Esoteric Symbology of the Tarot: Justice By Gary Shook In the Chariot the Fool reached the pinnacle of success in the material aspect of his journey. Many seekers will end their journey at this point after gaining the wealth, fame and power that comes from this achievement. If the Fool now has the wisdom to seek beyond the transient victories of the flesh he/she must now pass the test of Justice. Justice sits between the pillars of duality that we have encountered before and judges the worthiness of those who attempt to pass between them. The portal between the pillars is represented by a Violet veil. This is the boundary between the realm of the material and of the spiritual (violet symbolizing the spirit). With the scales she holds, Justice judges those who seek to pass. Those scales also symbolize what she judges, for she judges balance. To pass this threshold the Fool must have balanced material skills (needed to achieve the success of the Chariot) with his spiritual progress. The skills and values that allowed the Fool to rise to the top of the material plane may not be the ones that allow further progress. Justice herself is one of the cardinal virtues, and as such transcends humanity. She is an archetype, or ideal, which for all time has existed above the level of human life. She is the first of many such archetypes the Fool will meet in his journey. Most who reach this point have done so using the strength and aggression of the ego. Justice now confronts the seeker to inform them that the skills that have proven so successful in the past will now be found to be out of balance and wanting. If the Fool cannot heed the counsel of Justice and overcome the ego he will never get farther than the limitations of the world of matter. To have come this far the Fool had to embrace the masculine qualities of the Emperor. But to progress he must have the vision to look within and embrace the feminine half of his being. Other Symbolism The crown denotes authority, and the square on the crown defines that authority as being over the material plane. The sword Justice carries is her means of enforcing that authority. The square clasp that holds on the green cloak of nature has a circle within it. The circle within the square symbolizes the spirit in the material or the spiritual value that the Fool must find within himself to be able to find the necessary balance required to pass the veil. The red of the robe, and the yellow background are both symbols of duality, or masculine and feminine. The pillars are both gray, and the red and yellow between them say that to be able to pass between the gray of the pillars you must have both of these qualities within yourself. The last symbol is the cubic seat Justice sits upon. This cube represents the four aspects of the material plane; it says that this judgment will occur firmly in that plane. Because if the seeker is found wanting here, then he will never be able to progress and pass through to the realm of the spirit. | 
