This week’s card is ‘Justice’. Interestingly, before I picked this card, I had many conversations about the merits of our juridical system in Britain. They were literally coming out of nowhere. These conversations were randomly occurring at my place of work and even with a man who was installing our cat flap! Once you work with the Tarot on a deeper level, seeing it as a mirror of ourselves then this synchronicity and alignment will occur.

I find ‘Justice’ a fascinating card. The figure in the Rider Waite Tarot deck holds two objects; a scale in one hand as a symbol of balance and a sword in the other to guard against anyone who might want to disturb this equilibrium. Ruled by Libra (the scales), the traditional meaning of this card normally shows that the fairest decision will be made. Outer beauty will not sway the figure when making this decision. Notice the scales not tipping. A reminder that Justice itself is never black and white, it will always remain an area of grey.

For instance, if we take an example of a serious crime committed against a person. Many would want Justice done to the perpetrator and rightly so. However, there would be quarters who would want this person so severely punished that they would go to prison, never let out, the key thrown away, forgotten. Others would argue that this person needs reform that their time spent in prison should be spent trying to help them deal with their pain and insecurities that caused them to commit the crime. So, if they are let out, they will not recommit. That they deserve a second chance. Are either of these points of views wrong? Can there be a clear answer? Justice would say there is much more to it than that.

Justice reminds us of the presence of Spirit even in the darker moments of our society. I watched a program last year on my own that has continually stayed with me. As part of a rehabilitation program at a high-level prison, a woman went to visit the man who had murdered her son. The perpetrator came across the whole episode as rude, arrogant, violent and to be perfectly blunt, highly unlikeable. However, the fact he put himself forward for this held my interest in him and suggested there was a lot more to him. Before he met the woman, they interviewed him and he was a different person. He was shy, frightened. The image he gave before gone.

When they finally met, I witnessed one of the most powerful scenes I have ever seen on TV. Thinking of it now still gives me shivers. The woman first asked him why he did it. That if he realised when he was taking the life of a person that person had a mother who loved him. Tears slowly appeared in his eyes. He said it could have been anyone. He was so angry, so confused. Blinded by the rage he carried, all he could think of was hurting someone. He saw her son in that moment not as a human being and he was ashamed of what he had done.

The woman sat there and listened to this. She cried and explained the reason she wanted to meet him. She said through her grief the anger she felt towards this man tore her apart. But that there came a point when she not only wanted to let go of the rage but also to forgive him for what he had done. Once she said these words, the man fell on his knees in front of her, crying bordering on wailing, saying he was so sorry again and again. The woman held his hands, looked him straight in the eye and again told him she forgave him, and then she uttered something so wise it took me back. She said he could now forgive himself.

The conversation ended with both embracing. The woman still crying, the man through his sobbing saying, ‘thank you’ over and over.

The episode ended with the man determined to change himself. That even if he never left this prison, he would leave this world a changed man for the better. Perhaps Justice is also a card than that reminds ourselves that it’s time to forgive not only those who have wronged us but also ourselves. In this human expression of consciousness, we will get many, many things wrong because we are all uniquely flawed. Many mistakes will be made in your time here. Embrace them. Forgive them. Love yourself. Understand you are part of creation. You are a thing of beauty. Understand the greatest growth comes from our greatest mistakes. It was always intended this way.