tarot card of the year 2024: strength or justice?
Depending on which tarot deck you have, numerology wise the year 2024 could be a little controversial. In some tarot decks, the year would be considered a Strength year due to its placement at number 8 in the Major Arcana and 2024 adding up to 8 (2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 8). In other decks however it would be considered a Justice year as the card is also positioned at number 8. Therefore I thought it appropriate to look at why these two cards change placements and consider some of the traditional archetypal qualities associated with the cards as well as the symbolism of the Nefertari deck and its mythological connections.
In many tarot decks, such as the one that I learned from, Strength sits at number eleven, and Justice at number eight. So why is this? Most tarot students and readers know the iconic Rider Waite deck, which was illustrated by the artist Pamela Colman Smith and Scholarly Mystic and Poet, Arthur Edward Waite. In the popular Rider Waite Coleman Smith tarot deck, Strength is the eighth card in the Major Arcana but traditionally it was the eleventh card. Arthur Edward Waite decided to switch the position of the card with Justice to fit within the astrological signs of the western zodiac. Waite, a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, wanted the deck he designed with Pamela Colman Smith (also a member) to relate to the astrological signs of the Western zodiac.
In the Major Arcana, the cards which have been assigned zodiac signs begin at the Emperor jumping over the first four cards, as follows: The Emperor - Aries, The Hierophant - Taurus, The Lovers - Gemini, The Chariot - Cancer, Strength - Leo, The Hermit - Virgo and Justice - Libra. Astrologically, Leo is a fixed sign and falls within the second month of summer, when in the northern hemisphere the earth is warm and abundant with life. Flowers are in full bloom and fruit is ripe.
If you’re familiar with tarot at all, the Rider Waite Smith depiction of Strength shows a fair woman, dressed in white, gently holding open the jaws of a male lion. The lion is snarling, its eyes wide and tongue lashing, but the woman appears calm and serene, not forcefully gripping the lion but handling the beast with ease and soft control. She has tamed the lion. Above her head floats an infinity symbol, a wreath of roses circling her head, which also encircles her waist.
Roses suggest a connection to the heart and the divine feminine. In older decks, Strength was known as Fortitude, the cardinal virtue of courage, the etymology of which comes from the Latin, Cor meaning heart. The Virgin Mary is particularly associated with the heart as well as the rose, however I don’t interpret the Goddess in the card as the Virgin Mary as we often see a red rose as a symbol for passion. So perhaps the aspect of the divine feminine represented in Strength is more Mary Magdalene. Sex, desire and animal instincts are all subjects with this card. In the Thoth deck by Aleister Crowley and Frida Harris, Strength is known as Lust, quite fitting if you consider that the card asks you to focus on your true passions in life. I also think of sex magic when this card comes up.
Furthermore, in classical antiquity, roses are known to be sacred to Venus, the symbolism of the garland of roses around her waist here directs us back to the Empress card, which is ruled by Venus. Some scholars suggest that the woman or Goddess in the Strength card is another aspect of the Empress. If the Empress is an earth Goddess such as Demeter or Gaia, perhaps the Goddess in the strength card is the ancient Greek Goddess Cybele. Either way, we are being asked to assess the divine feminine here.
In respect to magic, we first encounter the infinity symbol floating above the person's head on the Magician card. The famous tarot scholar Rachel Pollack, the author of Seventy Eight Ways of Wisdom suggests that this is a connection to magic and Strength acts as a mirror to the Magician card. I find it miraculous that the woman depicted in the card is holding open the jaw of a snarling lion, perhaps she does hold some magic within herself. I’m saying this from a female perspective, the strength it would take to hold the jaws of one of the most ferocious creatures on Earth would be Herculean, especially for me, my upper body strength sucks! This marks another key attribute to this card, inner strength.
Looking at another interpretation of the card, the iconography on the Strength card in the Nefertari deck opposite makes me think of the ancient Egyptian Lioness Goddess Sekhmet, Goddess of Destruction and Healing. According to ancient Egyptian myth, the sun God Ra sends his daughter, the Goddess Hathor to earth in the animal form of a lion, who then transforms into the Goddess Sekhmet, to reset the ‘Ma’at’ i.e. balance and justice upon earth. Sekhmet begins her bloody rampage, killing the people of earth leaving a bloodthirsty trail behind her. Although this aspect of Sekhmet was not known for her calm composure, her other aspect is associated with healing and protection. She was also a solar Goddess. Strength is traditionally ruled by the sun and there is an element of the divine protection associated with this card, a feeling that something of a magical nature is watching over you and giving you the strength to carry on. I generally feel reassured when this comes up in a reading.
The Egyptian word Sekhem can be translated to powerful or mighty, but the word also means ‘one who loves Ma’at’. Sekhmet is the warrior Goddess who will fiercely protect what is right and just, although she is not Ma’at herself, she has the strength and power to set the cosmic order in motion.
If we look at the Justice card from the Nefertari deck, we see the ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom, Thoth, standing in front of a pair of weighing scales. This makes me think of Ma’at, the Goddess harmony, balance, truth, justice and cosmic order. She is often depicted wearing the feather of truth on her head or the feather itself, was central to the Weighing of the Heart ceremony where the heart of the deceased was weighed against her feather of truth. If the heart was lighter than her feather, then the Gods would discuss this with the Forty Two Judges (divine entries) and if they were in agreement that the soul was just, the soul would continue it’s journey towards the blessed afterlife or Field of Reeds. If the heart was heavier than the feather, then the soul would not be granted access and the heart devoured by Amut remaining forever in the void. Similarly in Christianity, the archangel Michael is sometimes depicted holding a pair of scales, who like Ma’at weighs the souls of the dead to see whether they have earned a place in Heaven.
So what’s the relevancy of these points in connection to the Justice archetype? Well, the laws of karma are very powerful with this card. All of one's actions and choices have a bearing on where one is in the present moment, as well as where one will end up in the future and afterlife. Your past has made your present situation and your choices made at present will denote your future. I find this card reminds us to be true to ourselves, to honour promises made to self and others, to speak up if injustice is done. Communication is key here too, Libra is an air sign after all.
If we follow the Rider Waite Coleman Smith sequence of cards, Justice is well placed here at number 11, right in the middle of the Major Arcana and the middle of Pollack’s inner work line, the unconscious self. On the Coleman Smith card, we see an androgynous figure sitting between two grey pillars looking squarely at the viewer. She holds the Sword of Truth in one hand, the scales of judgement and equality in the other. The Sword of Truth points right up in the air, it is dead straight, unwavering in its position suggesting total clarity of action. The scales are held delicately on the other hand, indicating that equality and judgement are just that - a delicate balance. The gesture of her arm, holding the sword up in the air and the scales below reminds us of the Magician card - as above, so below. We also see similarities in the colour of the robes and yellow background. The position of the figure and the placement between two pillars reminds us of the High Priestess card, which sits at number 2 in the Major Arcana. (1 +1 = 2, or 11 a balanced number). With this, there is a suggestion of inner hidden knowledge.
Libra, the sign attributed to this card, is ruled by Venus and is connected to the element of air. Venus is usually personified in classical western mythology as feminine, however, here we see an androgynous figure - perhaps alluding to the placement of Venus in Libra, traditionally a masculine sign.
I find Justice asks us to make an honest assessment of one's life. Tell the truth. Are you being true to yourself? Are you being fair to yourself? Where you are in your life right now is where you are supposed to be. Of course, this card also relates to all matters of a legal nature, so get your affairs in order if you have anything going on in that area.
If this card comes up in its shadow aspect (reversed), it can be quite uncomfortable, especially if you are not living in accordance with what you say (communication is a key air sign quality) or what you do. It can remind us of past mistakes, perhaps they haven’t been accounted for and accepted. It can also indicate dishonesty, cheating and of course injustice.
A few thoughts on closing. Perhaps the message for this year is to look within ourselves for compassion. We have the courage to face our fears, we have the stamina to get through our problems. We have the calm composure to get through whatever struggles we face in our life. This requires that we pay attention to our heart and listen. Listen to what your heart tells you. This is not always an easy thing to do but the heart is the centre of the soul. Your heart knows your true self.
Across the world we are seeing abhorrent acts against humanity and nature. Wars rage, people are hungry and disease spreads. There is nothing calm or “civilised’ about the destruction of our planet, war, famine, genocide, corporate greed, racism, homophobia, shipping immigrants to Rwanda, unfortunately I could go on. We must find a balance, we must find new ways to live alongside nature and each other and stop dominating. We have to work collectively to do this.
Bibliography
Matthews, Caitlin (1997) The Elements of the Goddess
Pollack, Rachel (1997), Seventy Eight Degrees of Wisdom
Hall, James. (1996) Hall’s Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art
Arthur E. Waite, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rider%E2%80%93Waite_Tarot
Maydana, Sebastian. "The War Goddess of Ancient Egypt: Sekhmet the Bloodthirsty (7 Facts)" TheCollector.com, March 3, 2022,
https://www.thecollector.com/sekhmet-egyptian-goddess/
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/42/the-egyptian-afterlife--the-feather-of-truth/
