Judgment Tarot Card Meanings by Avia from Tarot Teachings

Exploring judgment Card Meanings: For many, the word “judgment” evokes some very unsavory thoughts and images. It’s no wonder the term makes some people cringe. For eons, this term has been associated with religious misunderstanding and intolerance. Wars are waged in the name of religion, and judgment is often the battlefield. As with all the cards in Tarot, that’s not the whole story. This article explores more angles and perspectives when it comes to judgment Tarot card meanings.

Ironically, the reasons for religious wars can be skinned down to one man’s judgment against another man’s religion. Further pared, it could be said that one man has judged that the other man should have his religion, not somebody else’s.

Keywords for Judgment Tarot Card Meanings

Faith
Honesty
Judgment
Renewal
Celebration
Recognition
Resurrection
Transformation
Heeding a Call

In the Christian faith, Judgment is associated with the “Judgment day.” That day, according to Biblical text, in which all souls will be called and each soul is measured and marked according to virtue and obedience to God.

Religion aside, Judgment plays a part in every life in every day. We make judgment calls about how to raise our children. We use good judgment about how we manage our finances. We need judgment to determine what career we want to have.

Now that we’ve covered the various types of Judgment, let’s take a hard look at the card.

There is no evidence of fear in the card and no conveyance of scolding or negativity. This is because the Judgment Tarot card meanings are not about judging against others. It has nothing to do with negative judgments made against our actions or against other people. This card deals with honesty.

Nancy Lopez, one of the most accomplished women of the professional golf scene, made a fine point when she said: “Doubt yourself and you doubt everything you see. Judge yourself and you see judges everywhere. But if you listen to the sound of your own voice, you can rise above doubt and judgment. And you can see forever.” This is the prime message of the Judgment card.

When we put a negative spin on this card, it becomes confusing, confounding, and seemingly irrelevant to a reading. However, when we understand that judgment is a natural, God-given gift that we can use in order to answer our highest calling – it takes on an entirely new meaning.

The Judgment card comes up in a reading when it is time to heed our highest calling. When we are at a crossroads, and it is time to lift ourselves us and transform our lives. It comes at a pivotal time when we must be honest with ourselves, judge what best action should be taken and rise up to the challenges to embrace our best life.

This is an inspiring card. It indicates that higher energies are in motion to assist us in living a new, fresh, wonderful life. Just as the Christ was resurrected to a new phase of life, so too can we transform ourselves and move into a new way of living.

Other deck renditions show the angel Gabriel blowing his horn to call up the souls to their higher understanding. This is precisely the message this card bears. It is time to heed the call of resurrection. Now is the time to make a positive difference in our lives and in the lives of others.

Key Symbols for Judgment Tarot Card:

This section focuses in on a few select symbols that can help us further define the Judgment Tarot card meanings.

Open Arms: The figures in this card are accepting higher knowledge with open arms. When we observe our lives with love and honesty, we are fully prepared to accept a final judgment. We are willing to take this declaration and move to a higher level. By openly embracing the new-found knowledge of our life direction we are able to more effectively move into a new direction. Knowledge is power when we take it in with open arms, we become powerful ourselves.

Cross: The ancient Greeks created this symbol with all legs of equal length and size. One of the simplest symbols, and used since ancient times, it represents several things to different cultures. In ancient Greece, it is an emblem of the four elements. In the ancient Middle East, the symbol represents the four directions (north, south, east, west) and the four winds. Even the ancient Aztecs used this symbol to represent the meeting place of god (at the cross-section). The cross in this card indicates that an even-mind (sound judgment) is of foremost importance in our personal development.

Horn: The horn is the symbol of the angel Gabriel. It is an audible calling to us to rise out of our complacency and heed the call to live profound, invigorating lives. The horn is also a symbol of clarity and divine intervention. The horn sounds from God and our own higher selves. When we hear the horn blow it is time to make a better change in our lives. The horn is also a symbol of our inner calling. When we’ve been stuck in a situation that does not serve us we hear the horn of our inner voice urging us to move in a direction more fulfilling to our soul purpose.

Flag (in Rider-Waite): The flag is an announcement to change – something has shifted and a flag makes the world aware of this shift. It is a bright, bold obvious sign that a new day is dawning. This is not about subtle shifts – the flag is about “in-your-face” transformation; an event to announce to all who will hear. Click here for more on Flag Meanings in Tarot.