KEYWORDS: Karma, timing, balance, equality, justice.

This card of Justice appears following the lunar and solar images to ensure balance between these energies before they manifest into form.

To illustrate the concept of Justice, I chose the Egyptian Goddess Maat. As law giver and dispenser of justice, this Goddess weighs each soul against a feather. Thus the Plume of Maat is a symbol for “Truth.” She is described as a woman with “the ostrich feather upon her head, a sceptre in one hand, the ankh in the other.” She is referred to in Egyptian texts as The Eye. Maat is associated with the heart as the place where moral judgements are made. “Maat had no temples but was worshipped in the rhythm of truth, wherever it was perceived.” Maat symbolized the order of the universe and all that was righteous and good. She came to be known as the Eye of Horus; the cobra is her symbol.

The concept of Justice in the most organic sense is identical to the law of cause and effect, or karma. This law implies that we are at the center of our universe as pace-setter and director; there is a causal relationship between our actions and how our lives unfold.

Sometimes, there can be a gap of several lifetimes between cause and effect. This situation becomes impenetrable to the time-bound mortal mind, leaving us with a feeling of being out of control, or wrongly punished or praised.

Karma is absolutely not an excuse for non-action or apathy, and it does not preclude free will, the backbone of all paths to liberation.

Maat as the symbol of Justice refers both to the abstract principle and literally to the “meting out” (after Metis, the Greek Goddess) of justice, as illustrated by her scales and sword. Seeking justice can be a very active pursuit, rather than passively waiting for the will of God or Goddess to drop fate into one’s lap. Understanding this concept is the cornerstone of the fusion of politics and spirituality. We actively pursue the goals of peace, justice and equality on the planet, while we also seek to understand the underlying laws of cause and effect and their manifestations.

The all-seeing “Eye of Truth” which has been used to describe Maat is a more discerning “Eye,” and it sees into the heart of the matter and weighs it, making judgements only in the fairest, most even-handed way, symbolized by the balanced scales.

In Trump XVIII we see Maat before us, crowned with the sacred ostrich plume, sitting on her throne with the ankh in her left hand and sceptre in her right. Above her looms a large scale, perfectly balanced, with a heart on one side and an ostrich feather on the other.

This card is ruled by Libra – also symbolized by the scales. The fact that Maat looks to the heart to make judgements reminds us that Libra is ruled by the planet Venus, often symbolized by the heart and the ankh. Libra is also a cardinal or action-oriented sign; this further explains the sword which rises to Maat’s breast as a symbol of her “meting out” of justice. Her sacred Cobra is wrapped around the length of the sword.

According to Elizabeth Gould Davis in her groundbreaking book The First Sex, “When the goddess of justice gave way to the god of vengeance, man became inhuman and authoritarianism replaced compassion as the law of life.”

When Justice appears in a spread, you will literally get what you deserve. There is something karmic and timely pertaining to whatever area or issue it surrounds. Fairness is ensured.

Sometimes this card indicates legal issues, papers, court cases etc. Unless negatively aspected by other cards, justice will prevail.