Love and death don’t mean a thing. Till the angels sing – Social Distortion

Awakening, renewal, calling, clarity

---

Overview

A Decision to be made that will alter your ultimate destiny.

They say when the time is most crucial, you will hear the cries of Valkyries calling you home. Judgment is symbolic of this moment, but do not fear sweet death because It’s not. This is your destiny calling, pick up the phone. The sound you hear is a signal from the universe that this I your moment of truth, the time to act. It’s either symbolic that you are going the right way or that you need to jump ship when you hear them. Now, jump.

Symbolism

The entire image is blueish gray besides the blond hair of one woman and the angel in the sky. There are mountains in the horizon, and vast empty land leading to the foreground. It appears to be a graveyard, the caskets opening up and nude familiar rising from the grave with arms open wide to the angel. The angel is orange, with hair of flames and crimson wings. The robes it wears are blue, and it emerges from a grey cloud sounding a bugle with a red flag adorned on it. The flag is red with a white cross in the middle.

Meaning:

Awakening

The Universe has opened your eyes to something that relates to your destiny. Judgment is symbolic of hearing the call of the Valkyries and heeding to it. This event resonates with you on a spiritual level. It maybe thought-provoking information, or something that will inspire you for years. This situation is meant to wake up your soul to new opportunities, change your perspective, and impact the rest of your life.

Decisions

Judgment is another card indictive of decisions, but they have far higher risks and rewards than the others. It changes your destiny by changing the whole game. It’s the cleanest slate you’ve ever seen; this decision will transform the world sees you

Influence on the Suits:

During a reading, pay attention to the majority of the cards that are present. Depending on the number of Tarot cards of each suite, the meaning of the card can take a different shape.

If a majority of the suit of cups occupies a reading with Judgement: An emotional risk you are taking is what you feel is right, you believe the universe has your back on your decision

If Wands overwhelm the reading: Whatever you are chasing will mark your identity for the rest of time. The object of your will can transform you.

If Pentacles seem omnipresent in a reading: A decision has to be made regarding your resources, and it will impact them for the rest of existence. It could be higher education, taking time off or investing. There is inherent risk and reward.

If swords surround the spread: The truth you seek will find you from knowledge obtained elsewhere. It will come in the form of a message, media or a conversation that will resonate with you

---

Judgement Reversed

“Resisting your calling—especially when you clearly know what it is–will lead to depression. Pursuing your calling… will lead to joy” 
– J. Scott McElroy.

Self-doubt, resistance, denial

---

In the Reversed position, you can turn the meaning of Judgement upside down and inside out, or it can be perceived as something else. Reversed cards can be read a few different ways. If you want to know the source of the concept of why this card is defined the way it is, check out the article “Reading Reversals” in Chapter 6 of this knowledge base.

If you simply want to know the reason and not the method of deciphering, here are some possible ways to read the card in reversed.

Meaning

Failure to take action

There is a major decision that is hanging in the balance that you are delaying pulling the trigger on. The time for action was like missing a cue on stage, followed by the awkward pause where you’ve forgotten your lines. This is causing you to lose out on opportunities you earned and undue stress.

Self doubt

There’s a lot of doubt your ability to undertake what is being asked of you. The Judgement in the reversed position is an omen that you are judging yourself to harshly. There will always be more to know, there will always be more skills to polish; give yourself some grace.

You’ve worked so hard to be recognized this way, don’t let imposter syndrome steal your first big break.

Learning Opportunity

Something you once held dear has become a life lesson. Whether this something you worked hard for or a relationship you’ve been pining after for years, this is an ending that teaches you something that you never wanted to learn. Depending on the surrounding suits, as well as any other present Major Arcana will determine which domain of your life is about to change dramatically.

Even if you saw it coming, or this is a decision of your own doing; the result will be internal transformation. The person you are today will be unrecognizable standing next to the person you are after this moment. This is especially true surrounded by other ending cards such as Death, The World, or any of the Tens.

Giving yourself grace/ More emotional freedom

The armor you wear everyday is getting heavy, almost too much to bare. This maybe in the form of blaming yourself for something, or simply a monumental amount of pain which has forced you to turn your light inward to keep yourself warm. The judgment reversed in this position is the sign that there’s something you need to let go of.

Seven of Wands upright or reversed can signify that you are being too defensive, and that a person or situation deserves your trust. While the Nine of Swords speaks of a guilt that is stealing sleep from you. Both of these cards would be amplified by The Devil which is that you are either bound to your guilt or your armor. It’s time to let it go. The Ace of cups Reversed can indicate your mentality is interfering with your love life, or with your loved ones. If you’re too cold to find warmth in The Sun, then something must change. Your suffering is taking away from all aspects of your life.

Seek advice from Temperance to find the path forward. You don’t have to change overnight, just one step at a time.

Change in career

In the future, there’s a chance you find yourself in a position to change careers. This is especially true if you’ve found that you’ve outgrown your current environment, your bosses maybe more critical, or there are whispers that the company is considering downsizing. Before The Tower strikes, you will be given a chance to change your own life. This card is an indicator not to delay in this decision and take the leap of faith before you’re ejected from your ivory tower anyways.

Take Control

While it may seem like you’re powerless in this situation, it’s all an illusion. There’s no doubt you can’t control what life throws at you. What you can control is your how you react in the face of calamity. The events in your life aren’t ideal by any measure, but you’ve turned lead into gold before and you can do it again.

Decisions Within Relationship / unstable relationship

It seems your favorite person is about to become a life lesson. There is little that can be done to change the outcome of this situation. The damage has been done, and you have both are worse for wear. Maybe one acted as an aggressor and the other retaliated. Regardless of the motivations behind the situation, the both of you have changed and the only thing keeping you here is comfort. Pain changes people, and so does guilt. All you can do is learn from this experience and attempt to break the vicious cycle so you can walk away with some happy memories to look back on, next time.

With The Devil it can symbolize an unhealthy relationship. It can be seen as staying together for the kids. Six of Pentacles and The lovers reversed signifies a relationship that fell. out of touch a long time ago, where the only thing keeping you around is the memory of who someone used to be, prior to all the damage. Eight of Swords can signify feeling trapped, but you are only as stuck as you believe you are.

Slow healing; mentally or physically

Erring on the side of mental illness (especially with a lot of swords present) judgment can signify something that is going to take a miraculous amount of your time and effort to sort through. This could be a period where you went completely mental, even if you kept it all under wraps. There maybe speculation and judgement on you based on your behaviors in your darkest hour. Fear not, you are on the road to recovery — but it will be a slow one.

Four of Swords present near this card can signify a need of more than a vacation, especially the Four of Swords in reversed. You are suffering from severe burn out which won’t be fixed over a long weekend. This burn out is bleeding into every part of your life. Delegate what you can and rest. The Empress reversed and Temperance reversed nearby will also signify a severe lack of self-care, and using substances to cope with your inability to manage all your responsibilities.

Conversely, this can also signify a long term health condition that will require a lifestyle change in order to remedy. Whether this is something like high cholesterol, a recent cardiac event, the onset of diabetes; the road to complete wellness is going to be a long one. This can also be a general injury with a long healing process such as a knee injury. It can also point towards a health struggle which will require surgery, leading to a long road of healing afterwards.