Judgement
- XX -
"As you look back on the path you have traveled, can you live with what you have become?"
Description
Judgement is the final step between this world and the next, and those who best exemplify this arcana have come to be aware exactly their actions and their consequence mean for themselves and the world around them. They must look back at themselves, at all their deeds for good and ill, and make reconciliations and amends where they can. It can be unfortunately easy to dwell on one's misdeeds, but only by shedding their baggage can they finally move onwards and renew themselves as people. This is far harder a task to accomplish than it sounds, since many things that people cling to are dear to them, but it is a task that Judgement must accomplish to continue to grow as people. It's up to them whether they accomplish it with a smile, or with tears.
If Judgement upright is about coming to grips with oneself and ones deeds, then its reverse is where that fails to happen. Perhaps the pain or attachment to the past is too much to let go, and instead of moving on, one increasingly descends backwards into what was, reliving old pain. The old cannot be exchanged for the new.
Sample Personae
- Minos, the legendary second king of Crete and judge of the Underworld
- Illuyanka, a serpentine dragon of Hittite myth
- Trumpeter, the angel whose trumpet heralds the beginning of the apocalypse
Example Persona-Users/Shadow-Possessed
Upright Traits
Judgement, Inner calling, Absolution, Rebirth, Restart, Release, Forgiveness, Renewal, Reconciliation, The end of repression, Accepting past mistakes or actions, Salvation, Hope, New beginnings, Redemption, Decision, The choice to change. The centennial on her deathbed, surrounded by family, friends, and even enemies, who sees them all off with a contented smile.
Reversed Traits
OPPOSITE: Taking on burdens, Digging deeper into an old life, One's past comes back to haunt them, Maintained poor habits leading to sickness. The would-be retiree who has to keep working because he blew his retirement fund.
BLOCKED: Inability to let go, Inability to release baggage, Sickness remains, No forgiving, No letting go, Staying in a bad situation, Inability to renew self. The would-be couple in a mutually abusive, poisonous grudge of a relationship who stay together out of a desire to spite and hurt the other.
UPSIDE-DOWN: Overwhelmed by personal baggage, Past sins won't leave, No escape, Vicious circles, Chronic illness, No escape from the past, No hope for the future. The would-be survivor out of places to run or hide and out of bullets and weapons as the zombie apocalypse closes in all around her.
