MAJOR ARCANA

Judgement Tarot Meanings

Judgement Tarot meanings follow the more traditional religious meanings of the card. It is a visual representation of ‘Judgement Day’ the day on which god comes to judge all living things and either welcome them or penalise them. The Judgement card works in a similar way, however in a more modern context, we would take on the traditional role of ‘god’ and instead do a thorough review of our own selves, our actions and our impact on a situation.

In the next major arcana card, The World, we are able to ascend to the next level or a higher state of consciousness, in Judgement we have to decide whether we are ready or even if we are worthy of that accession. A less Christianised version of this would be the Ancient Egyptian belief that when you die, your heart must be weighed against a feather to deem whether you are worthy of moving to the next stage of the afterlife.

Judgement Tarot Meanings - Upright

In the upright position, Judgement requires us to embrace self-critique, to step outside of ourselves and see all the facts in order to make an objective evaluation of who we are, what we’ve done or what we’re aiming for. The main upright meanings of Judgement are:

Judgement
Evaluation
Self-critique
Change of life path

Judgement is what leads us to the end of our current cycle, it is that final push, hurdle or challenge that we have to overcome in order to close the chapter and move forward into a fresh energy cycle. Because it is a card ruled by fire, it’s a very active card and asks us to be hands-on with our self-evaluation.

Judgement Tarot Meanings - Reversed

In the reversed position, Judgement demands that we see through open eyes, to stop running from ourselves and be accountable for our actions. Some of the main reversed meanings of Judgement are:

Lack of self-awareness
Negative self-talk
Self-absorption
Reluctance to close a chapter

Judgement is all about purging the old and the things that don’t serve us, to make way for the new. We have to create space to let in the things we want to attract. In the reversed position, we may not be allowing ourselves to do what needs to be done and we need a stronger sense of self to see where we need to do that last little bit of work.

Reading Judgement in a Tarot Spread

Judgement is a card that I always struggle with when it comes up, we just don’t vibe with each other, so when it appears in a spread I have to take a step back and look at it in the context of the bigger picture. Where is it positioned in the spread, is it in the conscious level or subconscious level? If it’s in a conscious position, then it’s something that is on the verge of being adopted or is already in motion. If it’s in a subconscious position, then it could be that the energy of Judgement is being repressed or avoided, but that it is the only energy that will help you to make those all-important steps forward.

Judgement as An Invitation

Judgement is an invitation for self-critique, and it’s a very forceful one at that. It’s a card that often calls us out on our crap and demands that we look at our own behaviours and actions.

For Judgement, this invitation could be the following:

An invitation to assess past behaviours and actions to see where the accountability should lie
An invitation to evaluate the plans and goals you’ve had in the past
An invitation to review whether a change of life path is needed
An invitation to build more self-awareness

Judgement as Sage Advice

As sage advice, Judgement shows us that if we want to complete a cycle or start fresh, we have to look at what came before and make sure we have learned everything we were meant to before pushing forwards.

Some advice Judgement may offer is:

Make sure you’ve cleaned out everything that you don’t want to take with you into this next stage of your life so that you aren’t carrying baggage that may slow down your progress
Always check in and make sure you’re holding yourself accountable for things you say, do or think
Make sure you give as much as you take to build up positive karma for the future

Judgement as a Lesson

As a lesson, Judgement is all about learning self-awareness and accountability. It’s having the humility to look at yourself through objective eyes and be able to see yourself as you truly are, warts and all. This is a tough lesson to learn at any stage of life, admitting when you were wrong or giving yourself recognition for doing the right thing even if it was hard.

Some lessons that Judgement may offer you are:

To learn when to admit your flaws and when you have done something that you shouldn’t have
To learn when to give yourself praise and when self-critique is actually the right course of action
To learn to be more self-aware
To learn how to see your own life from an outside perspective and make decisions likewise

Judgement as a Redirection

When it comes to redirection, Judgement shifts your focus from one thing to another. If you’ve not been honest with yourself, Judgement will show you where the truth lies.

As a redirection, Judgement could symbolise a need to:

Stop seeking validation from others and find it from within yourself
Open yourself up to the opportunity of different ways of doing things that you thought you already knew how to do
Critique your own actions and behaviours and come to your own self-judgement
Find a different, more aligned life path than the one you thought you wanted

Judgement - Number 20

Judgement is the second to last card in the Major Arcana and is therefore given the number 20. The number 20 is one that again we have to look at the individual digits for its full meaning.

First we have the number two, then the number of zero. The number two represents duality, the dark and light of the self and the balance needed between the two. The number of zero offers possibility, endless cycles and infinite wisdom. The two together give us a need to assess the self, weigh up are dark and light and decide whether to step into that new cycle. We have to decide whether we are ready to return to our ‘Fool’ state once more.

Judgement - Pluto

The astrological sign of Judgement is the planet of Pluto. This planet rules things like transformation, death and rebirth. With Judgement, we have to make the decision as to whether we leave this old cycle behind for a new one. We have to die as the person we are in order to be reborn as the person we are destined to become.

The planet Pluto is named after the Roman god of the underworld and therefore embodies this idea of ruling over retribution or redemption. With Judgement, we have to step into the role of Pluto and be that energy for ourselves.

Judgement - Everyman

Judgement falls into the archetype of the everyman. It is a decision to belong or to separate yourself. Often when we come out of the other side of Judgement we end up finding our community, we have learned enough about ourselves to see a place where we fit in.

An everyman also knows which battles to pick and which ones to walk away from. The same can be said for Judgement. We are tasked with deciding whether our current battles are over and done or whether there is still fights to be fought before we can call a ceasefire.