Judgement as a Person (Upright & Reversed) Tarot Card Meaning

Judgement is the card of purpose, awakening, renewal, and reckoning. This card is about turning points, and it depicts people rising up to the angel Gabriel’s call. They are finding their calling, and they are reaching their purpose in life. This is also a card of karma. Their outstretched arms show that they are ready to meet their judgment and see where the dice land for them. 

Judgement reminds us that none of us are exempt from karma. We are all subject to the forces of the Universe. If we put out negativity, we will reap what we sow. If we send out positivity, we will be paid back in kind. There will always be a reckoning and a time for self-reflection.  

Upright Judgement as a Person

If Judgement appears in a Tarot spread as a person, that means that this person can be quite intense. They’re all about transformation, and at a personal level they’re always evolving.

It is astrologically associated with Pluto. Because as a planet Pluto carries a somewhat dark feminine energy, this card carries a passive, receptive energy. We all have a little bit of both energies expressed in a balanced way, regardless of which gender we identify as. Because this is a Major Arcana card, some of these defining traits make up a major part of their identity. So, for example, being someone who digs beyond the surface will play a major role in who they are, or how they view themselves. Note that they may not reveal this side to you at the beginning stages of your relationship, to others, or ever.

For physical characteristics, Judgement as a person represents someone with a sense of “finality” to their fashion sense. Perhaps this person has already reached their fashion Nirvana, a state of no longer caring about fashion trends.  Think of the fashion magazine editor-in-chief who wears the same hair for decades. Or, the Big Tech CEO who wears the same-colored shirt every day. They have developed their own timeless style, and they stick to it. If they decide to make any modifications to that style, it will be their call. Their own judgment calls are all they rely on, and they don’t care about how other people judge them. For some, they may be alluring with a  dark femininity, which can be very attractive to some. 

For emotional characteristics, Judgement as a person represents someone who is an excellent judge of character. Oftentimes, people signified by this card can be very intuitive, even psychic, and they can see right through people. There is no fooling this person. Because this card is astrologically associated with intense Pluto, this person is never afraid to dig beyond the surface. Furthermore, they’re not afraid of the truth, and most of the time they can handle the truth. In fact, this is somebody who would be more at peace with knowing an uncomfortable truth than not knowing at all. When this person makes up their mind, they’ve made up their mind, and usually this will happen only after they have all of the facts. 

For careers, Judgement can represent someone who works in a position where their judgment or opinion is valued. Because the Judgement card is one of the later Major Arcana cards, this person will have gone through a lot of hard work to finally get where they are. For example, if they are a literal judge in the legal system, they will have attended law school and then practiced as a lawyer for a decade or two before obtaining judgeship. You can’t judge a dance competition if you yourself haven’t practiced dance theory. So, when this person finally reaches their goal, it will feel like a major milestone, there is a sense of finality to it. Alternatively, this person is still in the process of getting where they want to be. In a nutshell, this person has reached the pinnacle of their career in their field, or this card may indicate that this person has the potential to be at the very top.

Judgement as a person represents someone who makes you feel like you’re healing and transforming. This person helps you see things from a different light. Although this card is astrologically associated with Pluto, there’s also a light Libran energy to the energy that they put into your life. The only difference is, whereas Libra is gentle, light, and communicates their opposing viewpoints diplomatically, a person represented by the Judgement card will give you a wake up call. And it’s not that this person is harsh for the sake of being harsh, this person feels like you need that wake up call. So in their minds they’re doing it for your own good. Don’t take it personally, they’re doing this out of tough love.

Reversed Judgement as a Person

If Judgement reversed appears in a Tarot spread as a person, that means that this person is either ridden in self-doubt, or overly harsh in their judgments of others. They may also lack self awareness. Winter cards are drawn in the reverse, we tend to get extreme and polarized manifestations of that card’s energy. So rather than somebody who has balanced and good judgment, this person’s judgment will be off. This could range from being terrible judges of characters to their own detriment, to being super judgmental about things that they have no business being judgmental about. Because this is a Major Arcana card, some of these traits will be inherent aspects of their identity. Good or bad, nobody is perfect and people can change, if they choose to.

For physical characteristics, Judgement reversed as a person represents someone who has poor body image, or is body negative to an extreme. This person may have a distorted image of themselves. They fall into an illusion of mistaking edited social media images as reality, and then they get stressed out if they don’t meet those unrealistic standards. Whether they have an unreasonably negative and harsh self-image or a bordering narcissistic grandiose tendencies, it’s not doing them any favors. If they have an overly negative self-image of themselves, these limiting beliefs are hindering their progress and potential. If they’re full of themselves, obviously it’s not going to endear themselves to people. Additionally, they themselves may make unfair judgments of other people’s appearance and body types. They may be insensitive to other people’s health issues, socioeconomic backgrounds, or cultures.

For emotional characteristics, Judgement reversed as a person represents someone whose judgements are off. This person may not be the best judge of character. In fact, this person might have a reputation for getting treated unfairly or taken advantage of by others repeatedly.

They can be very naïve for their age group. Alternatively, on the other end of the spectrum this could be somebody who is full of hatred. They always have to have that one person, group, or thing they focus on vilifying, until they move on to their next target. If this is the case, this person needs to do their shadow work, because they’re likely just projecting their own issues.

For careers, Judgement reversed can represent someone who continually misjudges and missteps, and their lack of common sense can be mind-boggling. This could be the boss who fails to see how having an affair with an employee is an abuse of authority that will (and rightfully should) get them fired. Because this is a Major Arcana card, their terrible “decision-making” can be life-changing. If you care about this person, you will probably feel like they need an intervention. Alternatively, they could simply be unlucky and misunderstood. Society may not be ready to accept what they have to offer. They may have a progressive opinion or method that is ahead of its time, or a groundbreaking invention that is currently too expensive to mass produce.

Judgement reversed as a person represents someone who makes you feel either protective, hurt, or doubtful. You may feel protective of them, if you feel like they make terrible decisions or their terrible judges of character. Know that it’s not really your responsibility to save people, you can give advice but ultimately their decisions are their own responsibility. You may feel hurt by their words if they’re overly critical of you, or they unjustly judge you for something that they don’t understand. Know that if this person is determined to misunderstand you, then what they think of you is not your problem. Or you might feel doubtful of them if you believe that they’re misjudging something, in which case, you should trust your own intuition.

Conclusion

For love readings, Judgement represents a turning point and the potential for awakening. All relationships go through turning points at one point or another. Whether upright or reversed, Judgement reminds us that we all will be faced with important decisions in life. The decisions that we make will have a profound effect on our lives. This is a time for you to do some self reflection and find the purpose of your relationship.

If you find yourself needing further clarity in your relationship matters that go beyond reading for yourself, Sibyl offers unlimited tarot readings on love & relationships, as a neutral and objective third party.