After the light and warmth of the sun, card 20 comes as a surprise – and a bit of a shock! It reminds him of sermons back home when the preacher spoke with enthusiasm about judgement day, the final or last judgement of god in a world corrupted by sin.
It’s time for evaluation and assessment.
The fool thinks of coffins, cemetaries and the book of revelation, the only part of the bible which interested him.
A red dragon with seven crowned heads alongside monsters of sea and earth, had all appealed to his young imagination, as did the horsemen of the apocalypse.
There are no monsters in card 20, but the dead are rising, resurrected by an angel. The fool knows to look for connections, such as the book of revelations six-winged beasts (lion, ox, eagle, angel) with multiple eyes. He remembers seeing these on the wheel of fortune.
He’s previously met angels in the lovers and temperance cards. Come face-to-face with his internal devil. The tower struck by lightening definately had an apocalyptic feel.
So many tarot images appear to have biblical roots while A. E. Waite himself turned to christian mysticism during his life and designed a second tarot pack with artist John Trinick which reflected this interest.
For the first time, the fool thinks about re-reading the bible. Maybe it’s more metaphorical than he previously considered and could be read from different perspectives.
If references to jesus or god in the bible were substituted with words like light or energy, it would resemble teachings from esoteric groups like the Gnostics, Rosicrucians or Golden Dawn.
The fool’s walk through the tarot has taught him a new language. He’s learned to look at symbols from all sides and consider multiple layers of meaning. Perhaps every religious path represents different answers to the same questions.
The idea shocks him with its simplicity.
Thoughts like these are an example of judgement in action. Coming to a conclusion based on informed evidence and knowledge. The fool knows it wouldn’t have occured to him before he started this journey – his mother would be horrified!
He takes a deep breath. Returns to the card’s detail.
The angel’s hair looks like it includes flames like the lover’s angel, while the wings are the same as temperance.
Judgement’s angel blows a trumpet, either seven blasts or with seven different tones, like a heptatonic scale.
There’s a flag with a red cross. Here are the four elements again or it might represent a crossroads where judgement will involve deciding which path to follow.
Six people (men, women and children) rise from their coffins, arms outstretched. The coffins appear to be floating on water, while in the distance is a range of snow capped mountain peaks.
The image of judgement has changed little from the Visconti tarots, commissioned by the Duke of Milan in the mid-15th century. This consistency derives from the card’s primary source in biblical teachings.
The angel is Gabriel, messenger of god with responsibility for passing on god’s will to the people. He heralds the last judgement at the end of time when the dead will rise, their lives examined and jesus, son of god, will be the judge of their sins.
A. E. Waite in his pictorial key to the tarot says the biblical interpretation of judgement is only for those who can see no further. Looking below the surface will reveal other meanings.
Waite was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a secret society with temples rather than churches and a pantheon of gods and goddesses rather than a holy trinity.
For Waite, judgement was the process of being reborn in life, rather than ressurected at death. It represented individual transformation, similar to the fool’s tarot experience.
From a psychological perspective, tarot is a form of therapy, done alone or within a group, to address mental health, addiction or other negative thought cycles that interfere with day-to-day life.
Uncovering their roots requires an depth exploration of the self. The fool has taken this journey and reached a point where he’s achieved a higher level of understanding. Judgement is the call to decide how best to move forward when the journey ends.
The fool is being called to make a fresh start.
Assimulate the lessons.
Decide the directions his life will go from now on.
He has changed. Supressed emotion come to the surface. His demons have stepped into the light and are now less scary, their power to dictate diminished.
Think of judgement as coming out of rehab. Sobriety has been experienced but the individual has to leave the protection of the group and return to his previous life.
The fool has journeyed through the cards. He’s felt the integration of the star, faced his demons with the moon, and the layers of his psyche have come back together beneath the sun.
His consciousness is no longer limited and controlled by the unconscious. He’s become aware of all the ego tried to keep hidden.
Was it worth it?
To delve into the immaterial, non-physical world of abstract thought has required the development of intuition and an exploration of the roots of emotional response.
The penultimate card invites him to consider and reflect. When he returns, it will be as a different person. Has he done enough? How will he fit back into his previous life? What has changed?
The fool realises time is one infinate moment.
The past, present and future are all the same.
Regardless of what happens, the fool is solely responsible for making the most appropriate choice. While he’s gained in terms of knowledge and experience, the core of his existence remains constant.
Consciousness is timeless.
The cards have changed his perspective. He’s gained knowledge about the sources of conscious beliefs and is learning to let go of negative thought patterns. He knows the part of himself referred to as I will always be present.
The still point in a turning world.
There’s no escape from the self. From now on, physical life-events and people will be seen with new levels of inner awareness.
The fool has learned to accept and love who he is in any given moment, and see every day as a new opportunity to make consciously informed decisions and judgements. After the experience of wholeness and integration, he’s being called to carry this new knowledge and practice with him as he returns.
Whatever path he follows, from as you sow, so shall you reap to eastern philosophies of karma, what the fool makes of himself is his own responsibility.
The veils have been removed, permanently. He can better judge right and wrong, and while he might slip slide into bad habits, he knows how to halt any potential negative progression.
The fool has become balanced; physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Whether it be acknowledgement of a god, a higher power, or his own ability to understand himself, life’s energy has touched him. He has a sense of being renewed, regenerated, reborn.
The final card is the world.
After judgement, the fool returns to where he came from when the journey began.
How will he manage the transition?
Join the fool for his final step on a walk through the tarot.
images my own, or copyright free from wikipedia commons and https://pixabay.com/
