Judgement: Tarot Arcana XX Meaning, Calling and Rebirth

In brief: number, names and keywords

Judgement is the twentieth card, with the same number and the same name in Marseille and in Rider-Waite. It follows The Sun and comes before The World. In the order of the “journey of the Fool”, it is the penultimate stage: the call that allows one to finish building oneself.

Despite its name, the card does not speak of a court of law. The image evokes the Last Judgement of Christian tradition, but the modern reading makes it above all a card of awakening and review: listening to a call, taking stock, being reborn.

Keywords: calling, awakening, review, forgiveness, rebirth, vocation.

The image in the Tarot de Marseille

In Marseille, an angel with spread wings, surrounded by rays, rises from clouds and sounds a trumpet from which hangs a banner marked with a cross. On the ground, three figures stand around an open tomb: a man and a woman, turned towards the angel, their hands joined or raised, and, at the centre, a naked figure (often taken to be a child) who rises out of the tomb, seen from behind.

The figures are flesh-coloured, nearly naked, on a grassy ground. The gaze moves from the angel towards them. The image is luminous: the angel brings a call, the figures respond by rising.

The image in the Rider-Waite-Smith

In the Rider-Waite-Smith, a great angel, often identified with the archangel Gabriel, blows a trumpet decorated with a banner bearing a red cross, from a sky of clouds. Below, many grey, naked figures rise from coffins floating on the sea: men, women, children, arms stretched towards the sky.

In the background, snow-capped mountains. Some figures turn their backs to us, others look at the angel. The image is more crowded than in Marseille and stresses the collective dimension of the call, even though Waite reads it first and foremost as an inner awakening.

Symbolism of the elements in the image

Here are the details that come up most often in traditional readings. They are paths for interpretation, not official definitions.

• The angel and the trumpet: the call: a voice that wakes, that says “it is time”. It may come from outside or from within.
• The banner with a cross: the angel's emblem; in the Christian tradition, a sign of salvation. In a free reading, a symbol of unity.
• The tomb or the coffins: what one leaves behind: a former state, a past life, a role.
• The figures who rise: the awakening of what was sleeping: talents, desires, memory. Rebirth is possible.
• The open arms (Waite): welcome, the answer to the call, trust.
• The sea and the mountains (Waite): the great backdrop of the unconscious and of elevation, which recalls the scale of the moment.

Upright meaning

Upright, Judgement traditionally suggests an inner or outer call, an awakening, an awareness that sets things in motion. It is read as an honest review, forgiveness (of oneself as well as of others), the sense of a vocation, of a rebirth after a period of sleep or of trial.

In a reading, it invites you to ask yourself: “Which call have I heard, and what would I do if I listened to it?”. The card speaks of taking stock of one's path before moving on to a new stage. It is not a sentence: the angel does not judge, it summons.

Reversed: two schools of reading

School 1: the opposite. Reversed, Judgement speaks of excessive self-criticism, guilt, difficulty turning the page, refusal to hear a call.

School 2: a block. The call is heard but one hesitates to answer: fear of what it will change, doubt about one's legitimacy. The card then invites you to take a small step forward. Several tarot readers, moreover, read only upright cards.

In common areas of reading

Tarot does not say what is going to happen: it offers images for reflection. Here, in symbolic terms, is what this card can suggest depending on the theme of your question.

• Personal reflection: review, forgiveness, a fresh start. A possible question: which call are you hearing, and what would you do if you listened to it?
• Relationships: reconciliation, forgiveness, reunions, a new stage in a bond. The card speaks of renewal, not of a return to the past as it was.
• Work: vocation, career change, a project taking on a deeper meaning. Symbolically, a second wind, with no career promised.
• Money: reviewing the accounts, an honest look at one's commitments, a new organisation. It predicts nothing and does not replace the advice of a finance professional.

Combinations with neighbouring cards

A card is rarely read on its own: its neighbour qualifies it. Here are some common pairings, to be taken as starting ideas.

• Death (the nameless arcanum): ending and rebirth: a review that opens onto a new call.
• Justice: review and discernment: looking at one's path squarely, without condemning oneself.
• The Sun: joy and calling: a light that invites you to reorient yourself.
• The World: call and fulfilment: answering the call leads to completion.
• The Maison Dieu: revelation and awakening: a moment of truth followed by a new impulse.

To learn how to combine cards, try the three-card spread. To place this card among the 22 major arcana, see our guide to the major arcana.

Word of the day, question and practice

Word of the day: Call. For the day, note a wish you have set aside for a long time, and decide on one tiny step to make room for it.

Question to ask yourself: Which call are you hearing, and what would you do if you listened to it?

Writing (10 minutes). Take stock of a year: write down what you accomplished, what you learned, what you forgive (in yourself or in others). End with a sentence that begins with “I wake up to…”.

Short meditation. Sit down and imagine a distant, soft sound, like a bell. Breathe and note what rises in you as you listen. Keep the first word that comes.

History and variants of the card

Judgement draws on the Christian iconography of the Last Judgement, very present in medieval art: the angel sounds the trumpet, the dead come out of their tombs. In the fifteenth-century Italian tarocchi, the card is called “the Angel” or “Judgement”.

In Marseille, it keeps the image of the angel and the three figures, in great simplicity. Waite and Smith widen the scene, with a crowd rising from the waters, and bring the image closer to the theme of resurrection. The Golden Dawn links it to fire (and to the Spirit) and to the letter Shin (“the tooth”).

Modern readings have moved away from the religious meaning to see in it a psychological rebirth: getting up again, reorienting oneself. Some modern tarots replace the angel with a cosmic figure or a voice. Whatever the form, the idea of a call remains the centre of the card.

Frequently asked questions

Also read

The meanings mentioned belong to tradition and symbolism. They are neither promises of results nor medical advice. Back to The 22 Major Arcana, card by card.