Shadowscapes Study: Justice

From Stephanie's web site: www.shadowscapes.com/Tarot/cards.php?suit=0&card=11

J U S T I C E
Balance, harmony, equilibrium, assuming responsibility, weighing all sides of an issue before making a decision, choosing with full awareness.

I am horrible at describing a card generically, which is why I think my other posts are so flat. Within a spread they have meaning, within the context of a question and surrounded by other cards, outside of that... very vague...

So, with that said, this card I especially love. So I will expound on my personal view of Justice and why I absolutely Stephanie’s representation. These comments are only my opinion!

I really can't stand when people equate Justice with balance. Justice has absolutely nothing to do with balance! (Opinion! ) And I believe this is represented in the card of Justice with Stephanie's association with the feather of Ma'at. The scales are used for weighing (a heart against the feather of truth). Balance is a function or component of weighing, not the purpose. (Maybe it would be better to replace the scales of Justice with a more modern scale with a digital readout or a dial?) Justice represents "an eye for an eye", causality and the results thereof. That is not "balance" that is "cause and effect"! (Although it does theoretically include the concept of balance to some extent.)

To illustrate this point better, I will relate it with a story that I thought of when I first started learning the Tarot. This story compares Justice to Judgement. I thought of a little girl and a little boy in line (for something) at school. Something happens, someone throws something to the little boy, or approaches him, and he spins around and hits the little girl hard with his elbow, knocking her down. The little boy turns and looks at what he accidentally hit, and sees the little girl on the ground...


I will stop here, because the story branches into 3 possible scenarios from this point:

1. The little boy ignores the girl and directs his attention to his friend or friends.
   In this case, neither Justice nor Judgement are served. There is likely to be animosity, anger, or very hurt feelings resulting from this incident.
   
2. Before the little boy can respond, the little girl, for whatever reason, jumps up and hits the little boy back, knocking him to the ground.
   Maybe the little girl knew (or assumed) the little boy was going to ignore her. But for whatever reason, in this case, Justice is served. The little boy got what he deserved. The little girl is likely to feel vindicated, and anyone watching would probably think she was justified in her actions. Maybe the incident will be forgotten and there will be no hurt feelings, maybe not... There is a degree of balance in this scenario, but it is not the harmonious balance usually attached to the term balance.
   
3. The little boy immediately reaches down to help the little girl up, apologizing profusely for his actions. The girl accepts his apologies and allows him to help her up.
   In this instance Justice is not served, Judgement is. Again, this incident may or may not be forgotten, but this incident even has the potential to lead to a positive outcome, it could even lead to an incipient love affair!

In my opinion, that is the powerful difference between Justice and Judgement. And that is represented in Stephanie’s card of Justice. The white eyes of Justice indicates she is devoid of emotion, mercy, or bias. Justice doesn’t care about what is right, only about what is fair and just, and she carries out her Justice with mercilessness. Although the feather in her hand is not as menacing as a sword would be, the feather tinged in red, is an adequate portrayal of the effects of Justice.

Around Justice’s waist is a red ribbon, portraying her material, sensory nature. (Oh why didn’t Stephanie move Justice to its appropriate place at position 8?!? ) The scales also hang from a red ribbon. The background of the card is green and yellow. Green being the color of Pentacles and yellow being the color of judgment and the intellect. It is also worthwhile to note, there are no blue butterflies on this card. Additionally, Justice has the same white and black wings that The Magician and The High Priestess have.

Oh, I love, love, this card! The white-eyed Justice portrays perfectly what I view Justice to be! And such a beautiful and enchanting portrayal too!

ETA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maat

I agree with the idea that the scales of Justice are for weighing the truth, not seeking balance. This is emphasized not only by the fact that nothing is on the scales yet, but also by the wings, one right side up, one upside down.

However, I'm not sure if I agree with your story about the nature of Justice and Judgment. Or maybe I'm not understanding it right. The boy hits the girl ACCIDENTALLY, right? So how does it serve Justice that the girl hits him ON PURPOSE? If it's only the action that counts, not the intention, then where is the incentive to try to do good?

And you say that if the boys explains that it was an accident, and apologizes, that this isn't Justice? I'm still scratching my head on this one.

Found an old thread on Justice vs Judgement, not deck-specific but some interesting notes to think about. Will be back in the next couple of days to discuss the Shadowscapes Justice card itself

I don't want to derail the thread too much with my view of Justice vs. Judgement, I just felt it necessary to present that view to adaquately express why I love this card so much!

NorthernTigress said:

However, I'm not sure if I agree with your story about the nature of Justice and Judgment. Or maybe I'm not understanding it right. The boy hits the girl ACCIDENTALLY, right? So how does it serve Justice that the girl hits him ON PURPOSE?

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Justice is concerned (primarily) only with objective facts, with things that can be weighed, but Judgement also takes into consideration the subjective facts. If a "wrong" is done for whatever reason, then (Justice says) that "wrong" must be repaid in like kind regardless of extenuating circumstances.

NorthernTigress said:

If it's only the action that counts, not the intention, then where is the incentive to try to do good?

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Because "good actions" are repaid in like kind too. But why does Justice have to embody incentive? I believe Justice refers more to the repercussions (of actions) than the incentives (for them).

NorthernTigress said:

And you say that if the boys explains that it was an accident, and apologizes, that this isn't Justice? I'm still scratching my head on this one.

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Because the "wrong" was not repaid, it was forgiven. Forgiveness falls within the realm of Judgement, there is no room for forgiveness in Justice. (Maybe in man's imperfect justice, but not in Justice.)

I hope that helped explain my perspective better. And I will also note, this not all I believe Justice is.

Ana's Song said:

Found an old thread on Justice vs Judgement, not deck-specific but some interesting notes to think about.

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Thank you for the link! And, as usual, I thought Thirteen's description was excellent!

I recently drew a spread in which Justice came up (I was using the Shadowscapes Tarot of course! ). Almost immediately after writing and sending the spread, I thought of this thread. I am not sure this interpretation will express as much meaning as was expressed in the spread, especially when it is taken out of context, as I am about to do, but I still think it is quite applicable to this thread:

"Justice represents understanding the true nature of things, understanding what is truly important and what is just manufactured reality, and thus speaks for herself as the lesson being learned. Justice seeks Truth."

Just to provide a minimal and brief context: this was somewhat of a "political" argument. However, after drawing this spread, the true nature of the argument was illuminated, and thus the discussion immediately changed and the contentious aspect of the debate began to be diffused.

I appreciate the discussion about how to differentiate Justice and Judgement. I do sometimes have trouble finding the distinction between those two cards.

Let me say that the scales of Justice are for measuring things. The measurement is the goal; achieving balance is not the goal. But the scales must start out balanced before the measurement begins, otherwise, it is not a true measurement.

Impartiality, which is essential for justice, is a kind of balance. As NorthernTigress points out, impartiality is symbolized by the wings: one points upwards, the other points downwards.

The spiral on Justice's forehead highlights the importance of thought.

Her fiery hair turns into a plume of smoke that draws a jagged gash across the sky. Down below, a stream has carved a similar gash across the ground. And in the middle, the tree limbs describe similar shapes. Justice requires drawing lines, and a decision must fall on one side or the other, no matter how complex the situation might be.

An enormous crescent moon fills the sky. But what is the moon's role in justice?

Peregrin said:

An enormous crescent moon fills the sky. But what is the moon's role in justice?

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The Crescent Moon here is a Waning Moon. The symbol of the Crone aspect of The Goddess. The Crone is old, has experienced a lot of life, and has a lot of wisdom to share. The Crone would be a perfect distributor of Justice.

Also, the Waning Moon indicates cycles, endings and new beginnings. Surely with Justice occurring, the situation is nearing an end, and something new (perhaps brought on by the type of Justice served) is about to begin.