Judgement (Tarot card)

The Judgment (XX). Rider-Waite deck.

Judgement (XX), or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a Tarot card, part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising 22 cards.

Card Meanings

• Judgement
• Rebirth
• Inner-calling
• Absolution ^[1]

Description

The scene is modeled after the Christian Resurrection before the Last Judgment. An angel, possibly Metatron, is depicted blowing a great trumpet, from which hangs a white flag bearing a red cross. A group of humans (man, woman, and child) of grayish complexion stand, arms spread, looking up at the angel in awe. The Sleeping Dead are apparently emerging from crypts or graves. There are huge mountains or tidal waves in the background. These may be a reference to the sea giving up its dead on the day of judgment, as described in the Book of Revelation.

Alternative decks

• In the Thoth tarot deck, Judgement is referred to as The Aeon and includes pictorial representations of Nuit, Hadit and Ra-Hoor-Khuit and Harpocrates.
• In the Darkana tarot deck, Judgement is referred to as Prudence to better reflect the symbolism of the four Cardinal Virtues (fortitude, justice, temperance, prudence).

See also

• Angels in art

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Judgement (Major Arcana).

• The Judgment from Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners - Joan Bunning