Legend: Justice/ Lady of the lake

snowy25

The lady of the lake rises from the water.
On the image it looks like Arthur's eyes are only upon her.
It looks like the water dripping from her arms is the replacement of the curtain behind Justice in the RWS.
In this way she protects her land from the eyes of Arthur and all she will not let pass.
The lady offers Arthur the sword and scabbard cause he spoke fair to her.
He reaches for her and she isn't moved by him doing so.
They both got their own and this is only a temporary meeting between the two.
 

Sophie-David

This is an imposing and beautiful card, and Anna-Marie's commentary in A Keeper of Words is equally fine. The Lady is very like an anima figure to Arthur, a sense of purpose, guidance and protection rising from the waters of his unconscious. As in the Fool's Journey, he is guided to this initiation with the Lady by the Magician who comes before.

This is a particularly profound line,
The magick of the place hung all about them, teasing at their sense of reality. Whispered words rode the wind: "the coming of Arthur draws near."
It speaks of those moments of transcendence and high destiny that at times seek to touch every soul, from places of sacred magic, however they may be conceived. Arthur has been empowered and encouraged in his life's mission to bring healing and balance to the Land.

This apparation of this powerful and austere Lady is the heart of Justice, "cosmic law. She is a reminder that there is a mightier court than the king's justice." The Justice of courtrooms only occasionally reaches these heights and depths.
 

WalesWoman

The Lady of the Lake is so large, totally dwarfing Arthur and just now it hit me, that our drives and desires (his mantle perhaps, and the symbolism of the swords) may be what bring us to the lake in the first place, but have to be balanced with what is right, with the "rightness" of what we want to achieve from those drives and desires.

Most of the time when I see this card, I see Justice as balance, as equality and fairness or reaching an equilibrium. But in this light it is seeing what we want for what it is, is it worth the cost of persuing it, will it be fair to others or fair to ourselves? Nothing comes without some sort of price, so to recieve Justice we also have to be willing to give it as well. To be impartial when weighing the balance of some action or decision or whatever.

One of the thoughts I had was about the sword and sheath, when to use that sword to cut through to the truth, to be determined and a bit ruthless and when to show mercy, to sheath that sword. Justice is learning to know the difference or perhaps is that delicate balance of distributing justice with mercy and fairness.
 

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snowy25

And in this pose I can imagine this lady is both respected and feared.
She comes from the water with such a powerfull presence.
*Sigh*

I always ecpected the justice card to have some form of juging people when it comes up in sertan spreads.

But he, it was the theme of 2004 for me.
 

Sophie-David

WalesWoman said:
The Lady of the Lake is so large, totally dwarfing Arthur and just now it hit me, that our drives and desires (his mantle perhaps, and the symbolism of the swords) may be what bring us to the lake in the first place, but have to be balanced with what is right, with the "rightness" of what we want to achieve from those drives and desires.
That's interesting WalesWoman, I wasn't thinking of Arthur's desires, or at least not those proceeding from the ego level. Because the "Whispered words rode the wind: 'the coming of Arthur draws near,'" I saw the reason that he was there was that he was answering the divine call on this life. I felt that Arthur was responding to high Justice on the cosmic level, that he was discovering the life mission for which he was incarnate.

WalesWoman said:
Most of the time when I see this card, I see Justice as balance, as equality and fairness or reaching an equilibrium. But in this light it is seeing what we want for what it is, is it worth the cost of persuing it, will it be fair to others or fair to ourselves? Nothing comes without some sort of price, so to recieve Justice we also have to be willing to give it as well. To be impartial when weighing the balance of some action or decision or whatever.
Yes, I think that is an important point, that Justice is a daily practice, that it is more important to give Justice than to receive. Finding the balance of Justice is one of the most difficult challenges we face, for we are all collectively responsible in some degree for what happens throughout the world.

I also forgot to mention my appreciation of Justice as the embodiment of perfect form, that to be just is to be finely tuned, perfectly suited to a use or task. Just as the Lady's body is a large and imposing icon of dynamic womanly beauty, Justice forms the perfected container in which idea and emotion are expressed. It is the book of rules about which art frolics, the grounding string that enables creativity to fly. As in just intonation, it is the perfect form into which expression is focused, the silver chalice into which the wine is poured.

While the traditional mapping of the Tarot Justice with Venus in Libra makes sense, I see an even closer association with asteroid Pallas Athena in Libra. My natal Pallas is conjunct my Capricorn Sun. Aside from a pronounced tendency to legalism which is often a curse, there is the blessing of an innate sense of artistic form. In dreams and meditations she is a powerful and perfectly formed ice queen, a pristine blonde with almost no personality of her own.

WalesWoman said:
One of the thoughts I had was about the sword and sheath, when to use that sword to cut through to the truth, to be determined and a bit ruthless and when to show mercy, to sheath that sword. Justice is learning to know the difference or perhaps is that delicate balance of distributing justice with mercy and fairness.
Justice is the high archetype that finds personal expression in the Queen of Swords, and like the Connolly Queen, Justice may wield a sharp and formidable weapon. The sword may destroy, but it also may cut free and liberate.

Justice is naturally passionate, but from a high perspective that is not natural to humanity. Unlike the Wheel, she never seems arbitrary, but yet her judgements may be cruel to some, merciful to others. And although inherently neutral, the unscrupulous may try to tip her scales out of balance. Those who love her with courage will seek to save her from error.

snowy25 said:
But he, it was the theme of 2004 for me.
Snowy, do you mean it was your year card (however that is determined) or that events in your life kept seeming to refer to Justice?
 

snowy25

Year card

Sophie-David said:
Snowy, do you mean it was your year card (however that is determined) or that events in your life kept seeming to refer to Justice?

Justice was my year card for 2004.
Now/ around july it's The hanged man.
It's a calculation:
Day of birth+month of birth+the year and then minemiced to 22 (=Majur Arcana's)

It looks like this:
.....25
.......7
.2005
------- +
.2037

2037= 2
...........0
...........3
...........7
---------- +
..........12 = The hanged man for 2005

The card can be seen as the theme for that whole year.
It also can pop up in readings in this year but it doesn't have to, depanding on the question.
 

Sophie-David

We're going a bit off topic here, but I just checked How do you work out Personality, Soul and Year Cards? and Your Year Card to see what happened if the result was 22. For Personality and Year cards 22=The Fool, but for Soul cards 22=4=The Emperor.

I was born January 14, 1956. So my Personality Card = 1 + 14 + 1956 = 1971 = 18 = The Moon. My Soul Card reduces 18 to 9 for The Hermit. There was a reference later in the Your Year Card thread that the Soul Card number refers to the number of your incarnations; at 9 it would seem I'm on my last, as least as a human. ;)

The Year Card is 1 + 14 + 2005 = 2020 = 22 = The Fool. Last year was The World.

Every one of these cards seems to be very relevant to my own experience and self-perception.

Back to Legend Justice, I was curious if anyone else associated the card with the expression of form...
 

WalesWoman

sophie-david said:
Back to Legend Justice, I was curious if anyone else associated the card with the expression of form...
Do you mean symetry, everything being equal from the center point, symetrical like a vase or even a circle? Equilibrium, homeostastis, both sides at rest, in balance with each other?
 

Sophie-David

Arggh! I had this all done and then I had a computer crash - it never comes out the same the second time...
WalesWoman said:
Do you mean symetry, everything being equal from the center point, symetrical like a vase or even a circle? Equilibrium, homeostastis, both sides at rest, in balance with each other?
Well, not exactly, I didn't explain Form very well. I would see symmetrical balance in a state of rest as an expression of Temperance. But Form implies a dynamic structure which allows for the interplay of symmetry and asymmetry, a progression of harmony and disharmony, the perfected medium into which art is expressed. This site puts my perception of form perhaps better than I could:
Pallas in Capricorn denotes structural perception. One 'sees' through a comprehension of the structural foundation which supports form...Aesthetically, Pallas is very strong in Capricorn representing the ability to formulate precise structures (molds) into which raw creative energy can coalesce. Instant manifestation is often possible, and can be seen as a magical process...The wisdom of Pallas in Capricorn is the wisdom of order - putting things in their proper sequence.
In the metaphor of the chalice, symmetry is expressed in its roundness. But within this the cup proceeds asymmetrically from a top-heavy broad mouth to a narrow bottom focus, then to a stem and a flattened base. A cylindrical tumbler is a lot more symmetrical, but much less interesting. Or in the Justice card, the Lady of the Lake has a temporary symmetry, but she is a creature of water, flowing from the lake through this form into another. Her overall transformation is patterned but not symmetrical. Similarly, in a traditional play the three acts progress through exposition to conflict and resolution; a symphony may contain the movements Allegro, Andante, Scherzo and Finale. These are logical patterns, practical formats or rules that define an asymmetrical progression.

Justice as Form enables the expression of nature and art in the context of convention: universal law and cosmic process establish an appointed order for passing from one state into another.
 

snowy25

As I see it Justice/ the lady of the lake is emotional like the water.
She uses the water as a mirror.
She treats you the way you act to her and like she percieves you.
For this she lives in the water and Arthur had to speak fair to her.
(water being muteble)
So this is the scary part of this card.
The querrent is beïng juged in a sence of gossip, bitchy words back to them in defence or the protection of a good friend standing by you all the way and who would walk thru the fire if needed to in protection.

This I see in the sword and the scabbard.
For one person the lady of the lake can be an evil bitch and for the other one the most preciouse friend one can ever have.
It is just so in a situation.