The Wise Woman's Tarot
A Multicultural, Matriarchal Deck and Book
XVIII. Justice
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XVIII. Justice - Image - Maat (Libra)
This card of Justice appears following the lunar and solar images to ensure balance between these energies before they manifest into form.
To illustrate the concept of Justice, I chose the Egyptian Goddess Maat.
As law giver and dispenser of justice, this Goddess weighs each soul against a
feather. Thus the Plume of Maat is a symbol for "Truth." She is depicted as a
woman with "the ostrich feather upon her head, a sceptre in one hand, the ankh
in the other." She is referred to in Egyptian texts as The Eye ... Maat is
associated with the heart as the place where moral judgments are made.
"Maat had no temples but was worshipped in the rhythm of truth, wherever it was
perceived." Maat symbolized the order of the universe and all that was
righteous and good. She came to be known as the Eye of Horus and the cobra is
her symbol.
The concept of Justice in the most organic sense is identical to the law
of cause and effect, or karma. This law implies that we are at the center of our
universe as pace-setter and director; there is a causal relationship between our
actions and how our lives unfold. Sometimes, there can be a gap of several lifetimes between cause and
effect. This situation becomes impenetrable to the mortal mind, leaving us with
a feeling of being out of control, or wrongly punished or praised.
Karma is absolutely not an excuse for non-action or apathy, and it does not
preclude free will, the backbone of all paths to liberation. Maat as the symbol of Justice refers both to the abstract principle and
literally to the "meting out" (Metis) of justice, as illustrated by her scales
and sword. Seeking justice can be a very active pursuit, rather than passively waiting for the will of God or
Goddess to drop fate into one's lap. Understanding this concept is the
cornerstone of the fusion of politics and spirituality. We both actively pursue
the goals of peace, justice and equality on the planet, while we also seek to
understand the underlying laws of cause and effect and their manifestations.
The all-seeing "Eye of Truth" which has been used to describe Maat is a
more discerning "Eye," and it sees into the heart of the matter and weighs it,
making judgments only in the fairest, most even-handed way, symbolized by
the balanced scales.
We see Maat before us, crowned with the sacred ostrich plume, sitting on
her throne with the ankh in her left hand and sceptre in her right. Above her
looms a large scale, perfectly balanced, with a heart on one side and an ostrich
feather on the other.
The sign Libra rules this card, and its symbol is also the scales. The
fact that Maat looks to the heart to make judgements reminds us that Libra is
ruled by the planet Venus, often symbolized by the heart and the ankh. Libra is
also a cardinal or action-oriented sign; this further explains the sword which
rises to Maat's breast as a symbol of her "meting out" of justice. Her sacred
Cobra is wrapped around the length of the sword.
According to Elizabeth Gould Davis in her groundbreaking book
The First Sex, "When the goddess of justice gave way to the god of vengeance, man became
inhuman and authoritarianism replaced compassion as the law of life."
When Justice appears in a spread, you will literally get what you deserve.
There is something karmic and timely pertaining to whatever area or issue it
surrounds. Equality is ensured. Sometimes this card indicates legal issues, papers, court cases etc.
Unless negatively aspected by other cards, justice will prevail.
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