Card 20: Judgement

Judgement in an Upright Position

Judgement in an upright position shows paying your debts in this life. These debts are not necessarily monetary, and are more of the karmic variety. What has been planted must be eventually harvested, and the Judgement card shows where this is happening for the querent. There is rebirth here like in the Death card, but this rebirth is more like being born into the Other Side where life is eternal and of the spirit. There are implications of a second chance, and the querent or someone in his circle will experience this second chance based on his actions, and not simply due to an opposite and equal reaction like with the Death card. This card also shows where consequences are necessary in order for people to learn form their follies. There is also an indication that one is able to use sound judgement instead of relying on hunches as a means for decision-making.

The upright position of Judgement can also show where the querent is truly looking at himself and what he has done with his life in order to understand what it has all been for. He may be making a change, but it is based on what he knows instead of what he feels like with other cards. This is a card of true maturity and growth. This card is a herald of great change on the way through experience, education, and level-headed analysing of a situation. There may be a change in the querent’s lifestyle based on looking at one’s previous actions. This is a chance to be better or try something new, and the querent would be foolish to pass up the opportunity to do so. There may also be an awakening of the soul.

Judgement in a Reversed Position

The reversal of Judgement shows loss, being deprived of love and companionship, and missing out. There is loneliness shown in this position of Judgement. There may be karma coming back to the querent, but it isn’t good. The querent may be trapped in a situation he cannot control or change, and may find himself unable to change a bad situation that he must get out of in order to be happy. There is a feeling here of being stuck in a rut and incapable of getting out of it. There is no rebirth here, but there is stagnancy and perhaps dogma. This card may show a lack of faith in the divine and may also show being denied a second chance. There may be a court case that the querent or someone he knows will lose or there may be a lack of vindication for being accused of doing something that one has not done. There is a lack of insight and a bias when reviewing what one has done to lead him to where he is today, and therefore, there is no change on the horizon, no rebirth, and no renewal of spirit. The querent or someone he knows seems damned to live out his days with what he has brought himself to when the reversed position of Judgement is near.

There is no hope for the future with the reversed Judgement card. There may be an ending, but it will not work out well for the querent. This card in this position could show divorce proceedings falling in the other person’s favour and civil cases against other people being rejected or lost. The querent may find that he is working a job that he must leave, but he is unable to do so due to external circumstances that prevent him for finding a new one.  He may be unhappy in his marriage or be having doubts about a new woman but be unable to bring things to a close due to an obligation of some sort. There may be depression, and eventually, apathy will follow. The querent wishes to be able to change things but cannot. It is a feeling of ‘too little, too late’ and there doesn’t seem to be a resolution in the immediate future. The querent has hit a dead-end and can do nothing to turn things around but await his Judgement and show that he was at the very least devoted to his position in life.

Symbolism and History of Judgement

Judgement shows the advent of Judgement Day. This card commonly shows an angel trumpeting from the clouds. There may be dead bodies rising from the ground or caskets in response to the call, reaching out to the angel for their final judgement. This card’s illustrations show the Judgement of souls and life on the Other Side. This is where karma comes to collect, and there is rebirth in the future. This is a card of confessing one’s sins in order to come out on the other side of the process renewed with a clean slate before oneself. This shows that when one feels that there is nothing left to do, but lay down and breathe one last breath, that there is still life afterwards. Death is only a temporary transition from one life to the next.

As Card 20 of the Major Arcana, the journey of the Fool is almost complete. He has been through the trials of life and had his day in the sun, but now it is time for him to answer for all of his mistakes, actions, and kindnesses. The only thing left to do before coming back to the beginning is to atone for these things and cross over to the other realm with the rest of the souls. It is now time to reap what has been sowed long before, and this is where the hard work really pays off for the Fool. The Judgement card is a graduation of sorts that symbolizes entry to eternity and an afterlife.

Key Terms

Karma, Second chances, Freedom, Atonement, Judgements of all kinds, Taking stock, Evaluation, Changes for the better, Good choices, Feeling trapped, Well-rounded decisions.