Tarot card meaning · Major Arcana · XI Justice tarot card meaning

Justice is the card of truth, fairness and consequences. Upright it means you get what is fair, decided honestly, which is not always what you want. Reversed it means something dishonest is tipping the scales. In a yes or no reading it is a yes, if you are in the right.

truth
fairness
consequence

Yes or no: Yes
Reversed: No

Arcana: Major
Number: 11 (XI)
Element: Air
Astrology: Libra

Justice tarot card, Rider-Waite-Smith deck — Rider-Waite-Smith, 1909

Upright

Justice upright meaning

A figure in a red robe and a square crown sits between two stone pillars, with a purple curtain hung behind. The right hand holds a sword pointing straight up. The left holds a pair of scales. One white shoe pokes out from under the robe. The eyes look straight at you, with no blindfold, unlike the statue outside a courthouse.

Upright, Justice means the truth comes out and things are weighed fairly. A decision, a contract, a legal matter, an honest conversation. Causes have effects. What you put in, you get back.

In love it means the relationship is being weighed for what it actually is. If you have been honest and fair, that works for you. If you have not, this card is not on your side, and it does not pretend to be.

Reversed

Justice reversed meaning

Reversed, the scales are tipped. Something in the situation is not honest: a lie, a hidden fact, a relationship where one side does the work and the other gets the credit. Or someone avoiding the consequences of what they did.

It can also mean unfairness done to you. Blame you did not earn, a decision that went the wrong way, gossip, someone sending their mess in your direction.

Reversed is a no because the scales will not balance until the dishonest thing is said out loud. The card does not punish. It just refuses to settle on a lie.

Love and relationships

Justice in love.

If you are single

You attract what matches you right now. Justice asks for honesty about what you want and what you offer. Someone fair and straightforward suits you, and you will know them because their words and actions line up.

In a relationship

The relationship is being weighed. Is it fair, is it honest, does each person give and get. Upright, it balances, and decisions made now are sound. Reversed, someone is carrying more than their share, or something has not been told.

About an ex

About an ex, Justice asks for the true account of why it ended, not the version either of you tells friends. If there is a return, it will come after accountability. Reversed, there is still something unfair or unspoken between you.

How they feel

Justice as feelings

As feelings, Justice means they are thinking about you clearly and weighing it. Fair-minded, cautious, trying to make the right decision rather than the emotional one. They respect you. They may also be holding back until they feel things are even.

What to do

Justice as advice

Tell the truth and ask for it. Look at the situation as if you were not in it, and decide what is fair to everyone, including you. Then act on that, and accept what follows from it.

The question everyone asks

Does Justice mean they will get what they deserve, or that they will come back?

Justice does not bring people back because you want them, or punish them because they hurt you. It brings what is fair. If a return is right for both of you, the card supports it, usually after an honest reckoning. Reversed, something has not been accounted for, and nothing balances until it is.

Ask me about your person · from $19.00 One card says a little. I read the whole situation, today, in writing.

Yes or no

Is Justice a yes or a no?

Yes If you are in the right. You get what is fair, which is not always what you want.

↺ No Reversed: Something here is not honest, and the scales will not balance until it is said.

A single card answers a single question, and only if the question is narrow. If yours is about a person, I can read the whole thing for you.

Sable at her altar — Sable
Reads tarot and casts candle work by hand

In my readings

When Justice comes up for me.

Justice is the card I trust most when someone asks whether they were wronged. It does not take sides. It shows me what is true, and sometimes the truth is that the client was treated badly, and sometimes it is more complicated. I read it as it falls.

Reversed, I look for the dishonest part. A lie, a third person, or someone sending harm in the client's direction through gossip, spite or worse. When something has been sent your way that was never yours to carry, return to sender work fits the card well, because Justice is about things going back where they belong.

If this card is about someone

One card shows a corner. I read the room.

When a card keeps coming up about the same person, the question under it is bigger than its meaning. These are the two ways I can help with it today.

Brutally honest tarot reading

Your real question, read by me today.

I pull the cards myself and write what they show, in plain words, including the parts that do not flatter. Sent to your email, no call to book.

from $19.00 ~~$63.00~~

Ask Sable your question

Return to sender spell and curse removal

If you would rather not wait on it: the return to sender spell, cast at my altar today with a photograph of your candle.

from $19.00 ~~$63.00~~Read more →

Sunday at Sable's table

A spell for your week, every Sunday. Free, from my altar to your inbox.

The one ritual I would do this week if I were you, what the cards say is coming for you, and the bonuses I only ever give to the list. For the one who wants him back, the money moving, the luck turned.

Questions

What people ask about Justice

Is Justice a yes or no card?

Yes. Upright it is a yes, if you are in the right: you get what is fair. Reversed it is a no, because something here is not honest and the scales will not balance until it is said.