The card of Justice portrays a severely beautiful young woman, dressed in silver helmet and battle armour, seated on a silver throne. In her right hand she holds an upright sword. In her left she holds a pair of scales. Her pale hair and white robes echo the purity of the two white columns and portico which frame her. Beneath her feet is a floor of patterned black and white marble squares. An owl perches on her left shoulder.
Myth: Athena, Goddess of Justice was born of the great father God, Zeus who was warned by Uranus that if his first wife Metis, Goddess of Wisdom, had a child, it would be more powerful than he was!
So Zeus swallowed Metis, and had a terrible headache. Hephastos, the smith God, took a bronze axe to the head of Zeus, and out sprang Athena with a triumphant battle cry wearing a full suit of armour.
She became the favourite child of Zeus.Her arts of war were not based on brute conflict and bloodshed, but on high principles and the preservation of truth and strategy, intelligence, foresight, planning, logic, diplomacy and understanding. She protected the brave, tamed horses, promoted useful and artistic crafts, such as weaving and tapestry. She was a war goddess before becoming Goddess of Civilisation and her chasteness relates to her lack of personal desire.
Inner Levels: She is the archetype of reflective judgement and rational thought, divine faculties as they differentiate man from beasts. Her judgments are not based on personal feeling, but on ethical principles and impartial objective assessment of all factors contained within any situation. Her teaching is the capacity to hold untamed thoughts in check, to transform chaos through clarity and objective planning. Her way of battle is dependent on her high principles and the ability to hold her instincts under control rather than success through destructive passions.
In the Tarot: This is one of the 4 cards described as Moral Lessons. Temperance, Strength and the Hermit are the 3 others. They are concerned with the development of maturity required to function effectively and deal with life's challenges from a stable base. It cultivates the foundation of a balanced mind, impartial decision-making, to be able to weigh one thing against another, to respect fairness. Athena's sword is double edged and cuts to the heart of truth.
From the Mythic Tarot by Juliette Sharman-Burke and Liz Greene.
Review by Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk
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