Justice – what does it mean to us? Some stories and thoughts

Justice – what is it?  Take a moment to define it in your own conceptual way.  Well, does it mean balance? Judgement? Punishment? Getting even? Revenge? Penalty?   Probably none or a combination of them…? What is it??!

After the recent Thames-Isis ritual (Sunday 3rd March’13 in Richmond), we were doing some simple divination/ Oracle work..   We took out a Goddess Oracle card and took cards. And then my sister took out a set of `divination scrolls’ (tiny pieces of paper, about 20 of them, with various esoteric / magical words written on them..). We all picked one scroll each.. And my scroll had the word `Justice’ !

At first it was a mild thing – and I gave it no importance. But the matter seem to get my partner April worked up in some way. She kept asking why? and what is means..  and that got me thinking deeply.    Now I must confess, when I had been under those stressful times ..back in October 2012 ..where I had magically called for Justice to be delivered  (a situation in which I had felt badly treated by a bunch of people)..

I remember at the time posting a `magical statement’ on my own facebook profile – (7th October at 8.08pm) that went: “By the horns of Hern, all those who willfully harmed me on a whim gone far will face their darkness, as shadow falls and wild hunt begins. !”  It’s a sort of a Justice-spell, if you ask me!    I was at a despair, and seeing no one in any position of  authority was trying to attend to Justice for me, I had to `invoke’ my protector God.

This reminds me – many years ago, when a little girl (Sarah Payne?) was abducted and the whole of UK went into a media frenzy and concern, some of my magical friends and I got together online and did some online-spell-casting..  an idea that I  put forward and developed…the creation of a `Justice Thought-form’ ( a magical entity). Needless to say, though we were inexperienced, the guy responsible was caught the following day (but released..and it went into some long legal wrangle).

So, present day – me getting a divination scroll that said `Justice’…on the one hand perturbed my partner, as she thought that I was  going to get all flustered about the `injustice’ that I had gone through 5 months ago.   But I see the appearance of t `Justice’ in divination as a positive message.. from The Fates.   Crazy thing is – I may not even know that justice as been done!  It will be done when the Gods deem it right.

So..back to the definition of what Justice is…

Justice is about offering or ordering  a fair Balance against a damaging or harmful act already enacted.

But it is not necessarily about punishment. In my mind, punishment is a form of balance (return) that must occur (ie when a person is given some sort of physical or emotional suffering) only if the culprit has created irreversible harm to another, and that harm can not in any way be retracted or erased.   Matters such as  physical harassment, actual violence (attack, destruction, rape, murder..)

For example, if a `Criminal’ who stole an item is ordered to return the item to the Victim, and also ordered to offer additional objects or service to compensate for the emotional trauma and any inconveniences caused, I’d say justice is done.  Same with the case of  deliberate attempts to destroy someone’s good name or credibility.  Those damages will have to be somehow rectified.    But if a Criminal attacked and killed someone, then  no  compensation will do, and the criminal will have to be made to offer balance – by personal suffering (ie imprisonment!).

Another thought occurs – Justice is defined and carried out by Law Makers, and Law is created by community (elected or appointed Representatives of a community!). So if in a particular country, taking a person’s possession by forces is `okay’ even the person who looses that possession can not complain or appeal for any Justice. No `community’ law has been broken in such a case! (that person in turn is free to take another person’s possession in such a case!)

The Tarot card (no 11) for Justice is a major Arcana, and has the symbol of a lady seated on a throne holding ..in her left hand the Scales and in her right hand, a sword!   This to me sums up the process of Justice..  the evaluating and balancing of the acts, with the strength, sharpness and force of the Sword! So assessing the balance, and then delivering that balance is all part of Justice.

What are your thoughts on Justice? Do you agree with my arguments or you have your own views and feelings? I like to hear from you. Please feel free to comment. Thanks.

-Mani Navasothy