Judgment

Take it all and then let it go

After some very difficult ups and downs, many lessons, som hard work, so many moments of carity and depth, as well as greatness, we now reach the penultimate Major Arcana card. It is the World, the entire world – which represents fulfilment, wholeness, and homecoming.

However, before we can reach that lofty goal, there is one more challenge.

Judgement is a significant card. It is a card that carries themes of accountability, just like Justice and the Wheel. This is about being honest and truthful with ourselves.

Judgement is a calling. A trumpet blowing from an angel. The Universe’s voice. It is now. You have a huge decision to make when you hear this call.

It’s a call to face your whole life. To see everything. It is to own everything. Both your successes and failures. Both the good and the bad. All the things you are proud of and all the things you wish you had done differently. It is yours, and you must take it all.

Freedom is the reward for this hard work. Judgement asks you to face your fears and accept them. Self-acceptance is the key to freedom. However, it can be very difficult because it requires us to face our greatest fears: our imperfect, scarred and messy selves.

Honor all of who you are. Recognize the present moment, and all you bring to it. Some of our baggage can be helpful in this life. For example, love and lessons. Some of it can be harmful, such as anger or guilt. Judgement allows you to clean the slate – to take responsibility for all your actions and to then let it go with respect, grace, and love.

Then you are free to move on into a new phase of your life. You will feel lighter, more free, less encumbered, more self-aware, and can fully accept your present. This is the echo of Death, where you say goodbye to a cycle and end it. Judgement, however, asks you to take action – particularly in the area of forgiveness. You are free from guilt and anger and you no longer feel weighed down with insecurity and grudges. Instead, you choose to live in the moment, to your growth and renewal.

Today is a brand new day. From here, you can move forward.

Advice from Judgement

People who stand at crossroads will be judged (that’s the cross on an angel’s flag, as shown in some decks). It states: You have a choice. Are you going to stay the same as you are or do you listen to this call? Are you ready to move toward liberation or remain still? Are you ready for the truth? Are you ready for unconditional love?

Only by being completely honest with ourselves, can we move forward.

Forgiveness. This is forgiveness. Forgive yourself. Accept your mistakes and allow them to be. Recognize the pain and hurt you have caused, and acknowledge the things you did not do well. Forgive yourself. Let it go. It’s okay. You’re not the same person as before, but a person who has grown and learned. Let it be.

To forgive others. You can forgive others if you hold a grudge. It’s not worth your time, it is old energy, dead weight.

This forgiveness work requires that you put in a lot of effort. It is not always easy. Forgiveness requires more than just saying “I forgive you”. It might take several days, weeks or months to unpick and accept the complex sadnesses and guilt that lie behind guilt and/or grudges. With the Judgement card at your side, however, you can work towards this.

Key words and concepts

Liberation, freedom and the letting go of shackles

Transferring old baggage

Self-acceptance

Total accountability for oneself

Integrity and honesty

Self-forgiveness

Forgiveness for others

Self-love

Letting go

Moving forward is possible by allowing yourself to be open

Here are some common symbols

Horn (Hear a call)

Angel (transcendence call from ‘above”)

People, birds, and other animals “rising up” (the soul transcending, lightness).