Justice marks the achievement of maturity. The hero has found his place in the world and built a secure environment in which to raise a family. He can now reap the rewards of past efforts to achieve prosperity and status in society. But deep inside his heart is a feeling of lack or dissatisfaction – something important is missing or has been forgotten.
These feelings often arise at mid-life. The body begins to age and death becomes more visible as part of your future. The emptiness that can plague the hero at this point comes because the conscious side of the psyche has been developed at the expense of the unconscious. The ego is fulfilled and life has reached a peak, but at what cost?
Justice is the voice of conscience. The inner self rises up and shows the hero how much further he has to go. In order to achieve a place in society he repressed parts of himself deemed unacceptable or just unnecessary. But if the unconscious remains repressed, the conscious mind can become inflated with grandiosity. The hero could remain narcissistically focused on preserving his youth, or else fall into depression and cynicism at his waning powers.
We are about to reach the end of the first half of the journey. The challenge of the second half of life is to discover what lies in the unconscious. Every action has consequences for which you will be held accountable. Justice demands that you move forward and the only way forward from his point is inwards. The inner path of the soul isn’t easy, but what has been hidden must be brought into the light of consciousness. Failure to do so will bring the sword of Justice down on your head.
Keywords for Justice:
- Moral choice
- Consequences
- Restoration of balance
- Equilibrium
- Fairness
- Accountability
First posted: https://jessicadavidson.co.uk/2014/07/23/tarot-heros-journey-justice/
