Sage Leaves: Justice, Jungian Archetype
Healing Ancestral Wounds Through Tarot
🌿 This week in Sage Leaves… 🌿
As the sun crowns the sky and summer tilts toward autumn, you find yourself at a threshold. The archetype here is Justice. This week we begin our journey into its meaning through a Jungian lens—not asking what Justice will do, but how it moves within you.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll follow Justice into deeper terrain: how it serves the Heroine’s Journey, and how it threads itself through transgenerational healing. Archetypes do not shout. They turn. They recur. They unveil.
You’ll also discover this week’s Tarotscope for August 19–25, tracing the energetic patterns and offering guidance for walking with steadiness as the season shifts.
And, as always, there may be liminal treasures waiting at the edges: an herbal blend to steady your breath, a note of plant lore, or a reflection born of your questions. I’ve spent years at the crossroads of spirit, science, and story, and when something of meaning comes through, I offer it forward.
Thank you for walking here with me—still becoming, still listening, in the radiant heart of late summer.
Justice in A Jungian View
The Justice card in tarot is about truth, fairness, and the balance between choices and consequences. In Jungian terms, it carries the energy of the archetype of the Judge. This is the inner figure that asks you to be honest with yourself, to weigh your actions, and to live in integrity. Carl Jung believed that archetypes are universal patterns that live deep in the collective unconscious. They show up in myths, dreams, and symbols like tarot cards. Justice is one of these symbols.
Justice is not only about the laws of society. It is about the laws of the soul. When this card appears, it points toward the inner voice that tells you when something is right or wrong. Jung might have called this the voice of the Self, the deeper center of who you are. It asks you to line up your choices with truth, even if that truth is uncomfortable. Justice is the moment when denial ends and clarity begins.
Archetype of the Judge
The Judge archetype is one of the most important ones for human development. It carries authority. It demands honesty. But it also offers wisdom. When this archetype is active, you see situations with clearer eyes. You notice the patterns of cause and effect. Jung taught that facing truth is one of the hardest tasks in psychological growth. Justice, as the Judge, demands this facing.
At the same time, the Judge can have a shadow side. If it turns rigid, it can become judgmental, cold, or punishing. In Jungian analysis, every archetype has both light and shadow. Justice in shadow can show up as cruelty, as harshness, or as self-righteousness. To work with this archetype, you have to balance fairness with compassion. That balance is key.
The Symbolism of Justice
The card often shows a woman with a sword and a scale. The sword cuts through illusions. It separates truth from lies. The scales weigh the choices, showing balance. Jung would say these are symbols of the psyche at work. The sword is the function of discernment, the ability to separate. The scales are the function of balance, the ability to integrate. Together, they make you more whole.
Justice is a mirror. It reflects back what you have done, chosen, or ignored. Jung wrote that “until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Justice is that process of bringing the unconscious into the light. It shows you what has been hidden. It makes you own your actions.
Justice as a Stage in the Journey
In Jungian terms, tarot is a map of individuation, the process of becoming whole. Justice is one of the checkpoints on this journey. It comes after the lessons of strength and before the shifts of transformation. At this stage, you are asked to take responsibility. Responsibility is not blame. It is the ability to respond. Justice calls you to see your choices, accept their weight, and then act from wisdom instead of impulse.
The Inner Work of Justice
When you draw Justice, you are being invited to turn inward. Ask yourself: Am I being honest with myself? Am I living in line with what I know is right? Jung believed that truth is a healing force. It may be painful, but it heals. Justice is the archetype that brings this healing. It tells you that denial and illusion only delay growth. Facing truth, however, opens the door to freedom.
Justice also connects to the anima and animus, the inner feminine and masculine energies. The scales balance both sides. It reminds you that inner harmony is not about silencing one side, but about letting both have a voice. In this way, Justice is about inner democracy. Every part of you has a seat at the table.
Conclusion
The Justice card in Jungian terms is the archetype of the Judge. It represents honesty, fairness, and the alignment of choices with truth. It challenges you to face yourself without excuses. It asks you to balance compassion with clarity. In the individuation process, it marks the point where you accept responsibility and learn to live in integrity.
Reflection Prompt:
Take a quiet moment with the Justice card. Breathe slowly and imagine the scales before you. Place on one side your choices and actions. Place on the other side your intentions and values.
Ask yourself:
Where am I truly in balance?
Where do I say one thing but do another?
What truth am I avoiding, and what truth am I ready to embrace?
Write down your answers. Then consider one step, even if it is small, that brings your life closer to alignment with your inner truth.is not about punishment. It is about truth. And truth, Jung would say, is what sets you free.
🌿Sage Leaves Weekly Tarotscope
Tarotscope for August 19-25, 2025
This week carries a sequence of striking turning points, held together by two repeating anchors: the 4 of Swords and The World. With three Major Arcana cards showing up (The Tower, Death, The World), you enter a week that is not about surface changes, but about permanent shifts that shape your longer story. The presence of two Fours suggests both structure and pause, while the Knight of Swords and Ace of Wands inject the heat of momentum.
Tuesday – Four of Cups
You begin the week in a contemplative place. The 4 of Cups asks whether you are ignoring opportunities simply because they feel ordinary. The Moon in Cancer brings tenderness and Mars in Virgo adds restless drive, yet you may feel unmoved by offers or opportunities. This card tells you not to dismiss what arises too quickly. Sometimes what seems like “just another cup” holds the refreshment you did not realize you needed. Your task is to pause before rejecting, to examine your own indifference with honesty. What feels dull today may in fact be a gift.
Wednesday – Knight of Swords
The energy swings dramatically forward. The Knight of Swords is the voice that leaps in before others have finished speaking. With the Moon in Leo trine Neptune in Aries, imagination and speed combine into a rush of certainty. You may feel compelled to push forward, to declare your truth, or to chase down an idea. Yet the Knight can overrun subtlety, so check whether your urgency comes from clarity or from the need to silence discomfort. Speed has value, but only if it aligns with vision.
Thursday – Tower
Here is the week’s lightning strike. The Tower never arrives gently. With Moon and Mercury together in Leo, words and revelations cut through your sense of stability. What you thought was solid crumbles, not to harm you but to free you. The Tower asks for surrender to the dismantling, for only by tearing down the false can you build on truth. Expect some drama in communications, announcements, or internal realizations. You may hear what cannot be unheard. Structures fall because they are false. The ground shakes, but the collapse clears space for truth. Stand in it, even if the ground shakes.
Friday – Four of Swords
After the storm, quiet. The 4 of Swords is a healing card, a reminder that retreat is not failure but restoration. With the Sun stepping into Virgo, you are encouraged to honor routine and gentle order. Rest is not idleness but preparation. You need this pause, for the Tower’s aftermath requires digestion. Friday asks you to pull away from the fray, to protect your energy, and to let stillness reshape your inner field.
Saturday – Death
The new moon joins with Death to mark the deepest point of transformation. This is not metaphorical; something real is leaving your life. Death clears away what no longer has vitality, making way for the seedlings of the new moon. In Virgo, this cleansing comes with precision: old habits, outdated systems, or small details that hold you back are now ripe for release. The endings here are natural, not cruel. You stand at the threshold, able to step forward lighter.
Sunday – The Ace of Wands
A burst of fire erupts after the quiet of Death. The Ace of Wands signals raw creative spark, the seed of vitality, the thrill of possibility. Yet with the Sun in Virgo square Uranus, this energy comes in disruptive form. Sudden insight, unusual opportunity, or startling impulse awakens your drive. You are reminded that after loss comes ignition, after endings come beginnings. Sunday is not about holding back. It is about taking the ember handed to you and daring to let it blaze.
Monday – The World
The week closes in triumph. The World is wholeness, the cycle’s completion, the integration of lessons. With Venus stepping into Leo, joy and beauty enter with confidence. You may feel the sense that something has clicked into place, that a chapter has come full circle. This is not an end that drops you into emptiness but a fulfillment that invites celebration. The World whispers: you are not fragmented; you are complete in this moment.
Threads that bind the week
This week hinges on three Majors — The Tower, Death, and The World. Together, they chart the story of collapse, release, and completion. You are being asked not just to weather change but to let it transform you. The Tower clears what is false, Death closes what is done, and The World affirms the integration of what remains.
The presence of two Fours — the 4 of Cups and the 4 of Swords — provides structure within upheaval. Both call for pause: first in contemplation, then in rest. These stops are not detours but essential rhythms that help you absorb the magnitude of change.
The recurrence of The World and the 4 of Swords across the past four weeks shows you are in a longer cycle of endings and completions. The World keeps reminding you that closure is possible and necessary, while the 4 of Swords insists on rest as the doorway to wisdom.
Numerologically, the pairing of Fours (stability, structure) with transformative Majors suggests the tension between holding steady and letting go. Add in the Ace of Wands, and you see how the cycle closes with renewal. The Knight of Swords brings the mental challenge: how to direct your focus without rushing blindly.
Astrologically, Venus entering Leo alongside the Virgo New Moon seals the week with a lesson in balance: order and joy, clarity and expression. You are being asked to step into your own authority with both humility and radiance.
🌀 Final takeaway
This week is a drama of endings and beginnings. You move from indifference to urgency, through destruction and silence, into release, ignition, and fulfillment. It is not a gentle arc, but it is one of profound beauty. By its end, you will see more clearly what no longer belongs and what is now ready to be born.
Until next week, may the cards guide you gently,
—Dr. Winkler
💫 Would you like a more personalized glimpse into your journey? If you'd like a tarot or Lenormand reading tailored just for you, I invite you to reach out. I’m honored to hold space with you as we explore the symbols and stories of your own unique path. You can connect with me directly:
That’s it for this week! Look for Sage Leaves in your inbox on Tuesday afternoons (North American time.) We look forward to exploring more about Tarot, Healing and more! Take care, be well, and good-bye for now!