Welcome back to The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana, blissmakers! It’s lovely to have you back again! When last we left off, our hero had just finished up a turn at The Wheel of Fortune where He learned about the importance of balancing empowered action with a trust in and surrender to the Natural ebbs and flows of Life (otherwise known as The Fates).
This is a pivotal time in The Fool’s Journey. His last experience with The Wheel of Fortune marked His transition from His primal, earthly education, and ushered Him into a new realm of spiritual exploration.
Just as He is contemplating all that He has been learning on His road, including His newfound awareness of His place in the grander scheme of Life, The Fool notices an androgynous figure on the side of the road. This figure is standing by a large set of scales, poised as if waiting for someone to approach. As The Fool gets closer, He sees that the figure is blind.
Calling out to make His presence known, The Fool offers a greeting to the figure. ‘Our name is Justice,’ the figure replies. ‘What can We settle for you today?’
This question confuses our hero, so He asks Justice what They mean. Justice then sets about explaining to The Fool that Their gift is that of offering balanced and objective verdicts for those who seek them. ‘We are always fair and just in Our pronouncements, and as such, Our decisions always stand.’ Justice goes on to explain that They are unaffected by the alluring attachments of the mundane world, nor are they burdened by the sentimental ties of the spiritual realm. It is this neutrality that allows Them to clearly preside over any dispute that comes to Them, offering the solution that best suits all parties involved.
Justice continues the lesson of balance that The Wheel of Fortune began, expanding it to include all aspects of life - They remind us that polar extremes rarely serve the whole community. Finding the balance between the poles is where there is the greatest opportunity for meeting the needs and desires of all. In order to cultivate this level of balance in one’s life, a sense of objectivity must be achieved. This means recognizing when sentiment is influencing decisions that would better be shaped by unbiased discernment.
It is during His exchange with Justice that The Fool starts to become aware of the notion that choices have consequences, some of them longer reaching than we can see in the moment in which the choice is made. It is this realization that propels The Fool from the realm of the id/ego to that of the superego. He becomes aware, for the first time, that He has been following His earthly pursuits to exclusion on His road thus far. Now, He understands, with the aid of Justice and Their scales, is a good time to begin to balance His experiences by shifting to spiritual pursuits for a while. He realizes, too, that with this decision to bring balance, will come an adjustment period. It may be uncomfortable, but the reward will be a more balanced journey, and, thus, a more well-rounded education.
Part of this adjustment process includes The Fool taking responsibility for His past actions so that He can make any amends that need making in order to clear the slate for this next phase of His odyssey. This act shows that our hero is maturing, and is becoming a more integrated individual as well as a more contributory member of Society.
Justice teaches The Fool that this is a good example of a decision that is best made with stoic discernment rather than emotional attachment. Choosing to move forward on this new spiritual path from an intention of wanting to elevate His own personal experience and expand the growth of the world community is proof that The Fool has truly learned the lessons that Justice had to teach.
With an open heart and a curious mind, He offers gratitude to the blind figure by the scales, and sets off eager to discover what He will find on this new section of His journey.
Tune in next week when The Fool meets a rather unconventional character in HIs path. Have a great week, blissmakers! xoxo