XX Judgement - 'Day of Reckoning'

At number 'XX' in the Major Arcana, 'Judgement' marks the moment The Fool hears the call beckoning him back to a higher plane of consciousness. His soul has almost come full circle. There's just one more step he needs to take, one more lesson he needs to learn before fully realizing the reason for his journey and what may come next.

Two very different takes on the Judgement archetype.
Left: This Might Hurt Tarot. Right: Sun and Moon Tarot

JUDGEMENT - Day of Reckoning

KEYWORDS 

Revelation. Enlightenment.  Spiritual ascension. Awakening. Epiphany. Religious experience. Rebirth. Karma. Judgement. Reckoning. Retribution. Consequences. Deserved punishment. Deserved reward. Ultimate decision. Assurance. A wake-up call.

Poor judgement. Self-doubt. Impostor syndrome. Spiritual stagnation. Impunity. Getting away with murder. Ignoring important signs. Inability to move on. Fear of judgement. Evading consequences. Willful ignorance. Denial. Indecision. 

THE LIGHT  

The standard artwork in the Judgement card is usually inspired by Abrahamic eschatology. Judgement Day; the End Times; the final day of reckoning in the Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths. It frequently features angel-like beings, blowing their trumpets loud enough to wake the dead and call their souls to the heavens. 

This is the card of epiphanies, revelations and spiritual awakenings. There are times in our lives when we experience sudden flashes of absolute clarity. This can come in the form of a life-changing religious, philosophical or mystical experience. Suddenly, everything makes perfect sense and we're left with no doubt as to our purpose in this life. 

It also represents karmic repercussions. For better or for worse, we come face to face with the consequences of our past choices and behavior. There is no turning back from this point, there are no second chances. This is our day of reckoning. The only way forward is acceptance. Accept our failures and the retribution that is now being cast upon us and strive to do better in the future. Rejoice in our blessings for our good deeds and vow to continue on this righteous path. Whatever we do, the Judgement card will not be ignored, sooner or later karma inevitably catches up with all of us. 

Left: 'Il Giudizio' from the Tarot by Alexander Daniloff
Right: 'Le Jugement' from Le Tarot Archetypal

This card also represents new ideas and new ways of analyzing situations. We may experience sudden brainstorms that change the way we deal with previously baffling matters. It also indicates that a final and irrevocable decision has been reached. 

THE SHADOW 

The shadow side of Judgement can represent poor judgement, self-doubt and self-imposed inertia. What is commonly known as impostor syndrome paralyzes us and prevents us from moving forward the way we were meant to. We're so close to realizing our full potential, but an illogical fear of succeeding takes over along with a fear of being judged by others and by our own ruthless inner critic.

This card also indicates that we're ignoring obvious karmic signs. We're being willfully ignorant to the blatant truth of a situation or relationship; we refuse to accept it for what it is or we're trying to evade the inevitable consequences of our actions. The shadow Judgement is also about impunity and getting away with murder. Sometimes karma takes a little longer than expected to settle scores.  

This all leads to a debilitating form of stagnation, denial or indecision that is highly detrimental to both our spiritual and personal evolution. Additionally, it all usually occurs at the worst possible time, a crucial moment in our lives that defines our entire future. If we get on the wrong path at this critical junction, the damage may be irreparable and we may need to wait for the next life cycle, the next incarnation, to get back on track once more.

'Judgement' from the Dreamkeepers Tarot, left,
and the Tarot of Mystical Moments, right.

LITERALLY 

In a very literal sense, Judgement indicates a very noisy environment. It also represents trumpets or other similar musical instruments.

TAROT ACADEMIA 

This week I'm going to share a personal Tarot story with you. 

Believe it or not, I used to have a very deep disconnect with the Judgement card. For the longest time, its meaning totally eluded me. It took quite a few years for me to grasp the essence of this archetype. I suppose that out of 78 cards there was bound to be at least one that would give me trouble.

Maybe the issue lay in the fact that my first Tarot deck was the Crowley-Harris Thoth which features a much more esoteric version of this card. Renamed 'The Aeon', the chosen symbolism makes it confusing and difficult to understand intuitively. As an intuitive reader I was often unable to get past this card in a spread and even though I was able to somehow convey the overall message in the cards, I was invariably left with the feeling that I missed something important. That the reading was incomplete, maybe even misleading. Judgement became the card I dreaded seeing turn up the most. Strangely enough, it didn't appear all that often in my readings, as if my deck knew that I didn't like this particular card and was trying to protect me from it. This all abruptly changed when I finally understood the archetype's full meaning. Judgement, or 'The Aeon', started showing up in my readings just as often as any other card.

'The Aeon' from the Thoth Tarot,
by Aleister Crowley and Lady Frieda Harris

As much as I adore my Thoth deck, it was only when I started working with Rider-Waite-Smith and Marseille style decks that I finally began to understand the Judgement card. Maybe the more familiar Christian imagery was the trigger. I was raised Roman Catholic, after all, and perhaps the Angel loudly waking the dead and raising them from their graves was the literal wake-up call my subconscious needed. 

When I think back on my journey trying to figure out what this card is all about, I can't help but smile at the irony. The archetype that represents epiphanies, absolute clarity of thought and sudden realizations was having the opposite effect on me. It's as if I was locked in a dimly lit room and my eyes could only see shadows and unfinished shapes. Like I was still wandering around on the darker side of The Moon archetype. But then one day, in true Judgement fashion, I found the light switch. I looked around with wonder and, I must reluctantly admit, with great embarrassment, at the realization that something so obvious had eluded me for so long.

My experience with Judgement is what started my need to work with and collect countless Tarot decks. My intuitive reader skills needed to be exposed to as much variety in pictorial symbolism as possible. For the last twenty-five years, I've immersed myself in the artwork of the many talented Tarot creators, both classic and contemporary.  Their personal interpretations of each archetype merged seamlessly with my intuition and I was able to flesh out each and every one in ways that I could have never done had I stuck to one deck alone.

My Thoth deck is still my one true love and I will treasure it until my last day on this Earth and beyond, but I've learned that it's okay to be unfaithful sometimes. I actually understand and appreciate my Thoth even better now that I've acquired so much more knowledge from other Tarot systems. And I'm still learning every single day. I'm still a life-long Tarot student and I'm looking forward to the many insights I'm yet to uncover along the way.

'Judgement' from the Victorian Romantic Tarot,
by Karen Mahony and Alex Ukolov

AN EXERCISE 

Judgement is a great card for personal meditation and reflection on your life journey so far. Place the card in front of you and light a candle if that helps your focus. Think back on the things you've accomplished, the choices you've made, the people you've encountered along the way and how the sum of these parts are like chapters that form the book of your life. We all search for meaning in our lives. Judgement helps identify our personal reason for being on this plane of existence.