May Affirmation: I bring balance to my life as I work for justice and peace.
We continue our soul’s journey through the major arcana of the tarot with the card of Justice. This card is ruled by Libra, which brings us the challenge of balancing the scales in our lives as well as acting with justice and integrity. A tall order! It brings to mind the powerful call from the prophet Micah to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. But how do we do that? The story of King Midas provides a clue.
This card shares the story of King Midas in the Inner Child cards. The king had a great love of wealth and power and one day a stranger arrives to grant his fondest wish. Of course he wishes that everything he touches be turned to gold. The next morning he awakens to his wish coming true. The furniture in his home, the roses in his garden, everything that surrounds him is gleaming in gold! However, the king had a beloved daughter who loved the roses very much. She was grief-stricken by the change and, running to her father in tears, he embraced her, and she turned to gold! The King is heartbroken and pleads for his wish to be reversed. The stranger returns and tells the King to dive into a pool in the garden and fill a vase with the water. Cleansing himself of his pride and love of the material, he is able to pour the water on everything that his gold lust has tarnished, including the roses and his daughter, restoring them to their natural state.
The lessons in this story are profound and obvious. The King’s life was desperately out of balance and he had to learn the hard way what was of true value. How many of us have lives that are tilted out of balance? Maat was the goddess of wisdom of ancient Egypt and Justice has often been portrayed on this card as a female figure with the scales, “balancing the accounts” of our life as we travel towards the afterlife. Before we get there, it is wise to take a moment to reflect on our priorities and whether our actions are a match with our values. Do we walk in integrity?
And of course the second lesson is to be careful what we wish for, because it just may come true! Thought creates. We are powerful creatures, more powerful then we often understand and remember. What we manifest in our world becomes our reality and our responsibility.
And remember: “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
O God of Light and Darkness, it is so easy in our world to see only the dark and believe in only the night. But when we keep our gaze fixed on you, we see only Light, and it is too easy to ignore a world in need. Empower us to be like stained-glass windows with your light shining through us so that we become instruments to bring Light and Love to the world. Open our hearts to the reality of the needs of others, and teach us that we are here not for ourselves alone, but as ambassadors of your Love and Compassion. So it is.
