Justice
Song Pairing
“Mirror in the Bathroom” by The English Beat. Twitchy, restless, and full of self-surveillance, this classic ska tune captures the uneasy tension of seeing yourself clearly and not liking what you find. A perfect sonic match for Justice’s distorted reflection, it turns the mirror into a stage for reckoning, anxiety, and truth you can’t scroll past.
Astrology
Libra, ruled by Venus. Libra’s scales of balance and Venus’s focus on values combine in Justice. This is the sign that seeks harmony through truth, diplomacy, and a deep need to live in alignment with what’s fair—for everyone, including yourself.
Historic Interest
In the Tarot de Marseille and early Italian decks, Justice was often the eighth card, not the eleventh. The Golden Dawn later moved it to position XI to align with astrological symbolism (Libra), swapping it with Strength. The image of a seated woman with sword and scales traces back to the Roman goddess Justitia, who represented impartial law. Unlike modern depictions, she wasn’t blindfolded, because true justice, in ancient philosophy, required seeing clearly, not looking away.
Justice is a card of truth, alignment, and accountability. It asks whether your choices reflect the values you claim to live by. When pulled in a reading, it signals a moment of clarity, consequence, or inner reckoning. This card is not about punishment: it’s about seeing clearly, cutting through illusion, and returning to your center. Justice reminds you that integrity is found in small, daily actions and that real fairness begins with yourself.
Vibe
Not judgment, just seeing what’s missing in the mirror.
Affirmation
"I live in alignment with my values, even when it’s hard."
Card Pairing
Justice + Two of Swords. This pairing dives into decision-making. The Two of Swords delays truth; Justice demands it. Together, they call you to open your eyes and choose what aligns, even when it’s hard.
Kindred Spirit
Queen of Swords. These two are truth-tellers with no time for bullshit. But where Justice is concerned with fairness and integrity, the Queen of Swords brings personal clarity and directness. Together, they cut through confusion with insight and elegance.
Esoteric Connection
The obsidian mirror. A powerful tool in scrying and shadow work, reflects hidden truths with sharp clarity. Like the mirror in your card, it reveals what lies beneath the surface. Not to frighten, but to free. Used since ancient times, this volcanic glass was prized by Mesoamerican shamans and European occultists alike for its ability to pierce illusion and summon deep self-knowledge.
Element
Air. Justice belongs to the element of Air: clear, sharp, and discerning. This is the realm of logic, truth, and perspective. Air cuts through illusion, asks good questions, and values clarity over comfort. It reminds us that fairness isn’t a feeling; it’s a principle you return to, even when emotions run high.
Misconception
Justice is often mistaken for punishment or legality, but it rarely refers to the court system. This card isn’t about what’s fair on paper…it’s about what’s fair within you. It doesn’t arrive with a verdict, but with a mirror. Justice isn’t cold. It’s intimate, personal, and sometimes uncomfortably honest.
Full Interpretation
“Don’t confuse the reflection for the truth. The real work begins when you stop scrolling and start looking inward.”
Truth, accountability, alignment, consequences, inner reckoning
Justice asks one big question: are your choices aligned with the kind of person you want to be?
It’s not a card of abstract ethics or moral superiority. It’s not about how consistent you are with your opinions or how many people agree with you. Justice reflects the version of yourself that only you truly know, and invites you to meet that person with clarity and humility. It's about being able to look in the mirror and trust the reflection. It’s about living in a way that matches what you say you value.
This card marks a turning point. Something is coming to light, or needs to. That could mean taking responsibility, admitting something hard, or finally seeing through a story you've been telling yourself. Justice doesn’t condemn; it reveals. It shows up in the real world…in the way you treat people who can’t offer you anything and in the choices you make when nobody’s watching.
Justice is a double edged sword
In my version of Justice, I show a woman seated at a vanity, holding a sword upright in her left hand, bisecting the image. This isn’t a weapon raised in aggression. It’s a symbol of mental clarity and moral discernment. The sword’s upright position speaks to a commitment to truth, to cutting through illusion with precision and intention. Justice requires discernment, but it also demands humility. It’s a double-edged sword. Sharpness can liberate or wound, depending on how it’s used. The sword in her left hand (the intuitive, receptive side) suggests that clarity isn’t only an intellectual act, it’s also emotional. It can be felt in the body as much as reasoned with in the mind.
In Pamela Colman Smith’s traditional illustration, the balance scale and the sword are equal components, representing truth (sword) and fairness (scale). The sword slices through deception while the scale weighs complexity. Together, they ask us to think clearly and act justly. I like this interpretation, but I wanted the scale to be permanent and intimate, so I have it tattooed close to her heart. It's the idea that fairness is something we don’t measure in others, but something internal that we live with…even struggle with at times. Sometimes the scales exist to remind us that doing what’s right can cost us something. The sword helps us hold that conviction anyway.
The main concept I wanted to express with this card is coming to terms with your internal sense of justice, so I explored this idea with the mirror. Noticeably missing from the woman’s reflection are the sword and scales. She’s no longer introspective. Her gaze is downward, absorbed in external stimuli: the thoughts of others. Her phone is more than a symbol of distraction. It represents comparison and the noise of other people’s opinions.
Even when we carry our values close, when we know what’s true and important, it’s easy to slip into a version of ourselves that forgets. The reflected self is distracted, but she’s also incomplete: the tools of justice (truth and fairness) have vanished from the version of her that lives in the surface world. What’s left is a kind of hollow, moral vacancy. It raises the deeper question this card wants to ask: how often are you living the version of yourself that knows what matters, and how often are you living the one that doesn’t even notice what’s missing?
It’s not that she’s lying to herself or that she’s failed. It’s just that she’s human. And that’s where the deeper meaning of this card begins to unfold. Justice asks us to be honest about where we are and what it would take to realign with what we already know is right. Integrity is a thousand quiet decisions.
A Mirror, Not a Verdict
Justice is often misunderstood as a card of righteousness, but I wanted to reframe it not as judgment, but as reflection. A reminder that justice doesn’t begin in institutions. It begins in intimacy. The kind of intimacy that requires eye contact with yourself. The kind that can’t be curated for others or postponed until you feel more ready.
And that work is difficult. It’s easier to scroll and to stay distracted. The mirror in my card doesn’t show her as she wants to be. It shows her in a moment of disconnect. That dissonance might feel uncomfortable, but it’s not a failure. It’s a place to begin again. Sometimes pausing to reflect is the most powerful act of accountability.
So What Does All This Mean in the Real World?
When Justice appears in a tarot reading, it marks either a moment of alignment or a reckoning with misalignment. You may be asked to take responsibility for past actions, confront the consequences of a decision, or return to your own sense of truth after drifting too far from it.
This card often arrives when you’re trying to make a difficult choice. It doesn’t point to the most convenient option, or the most comfortable one. It points to the one that aligns with your values, your integrity, your inner compass. And if you’ve lost track of what those even are, it’s time to stop and recalibrate.
Justice doesn’t want to shame you. It wants to center you and bring you back into balance. It’s a reminder that your actions send ripples into the world, and that alignment is the goal.
A few ways this might show up:
When you’re facing a major decision:
This card is a signal to slow down, get honest, and weigh your choices carefully. If you’ve been reacting emotionally or avoiding a hard truth, now is the time to step back and ask what choice you will still respect tomorrow.
When something feels “off” in your life:
Justice often appears when the scales have quietly tipped, when you’ve been overextending yourself, suppressing a need, or avoiding a conversation. It brings the subtle imbalances to light and to help you restore equilibrium.
When you’ve been wronged (or fear that you’ve wronged someone else):
This card can indicate that fairness is coming, through resolution, recognition, or accountability. But it also asks you to examine your own role in the situation. Sometimes balance is restored not by getting an apology, but by telling the truth.
When you’re seeking clarity in relationships:
Justice brings objectivity to emotional entanglements. Rather than romanticizing, rationalizing, or reacting, it invites you to take a clear-eyed look at the dynamics. Is this relationship fair to you? Are you being fair to them?
When you’re doing inner work:
This is a moment for radical honesty. The kind of self-inquiry that isn’t about tearing yourself down, but about cutting through illusion and saying: okay, here’s what’s really going on. Justice supports shadow work, therapy, accountability, and personal rituals that help you face yourself with compassion and clarity.
In any context, the Justice card is a quiet call to alignment. It’s time to stop pretending not to notice what’s out of sync. Don’t confuse the reflection for the truth. The real work begins when you stop scrolling and start looking inward.
“Integrity is a thousand quiet decisions.”
Reversed Interpretation
Justice starts in the mirror.
When Justice appears reversed, something is out of alignment. That doesn’t always mean something dramatic. It might be subtle. A low-grade discomfort in the background of your life. That nagging sense that something isn’t adding up.
This card often shows up when there’s avoidance. Maybe you’re rationalizing a choice that you know isn’t sitting right. Maybe you’re avoiding the fallout of telling the truth, or hoping that a situation will balance itself out on its own. Sometimes it’s easier to pretend not to notice what feels off, especially if facing it means disappointing someone.
Justice reversed can also signal blame. Either blaming others unfairly, or blaming yourself for something that was never yours to carry. If you’re constantly over-explaining, apologizing, or absorbing other people’s bad behavior like it’s your fault, this card is a call to recalibrate. Guilt and accountability aren’t the same thing. Neither are fairness and people-pleasing.
On the flip side, this card can highlight those moments when you refuse to accept responsibility, like when you know you crossed a line but double down instead of owning it. There’s a difference between being misunderstood and being unwilling to look in the mirror. Justice asks you to be curious about what you might not want to see.
It also speaks to the murky middle ground where truth and fairness get slippery. Maybe you’re caught in a conflict where both sides have valid points, or where no clear “right” answer exists. Justice reversed doesn’t always offer resolution. Sometimes it just asks you to sit with complexity without rushing to judgment.
This card may also appear when you're waiting for fairness from someone else and not getting it. If you’re stuck in a situation where someone refuses to acknowledge the harm they’ve caused, or where justice seems delayed or denied entirely, this card validates that frustration. But it also brings the focus back inward. What can you control? What would integrity look like, even if no one else is playing fair?
When reversed, Justice isn’t here to punish. It’s here to get your attention. You don’t have to beat yourself up. You don’t have to make a perfect choice. But you do have to stop pretending it’s not your responsibility.
Pause and Reflect
What do you say you believe in, but struggle to actually live? When you look at your reflection, are you seeing yourself clearly, or just scrolling through the noise? What story have you been telling yourself to justify a choice that doesn’t feel right?
Take Action
Stand naked in front of a mirror. (Yes, actually naked.) The Justice card is about truth, clarity, and alignment, and there’s no clearer mirror than one that shows you without armor. Being unclothed strips away performance. It asks you to witness yourself without distraction or defense.
Now, name three ways you’re not living your truth right now. Maybe you’re avoiding a conversation that needs to happen. Maybe you keep saying yes when your body says no. Maybe you’re shaping your life around other people’s expectations. Speak each one aloud, clearly and without flinching.
Then, shift the energy. Look into your own eyes and say one kind, loving thing to yourself. It could be, “I’m still learning,” or “You are worthy of better.” Let this moment hold both honesty and compassion. This isn’t about shame, it’s about seeing yourself fully, and still choosing to offer grace.