Judgement (Tarot card)
Encyclopedia
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
card, part of the Major Arcana
Major Arcana
The Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
suit usually comprising 22 cards.
Rider-Waite symbolism
Very clearly, it is modeled after the ChristianChristian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Resurrection
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
before the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
. An angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
, possibly Gabriel, is depicted blowing a great trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, from which hangs a white flag bearing a red cross, most likely the St George's Cross
St George's Cross
St George's Cross is a red cross on a white background used as a symbolic reference to Saint George. The red cross on white was associated with St George from medieval times....
. 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 crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
s or graves. There are huge mountains or tidal waves in the background, which almost seem like glacier
Glacier
A glacier is a large persistent body of ice that forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. At least 0.1 km² in area and 50 m thick, but often much larger, a glacier slowly deforms and flows due to stresses induced by its weight...
s 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
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation"...
.
Divination usage
A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of modern Tarot interpretations. 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
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
's promise of life after death
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
. In a reading, especially near the Six of Cups
Six of Cups
Six of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card.Tarot cards are used throughout much of Europe to play tarot card games.In English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes....
, it may represent a preoccupation with the past
Past
Most generally, the past is a term used to indicate the totality of events which occurred before a given point in time. The past is contrasted with and defined by the present and the future. The concept of the past is derived from the linear fashion in which human observers experience time, and is...
, 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 HermesHermesHermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
. - 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 2The House of the Dead 2The House of the Dead 2 is a light gun arcade game with a horror theme and the second game in the The House of the Dead series of video games, developed by Sega for video arcades in 1998 and later ported to the Dreamcast and Microsoft Windows, and also found on the Xbox as an unlockable bonus in...
, a light gunLight gunA light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
game by SegaSega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, 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 seriesThe House of the Dead (series)The House of the Dead is a video game franchise published by Sega and created by in-house designer Atsushi Seimiya of AM1....
derive their names from the Major ArcanaMajor ArcanaThe Major Arcana or trumps are a suit of twenty-two cards in the tarot deck. They serve as a permanent trump suit in games played with the tarot deck, and are distinguished from the four standard suits collectively known as the Minor Arcana...
. Kuarl was said to have been based on Curien's "The Chariot", and Zeal "The Hanged Man". - In the Shin Megami Tensei: PersonaShin Megami Tensei: PersonaShin Megami Tensei: Persona, known in Japan as is a series of role-playing video games developed and published by Atlus. The series is a spin-off of the Megami Tensei series which focuses on demon summoners. However, the Persona series centers around groups of teenagers who have the ability to...
video game series, the Judgment Arcana typically contains powerful personae of the AbrahamAbrahamAbraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
ic mythos, such as LuciferLuciferTraditionally, Lucifer is a name that in English generally refers to the devil or Satan before being cast from Heaven, although this is not the original meaning of the term. In Latin, from which the English word is derived, Lucifer means "light-bearer"...
, MessiahMessiahA messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
and SatanSatanSatan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
. In both games it only appears towards the end of the story, and only once The FoolThe Fool (Tarot card)The Fool or The Jester is one of the 78 cards in a Tarot deck; one of the 22 Trump cards that make up the Major Arcana. The Fool is unnumbered...
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 3Persona 3Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, originally released in Japan as simply , is the fourth video game in the Shin Megami Tensei: Persona series of console role-playing games developed by Atlus, which is part of the larger Megami Tensei series of video games...
, it is the second SEES Social Link, activated after the protagonist and his or her companions choose to fight NyxNyxIn Greek mythology, Nyx was the primordial goddess of the night. A shadowy figure, Nyx stood at or near the beginning of creation, and was the mother of personified gods such as Hypnos and Thánatos...
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 AdventureJoJo's Bizarre Adventureis a manga written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. Every main character's name in each part can be read as JoJo. The manga, published by Shueisha, first ran in the magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1987 to 2002, before being transferred to the seinen magazine Ultra Jump in 2004. The current story...
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 animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series "Kuroshitsuji II" (sequel to "KuroshitsujiKuroshitsujiis a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso. Since its debut on September 16, 2006, it has been serialized in Square Enix's shōnen manga magazine Monthly GFantasy....
"), 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 QueenOgre Battle: The March of the Black Queenis a 1993 real-time strategy role-playing video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, directed by Yasumi Matsuno with artwork by Akihiko Yoshida...
, 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.
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