What’s the right thing to do here?
On Friday I came home to puppies. Two puppies frolicking out in front of my house — who do they belong to?
I brought them in and immediately made found dog flyers and put them up around the neighhborhood.
I called a few neighbors and told them I had them in case anyone came looking.
I posted on Nextdoor and filled out found animal forms.
Nobody came.
So this morning I took them to the Humane Society.
I had mixed feelings about the whole affair. What’s the right thing to do in this situation?
They weren’t my dogs. Should I adopt them?
Maybe, but I want to travel, I don’t need 2 dogs. Dogs are a big responsibility.
Is the universe trying to bring some joy and love into my life? Is it maybe telling me to open my heart to these pups who need a home?
Such are the deliberations illustrated by the Justice card.
This card is often associated with the astrological sign of Libra, a pretty obvious association. Libra is about relationships, the give and take, and trying to keep the scales balanced.
Sometimes it’s easy to create a win/win, and sometimes it can be very hard.
The negative side of the Justice card is co-dependency and giving away your autonomy to another person or situation, sacrificing everything to the relationship and forgetting that you are part of the relationship.
Or another example is the politician or lawyer who will do anything for anyone as long as he is well compensated.
On the positive side, the Justice card can be about upholding the Truth. The Truth of what’s right for you in the moment, and not caving and betraying yourself. It can be doing the right thing even if it’s unpopular or puts you in an awkward spot.
I think putting your money where your mouth is or shopping with your feet are both examples of a positive Justice card meaning. Putting your money where your mouth is means don’t just talk about it, do something. And shopping with your feet means that if you don’t agree with a store or corporation’s policies, take your business elsewhere.
Justice and Judgement
It might be easy to confuse the Justice card with Judgement, and indeed these 2 cards are related by number. Judgement is 20, and Justice is 11 (1+1 = 2).
This idea of weighing and balancing is present in the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which says that a person’s heart will be weighed against the feather of truth. If the heart is lighter than the feather, the soul can pass. If the heart is heavier than the feather it is gobbled up and the soul was stuck in a kind of purgatory.
The image to the left is from the Ostara Tarot.
This is similar to the idea of the Last Judgement, where there is a final reckoning of all souls, a pass/fail test.
It might be worthwhile to do a bit of meditation on the 2 cards, Justice and Judgement, and see what comes up for you.
I think when it comes to the tough choices, we probably won’t know if we made the right choice or not. Those win/win situations are rare and we should celebrate them when they happen.
I wish you the best little puppies. May you find kind owners.
