector of baby Zeus--and thus, has power over daddy Cronus (aka, Saturn). You begin to see the complications of your simple question. Quabalistically, Justice lies between "Beauty" and "Severity"--her scales lowered toward beauty, her sword raised toward severity. And while her elements are equal to the HPS, there are some important differences--her background is light instead of dark, her cloak red instead of blue, she does have a veil hanging behind her, but there's nothing on it, and the pillars are both white instead of black-white. Jutice is actually more similar, in some ways, to the Hierophant, who is also enthroned between twin white pillars, wears something more like a crown, and has a staff reminscent of her sword. As Taurus, the Hierophant would be "Venus"--and Justice, as Mars, the opposite. Beauty and Severity. Justice would be the balance in the material world--the law of man, while the Hierophant would be the balance in the spiritual world--the law of God (I'm defining here in Waite terms, by the way--I don't necessarily agree with his definitions entirely). It is the High Priestess, however, who holds the scroll of the Law (TORA)--and it could be said that she ESTABLISHES the law maintained by both Justice and the Hierophant. Think of it this way--if you go to a Bishop (or any other religious leader) with a spiritual question, he'll answer according to the law in his religious text (and church). If you go to a judge, he/she will decide what is right according to the law as written by men. But the wisdom that creates these laws--mystical or human, comes from this higher source (Qabalaistically speaking)--the High Priestess who is the middle pillar--the path to the "Crown". At least, that's how I'd read the similarities of these cards in the Waite deck.

lupo138	30 Nov 2002
this was a load of information. And it gave me a new view, as I would have related the HP to the HPS, and Justice to the HPS, but not Justice to the HP - a small step indeed, but I wouldn´t have made it. But what I appreciated most is the part about the original meaning of the Goddess in the aspect of Justice. She definitely will gain more attention from my side :) Thank you very much for your posting. It was, as always, a pleasure and an intellectual challenge for me to read your posting. L.

Thirteen	30 Nov 2002
Hey, my pleasure. Credit for all that planetary and goddess info goes almost entirely to Robert Wang author of the Qabalistic Tarot. And thank you for an eye-opening question. Questions like that inspire me to do reasearch and actually learn something.

lupo138	30 Nov 2002
but I have to stress you - sorry for that. As you mentioned the Qabalistic Tarot I wanted to order that. The only title I got from amazon.at was something like "Tarot of the Golden Dawn" - is that the same book ? I would be very happy, if you told me :)

The Rider Waite / Justice thread was originally posted on 29 Nov 2002 in the Using Tarot Cards board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Using Tarot Cards, or read more archived threads.