REVERSALS: Justice Reversed

Thirteen

Upright, Justice is all about creating a balance, legalities, fairness. It involves the ability to split, cut back, share. Reversed....

1) Opposite: Justice is quite clear in this instance. Reversed it is "injustice." Unfairness, imbalance. No matter if it refers to a court case, a family situation or spirituality, the card is clear that things are fair and balanced here. The querent is getting too much, or too little of what they need.

This interpetation is quite consistent with the other interpetations as well:

2) Blocked: The only real difference here is that the energy of Justice is that it *wants* to make things balanced and fair. Something is keeping that energy from succeeding. Again, thing are "unjust"--but only because there is something preventing that. It may be as simple as one person being selfish, or it could be that certain evidence/legal documents have not come to light.

3) Upsidedown: Again, we have "unjust" but this goes a bit farther. Turn Justice upside down and she loses her scales, her sword. This could well suggest a corruption of justice. It is not merely an accident, or something blocking justice that might be removed. Here the whole system is suspect. The scales of balance are gone. The sword to slice things right down the middle is gone. Fairness *cannot* be achieved because the tools of justice are missing. The Judge is bias, the lawyers and witnesses corrupt, the evidence tampered with.

Other thoughts?
 

firecatpickles

Justice, the Scales, is the only inanimate object in the zodiac. I think it is significant that this is really the only "direct correlate" we have between the trumps and the Zodiac as well. Justice is nontangible, unreal, a social construct, perhaps the only emotion (i.e., revenge) that separates us from the animals.

Would it help to look at Justice's corresponding opposing sign, Aries? Aries as the Celestial Lamb promotes goodwill and forgiveness. Forgiveness can be easily viewed the opposite of Justice; as the Lamb of God dies for the sins of the world yearly at Easter, rendering earthly justice obsolete as it were, as Aries continually rises.

While I agree that Justice reversed can be one of the few trumps that myght literally translate as the opposite of its right-side up meaning, there are other meanings that remain hidden -forgiveness, and theft; alluding justice (ala Dominick Dunn's Power, Priviledge and Justice**); or as if "the end always justifies the means;" or "better one guilty man go free than a innocent be jailed;" &c.

Justice contrasts starkly, in my mind's eye at least, to the Wheel reversed, which may and mayn't be read as her absolute negative.

[Edited to add] **Ganymedes, paradventure the most priviledged youth of all time, supplanted Themis on Mount Olympus, symbolizing the ability for "beauty as destroyer" to supplant Justice at a whim -a mythological construct to explain this problem of the inversion of Justice by the wealthy and powerful- from time immemorial.
 

Thirteen

kilts_knave said:
Justice contrasts starkly, in my mind's eye at least, to the Wheel reversed, which may and mayn't be read as her absolute negative.
I would never read any card, reversed or otherwise, as absolute negative. However, I do believe that reversed cards do tend to be the "hard" aspects of the card.

I also don't find "Forgiveness" to be the opposite of Justice as it is often "just" and fair to forgive. Justice tries to trim things down, to even things out. It may even things out to forgive a debt, leaving the person to work and maybe one day do a good deed for someone else, rather than lock a person in debtors prison where nothing can be paid, not to the person owed the money or to anyone else.

Thus, reversed Justice would be debtor's prison--NOT forgivness--because nothing can be balanced out in that instance. The person owed the money can't get it, and the person indebted can't earn anything to pay off the debt.
 

tink27

Justice Reversed

Being a major arcana, I've always associated Justice as the universal law of equilibrium. In most card, like the High Priestess, Justice sits between two pillars and is mostly hidden. As Thirteen points out the sword of truth upright is poised to act for justice and the scales are balanced. Passion and healing are in harmony and divine wisdom backs up the verdict. Justice is also about cause and effect. That tells us that each action, even little ones, affect every part of the universe.

Reversed: What happens when our fantasies are self-fulfilling. History has shown us time and time again of the atrocities and horrors manipulated by self-righteous individuals. Every thought, feeling and action has a cause and an effect - a right and a wrong. When we are not aware of how our actions could hurt or impact others, we are setting ourselves up to be judged and persecuted.

We have to watch our patterns. How many of us constantly judge ourselves. And most of us do it because we are so very sensitive to criticism. We hide ourselves behind muscle or fat walling ourselves off from bonding with others. Our behavior is ridiculed, judged inappropriately at least that is what we think - but it is because we fear we will be judged more if we reveal our vulnerable and naked self to others. And so we become disillusioned and disappointed in life and we complain, criticize, gossip etc., hoping it will make us feel better. But it doesn't, it sets us up to be judged even more harshly.

tink



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michmm

my two cent's worth!

just a few more thoughts i had on this card...
this might also indicate a complete disregard for the law.
decisions may go against the querent even if they are morally in the right.
False accusations may be made against the querent.
Information given to the querent by their legal advisors may be misguided or prompted by self-interest.
 

michmm

oh yes...

what do you think of this...
there has been one reading where JUSTICE REVERSED has come up with 8 OF SWORDS and that has indicated actual physical imprisonment.
have any of you ever had it come up?
 

firecatpickles

Reversed Justice and 10 of Wands, maybe. 8 of Swords, though? A guilty conscience, paradventure!

KK
 

Thirteen

michmm said:
what do you think of this...
there has been one reading where JUSTICE REVERSED has come up with 8 OF SWORDS and that has indicated actual physical imprisonment.
have any of you ever had it come up?
Never had it come up, but it's an interesting interpetation. Does seem to fit in its way--the woman bound and encircled with swords like jailhouse bars.

Justice reversed...wrongly imprisoned?
 

Wonderwoman

Guilty, Guilty!!

kilts_knave said:
Reversed Justice and 10 of Wands, maybe. 8 of Swords, though? A guilty conscience, paradventure!

KK

A guilty conscience...Very, very interesting!! Could you expand on this???

Thanks!!!
 

cris_drg

tink27 said:
Reversed: What happens when our fantasies are self-fulfilling. History has shown us time and time again of the atrocities and horrors manipulated by self-righteous individuals.

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a <be carreful what you wish for> card? and <you won't like where this is going by the end of it> ?