Mythic Tarot - Justice

rwcarter

Athene sits on her throne. Beneath her feet is a floor patterned of black and white marble. Two white columns and a portico frame her. She holds an upright sword in her right hand and a pair of scales in her left hand. An owl perches on her shoulder.

Helmet
  • protection, strength, invulnerability
  • thought, hidden thought, protecting one’s thoughts, protection from other’s thoughts
  • an impenetrable or untouchable idea or opinion
Armor
  • protection, barrier put up for self-defense
  • spiritual, emotional, mental or physical protection or aid
  • a means of keeping oneself emotionally apart, detached or protected from the surrounding environment
Throne
  • the seat of authority, knowledge and rule, both temporal and spiritual
  • the presence of the sword suggests that the seat of authority is the mind, while the presence of the armor and helmet suggests that the seat of authority is might
Sword
  • forced dominance, power, domination, authority, justice
  • decisive judgment, insight, penetrative intellect, decision, separation into good and evil
  • that which cuts, separates, dominates or wounds
Scales
  • the capacity to weigh one thing against another to arrive at an impartial judgment
  • balance, equality, harmony, truth, decision
  • “to turn the scales” is to achieve a decision in one’s favor
Pillars/Columns
  • ancient knowledge or wisdom
  • stability and the concept of standing firm
  • twin pillars represent complimentary opposites in manifest duality and their balance and tension in combined action
  • paired pillars are a gateway
White
  • purity of purpose, truth, transcendent perfection, spiritual authority
Owl
  • wisdom and learning
  • clear vision and insight
Black and White Floor
  • the mind’s ability to integrate dark and light into an orderly and coherent design
Athena
  • goddess of war, wisdom and science
  • love of war based on high principles and the understanding that battle is necessary to uphold and preserve truth
  • used strategy, logic, diplomacy and cleverness in contrast to Ares who used brute force
  • she represents reflective judgment and rational thought
  • her judgments are based on impartial objective assessment of the factors involved and on ethical principles which stand as firm guidelines for choice; her chastity shows that her judgments are not based on personal desire
  • by teaching civilizing arts to man, she shows the mind’s ability to hold untamed nature in check and to transform it through clarity and objective planning
  • by fighting on principle rather than because of passion, she demonstrates the mind’s ability to make choices based on reflection while keeping the instincts under control
  • the first of the Four Moral Lessons, which together contribute to the formation of the ego, which we all must have in order to experience a sense of worth and value in life and to cope with life’s challenges fro ma stable and individual foundation
  • the need to think clearly and cultivate the faculty of a balanced mind
  • representation of man’s striving toward a perfection conceived by the human mind and spirit

Written in my workbook on 12 Aug 91:
Athene is happiness covered by a gown of passion. Her hair of empathy is covered by a crown of desire. In one hand she holds the sword of happiness while the other holds the scales of truth. Clarity of vision is perched on her shoulder. Her throne of clarity of thought sits between pillars of self-assurance and uncertainty. Growth covers and connects the pillars. The background wall is indecision and the floor is clarity of mind interspersed with passion.

My key colors were the same as with the Chariot, light blue (clearness of mind, thought or purpose; truth) and scarlet (hate, anger, lust, passion).

Rodney