Third in my exploration of confusing tarot cards is Judgement. Over the past couple of weeks, I've mulled over cards like The High Priestess and The Moon, and like them, Judgement is one of the more misunderstood cards in the deck. It's often associated with some kind of awakening, but the term 'awakening' is a bit vague for me...so allow me to overanalyse this!
What Does This "Awakening" Actually Mean?
Judgement is often described as a card of spiritual awakening. Fair enough. The trouble is that "spiritual awakening" means something different to almost everyone who says it. For some people it's religious. For others it's a big change in direction, a shift in values or a moment of clarity after a long stretch of fog.
So when Judgement turns up in a reading, I find it more useful to put the phrase aside and ask what the card actually feels like.
Judged, or Set Free?
Sometimes the Judgement card is associated with actually being judged. A verdict, a reckoning, the feeling of being weighed up and found wanting. Given the name, I get the association, but it has never been how I see this card.
For me there's a real sense of liberation in Judgement. It feels like the freedom that comes after all the BS has left your life, leaving only room for your true self to come through.
The Link Between Death and Judgement
I personally feel a strong connection between Judgement and the Death card. Death clears away everything that isn't true and is no longer growing. Judgement is the freedom that comes after that loss.
Read together, they tell a two part story. First something falls away, then you find out who you are without it. Death does the clearing, and Judgement is what it feels like to stand in the space that's left behind.
Two Versions of Judgement
I've now painted Judgement twice, once for The Falling Card Tarot and once for my new deck, Concertina Tarot, which is currently being printed and will be available soon.
In The Falling Card Tarot, a winged figure hovers above a set of mysterious hands rising out of the ocean in a mix of reverie and resurrection.
In Concertina Tarot, a figure in a striped suit with a bag over his head is dancing on top of a guillotine and playing a concertina. The thing that was built to end him has become his stage.
Maybe that's part of why Judgement is so hard to pin down. Like a lot of surreal images, it speaks to a part of the mind that doesn't offer logical definitions. Painting it twice has been my way of finding out what it means to me. Reading with it is a chance for you to find out what it means to you.
What Judgement Might Be Asking
When Judgement shows up, it might be worth asking a few questions. What has already fallen away? What's left now that it's gone? And am I expressing myself freely, or am I still waiting for someone's permission?
I still don't think I've got Judgement completely figured out, and maybe that's the point. If you'd like to be the first to see Concertina Tarot when it arrives from the printer, join my email list at the bottom of this page. You'll also get 10% off your first order.
Jenni Mclaughlin is an Australian artist creating strange tarot art. Her illustrated tarot deck, The Falling Card Tarot, and art prints are available in the shop.
