Symbolism & Imagery:
This imagery description is based on The Original Rider Waite Tarot Deck design.
There are a couple of things that might jump straight off the card when you first set your sight on the Judgement tarot card. So, we will start from the top. There is an angel that fills up at least half the card, and the clouds billowing out from the angel’s arms are suggestive that this angel is emanating from heaven.
The bright red wings certainly steal the spotlight, but there is another thing about this angel that catches my eye and knocks on the door of my subconscious, and that is what the angel is doing. The angel is blowing a trumpet, and lines are indicating the severity of the sound. As if sounding the very horn of judgement day, this angel also has a serious look of concentration and impartialness. There is not much emotion here, just focus. Of course, remember that this is my interpretation.
Below the angel, there are 6 naked humans, young and old, male and female, standing with their eyes cast upward and their arms open. This indicates their surrender to judgement, and their willingness to receive what judgement comes their way.
The landscape in the background is green and lush, with trees dotting the horizon. And from the horizon rises an almost harsh landscape of tall and rugged snow-capped mountains.
These mountains symbolize that judgement is inevitable, there is no escape from it.
And when you look a bit closer, you see that the nude people are rising up from what appear to be their graves or open caskets. This rising from the grave indicates the possibility of even immortality saving you from the call of judgement day.
The imagery on this card is more of a serious mood, that can often inspire a tinge of fear. I suspect this is because all of us have a little drawer within our subconscious and in that drawer house all the thoughts, memories, and hidden actions that we keep to ourselves.
But should we really be afraid of judgement? Let’s take a look at the different interpretations for the Judgement card. And maybe, just maybe, we can deal with the shadows we keep hidden in our secret drawer.