Virgo

What we talk about when we talk about Justice today is, understandably, quite different than how a well known member of British society who grew up in the reign of Victoria might have spoken about it. Or for that matter, a rich member of European renaissance society playing a game with the cards we now call tarot. This article traces some of the symbolism of the Justice major arcanum, as well as looking closely at A.E. Waite’s description of it. By considering Astraea, the Faerie Queene, several immortal poets and Augustus Caesar himself, we find that our modern concept of Justice—particularly in time of pandemic—may be far divorced from empire and the divine right of kings. Yet Waite places the Virgin Queen herself, Elizabeth I, right there in the card you drew, the one that we talk about when we talk about Justice.