Exploring Judgement

Welcome to Tarot Thursdays! This week we will be exploring the [card] and how it can be used as a prompt or brainstorming in our writing.

Tarot is an interesting thing. It’s based upon symbolism and metaphors through imagery. With these images the subconscious mind is tapped into through the story provided. Not everyone gets the same thing from a piece of art. Each piece will influence each person in a slightly different way.

Introduction of the Card

Judgement is card number 20 in the deck and the twenty-first card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

Let’s take a look at the following examples of this card below.

Card Examples

Notice the similarities between them and take note of their differences. Do any of these move you more than the others? Take your time and allow these cards to tell you their story.

My Analysis of These Cards

The Mythic Tarot depicts Hermes in the Underworld awakening the dead.

In the Dragon Tarot card, we have a mighty three-headed dragon wielding a hammer rising up from the ground. Not sure what the context is here, but I’m getting a lord of thunder vibe from the artwork myself – which is weird because I haven’t seen much of Norse influence in this deck thus far so I don’t know why this card would make me think of Thor specifically, but it does. Hammer… lightening… what else am I supposed to think?

The Universal Tarot card has similar imagery as the Mythic Tarot, only it’s an angel awakening the dead.

And in the Tarot of Dreams, it has what looks to be a similar theme going on but with a more dream like quality to it.

Themes of the Card

Each card has a set of keywords associated with it that serve as themes for its image. These keywords will vary somewhat depending on who you ask.

According to the Learning the Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

JUDGEMENT
REBIRTH
INNER CALLING
ABSOLUTION

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

According to the Biddy Tarot website, the keywords associated with the card are:

JUDGEMENT
REBIRTH
INNER CALLING
ABSOLUTION

You can learn more about what this site has to say about this card here.

What this Card Means to Me

If the Death card represents the winter cycle in our lives, then it stands to reason that this card represents the spring cycle.

Here everything is reawakened, renewed, and reborn. We’re called back into action. It’s a summoning to one of our many purposes in life. Sometimes, we can complete them one at a time, while other times they can be layered together.

It can also be a time when we must face karmic law, but not necessarily with the same severity that Justice brings. By combining both logic and intuition, we are capable of bringing balance to The Wheel and creating shifts without wrecking The Tower. In this way, we can keep our fortunes turning smoothly.

The keyword that I choose for this card is: REBIRTH.

Music Playlist

In this spirit of all this, these are the songs I have picked out for this card.

The Writing Exercise

This exercise is a free write. Permit yourself to write whatever comes to mind based upon the theme of this card. Choose a keyword or key phrase and run with it to see what you come up with.

I would love it if you linked or pinged back what you wrote so I could see where you went with this.

Happy writing!

Mythic Tarot by Liz Greene (Author), Juliet Sharman-Burke (Author), Tricia Newell (Illustrator) © 1989
Dragon Tarot by Terry Donaldson (Author), Peter Pracownik (Author) © 1996
Universal Tarot by Lo Scarabeo (Author), R. De Angelis (Illustrator), A. E. Waite (Designer) © 2001
Tarot of Dreams by Ciro Marchetti (Author), Lee Bursten (Author) © 2015