Tag: judgement

The One Measure

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Today’s card is Judgement from the major arcana.

The word judgement has to do with assessment and decision making as in “use your own judgement.” But like everything it has a dark side. Good judgement implies wisdom and experience. Poor judgement implies mistakes in reasoning and decision making.

Simple enough, right?

Judgement is my grand nemesis in the Tarot deck. To my mind, it is the essence of that inward looking personal growth and spirituality versus outward, social religion. In my experience, Tarot is all about the former and not the latter. The Judgement card is one of the cards most strongly allied with the Christian influence in the cultures where Tarot first gained popularity. Angelic and “Judgement Day” images are on this card in almost all decks that I’ve seen except for a handful that deliberately step away from the Marseille and Waite – Smith imagery. The Witches Tarot, Animal Wise Tarot, and the Osho Zen Tarot are my favorite examples of this deliberate separation.

In addition to pushing my personal psychological buttons and activating my religion allergy, the downside of all the judgement day/ angelic/consequences images is the way it can slip into judgmentalism rather than reason and judgment. Zealotry and blind idealism can slip in very easily here.

The up side to this line of thinking is the idea of second chances. The judgement card is also associated with a fresh start after paying your dues. It’s about cleaning up the mess you made and moving on.

On one hand you have judgement and reasoning. On the other hand you have judgement day and judgementalism. On the other other hand you have second chances and taking responsibility for your actions. How do you bring all of that into one card?

Compassion.

It is the one measure of it all. Good judgement is guided by compassion. Judgementalism is kept at bay by it. Compassion grants second chances.

Compassion is the ultimate judge and judgement. If it isn’t compassionate, it isn’t good judgement.

Thanks again for watching, reading and listening. See you on the print side!

My Tarot Valentine: Each Breath

Take a breath.

No, really, take a deep breath. You stopped for a moment to read this (thank you for that) so use it to stare at the screen, look busy but take a deep relaxing breath.

Thanks. I did that too.

The Judgement card is my nemesis. It seems like everyone has a card that resonates with them, that seems to signify where they are in life. Some cards are just comfortable, familiar or welcome. Sometimes a card resonates with an idea or an old battle or some constant struggle…a nemesis.

I won’t introduce you to that particular skeleton in the closet. We’ll get back to that when I get around to writing “Arcana in Balance.”

Still, it is a challenge to connect this card to Valentine’s Day without being overly harsh. So I’ll connect it to a thread of yesterday’s card instead.

Yesterday, the six of cups reminded us of innocence, and the in-the-moment sweetness of simplicity. To taste that sweetness we adults must first release judgements, expectations and pre-conceived notions of what a moment should be. Valentine’s Day this year isn’t business as usual. Let it be the moment it is. Let go of judgement to find your way to the sweetest present moment that you can.

You Choose on YouTube (12 Nov 19)

Left: Judgement. If it is a new day, it’s a new chance. If it is a new moment of life it is a new chance. Who is judging you besides you, and so what if they are? “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

Middle: Seven of Swords. Mischief is afoot. Is it you? If not, why not? A little charm and some street smarts go a long way.

Right: Ten of Pentacles. There are lots of things in this world money can never buy. If you have something of them, cherish it. If you have none, seek it out or call it to you. But don’t focus on one of those many things or other riches could slip through your fingers.