Today’s card echoes yesterday’s thoughts for me. I drew at random. A very unusual interpretation of the Justice card, the Mirror of the Wildwood Tarot has a lot going on.
You see a figure in a boat. The man is dead. The boat is still chained to the shore. I wonder if that is Arthur going for his final journey back to the Lady of the Lake. And who is the lamia in the foreground? Why is she holding up the crystal ball but not looking at it or the mirror. Could she be refusing to see the truth? Could she be turning away from the finality of the death in front of her?
The heron in the bottom right carries a pouch around its neck. He, or she, is in a fairly classic fishing pose seeming to be not bothered by the death or the response of the lamia. Or is she a mermaid? Hard to discern since I can’t see the end of her tail. Either way she is a woman caught between two worlds.
This card is Justice. Justice is blind–or so they say. Here she is intentionally blind because she’s looking at none of it. So how will she make her decision? What is her decision in this card, I wonder? Is it to save the man in the boat or let the boat loose. We may never know.
Some of us see things in black and white. Others are more akin to Barbosa’s way of thinking. He told Jack Sparrow that the Pirates’ Code were “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”
And sometimes you have to think like Spock where the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
I guess what I’m driving at here is how do we each perceive the concept of what is just. I’m sure many of you will agree that Justice isn’t always fair–particularly if you’ve had to pay a speeding ticket. LOL
So when this card turns up in your daily draw or your spread, ask yourself what must be done anyway. What must you do even though it will not make the world happy and bright. What must you do now to insure joy later?
I struggled with the writing of this. It didn’t seem to be a happy, positive, seek joy y’all kind of post. But then I realized it was. Once you’ve done the right thing, then you can move on to the joyful things. Sadly, the right thing does not always bring us joy.
But doing the right thing inevitably clears the way for joy.
So today, focus on doing what’s right and what needs to be done. Listen to your inner justice-seeking self.
Seek joy (and justice) y’all. Pass it on.
Mirror, The Wildwood Tarot, Sterling Ethos 2011
Great post, self searching is what hits me about your post and the justice card. And to me, I feel its the decision that doesn’t bring the joy, but once you made the decision and know fully its the right decision; the right thing to do, then I can be happy again! Blessings!
Tina, thank you. Self searching is the right key here. I really appreciate you saying that because I was struggling a bit with this post. 😀
Maybe if you refuse to take the wisdom of the heron, you will remain in chains? The lamia here seems refusing to see the truth.
Ah Amy, there’s an interesting thought! And this is not the Justice card. LOL I was totally off. It’s the Hanged Man in this deck.
Very deep and moving, Arwen. You are right. It is sometimes difficult to do the right thing, but always leads to more freedom (and yes! more joy) in the long run. Thank you for the reminder.
Freedom. That’s it! Thanks Liz!