Judgement (Tarot card)
Judgement (XX), [1] or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a Tarot card, part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising 22 cards.
Rider-Waite symbolism
Very clearly, it is modeled after the Christian Resurrection before the Last Judgment. An angel, possibly Gabriel, is depicted blowing a great trumpet, from which hangs a white flag bearing a red cross, most likely the St George's Cross. A group of humans (man, woman, and child) of grayish complexion stand, arms spread, looking up at the angel in awe. The people are apparently emerging from crypts or graves. There are huge mountains or tidal waves in the background, which almost seem like glaciers as they are so white and blue. These may be a reference to the sea giving up its dead on the day of judgment, as described in the Book of Revelation.
Divination usage
A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations.[2] However, not all interpretations follow his practices. Please remember that all Tarot decks used for divination are interpreted up to personal experience and standards.
Some frequent keywords are:
- Judgment ----- Rebirth ----- Inner Calling ----- Absolution
- Restart ----- Accepting past mistakes/actions ----- Release
- Forgiveness ----- End of repression ----- Reconciliation ----- Renewal
- Decision ----- Salvation ----- New beginning ----- Hope ----- Redemption
When Judgment appears in a reading, it is usually interpreted as a signal of an impending judgment, such as of postponed decisions. As the card symbolizes resurrection, it can also be interpreted to herald the return of individuals from the past. The card also represents God's promise of life after death. In a reading, especially near the Six of Cups, it may represent a preoccupation with the past, while also suggesting a new beginning and clearing out of the past. Tarot scholar Tara Miller writes that "Judgment represents the House of Gabriel, the knowing that Judgment Day can come at any moment; live your life to the fullest, as the trumpet of Gabriel is at hand."
Alternative Decks
- In the Mythic Tarot deck, Judgment is depicted by Hermes.
- In the Thoth Deck deck, Judgement is referred to as The Aeon and includes pictorial representations of Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Kuit and Harpocrates.
Popular culture
- The first boss of The House of the Dead 2, a light gun game by Sega, takes its name from the Judgment card, and is depicted as an imp (Zeal) and a giant headless armored zombie wielding a battle axe as its puppet (Kuarl). It should also be noted that all of the bosses in the House of the Dead series derive their names from the Major Arcana. Kuarl was said to have been based on Curien's "The Chariot", and Zeal "The Hanged Man".
- In the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona video game series, the Judgment Arcana typically contains powerful personae of the Abrahamic mythos, such as Lucifer, Messiah and Satan. In both games it only appears towards the end of the story, and only once The Fool social link has been completed. It requires the player to make the appropriate decision not to end the game early, symbolising the protagonist's growth and awareness of his or herself and others. In Persona 3, it is the second SEES Social Link, activated after the protagonist and his or her companions choose to fight Nyx and the coming apocalypse. In Persona 4 it activates after the protagonist and his team mates choose not to act out of revenge and to seek the true culprit of the Inaba murders.
- Jojo's Bizarre Adventure had a minor enemy stand Judgement, who masqueraded as a genie granting wishes to Polnareff, but actually controls clay golems that assume whatever form specified in the 'wishes'.
- In Saint Seiya Episode G series, Milos of Scorpion is depicted as The Judgement in the tarot cards version of the manga.
- In Episode 1 of the anime series "Kuroshitsuji II" (sequel to "Kuroshitsuji"), the Judgement card is featured during the intermission slides. Alois Trancy holds the card right side up, while Claude Faustus holds it upside down.
- In the SNES video game Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the Judgement Tarot card depicts a female angel pointing her trumpet down south and ready to blow her trumpet while hovering from a cloudy sky. On drawing the card after liberation of one of the towns, it increases the characters' HP by 2 points, and uses a pulsating blast of holy energy that also instantly pulverizes undead enemy units and damages said enemy units that have low alignment when used in battle.[3]
See also
Angels in art
References
- ^ see caption on the original Rider-Waite card - http://www.learntarot.com/bigjpgs/maj20.jpg
- ^ Wood (1998).
- ^ Ogre Battle - Tarot Cards
External links
- "Judgment" cards from many decks and articles to "Judgment" iconography
- The Judgment from Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners - Joan Bunning
