Happy Vernal Equinox! We have reached Spring, and because for me Spring represents balance (daylight equal to darkness), I thought I would go through some of the different ways that balance can be reflected in readings. Another word for Balance is Justice, which is how we seek to obtain equality. Our search for equality should become intentional, and to represent this I will not draw random cards this week, I will select those representing Justice and Balance, and carry this intention into my week with me. Which one of these images or aspects will you carry with you?

The card below is from my Voyager Tarot deck, where the card of Balance replaces Justice. The upward facing dancer is balancing the downward facing bird on the edge of a sword. We can see many things being balanced here such as the world on the foot of the dancer which represents the physical in this deck, with the cups which represent emotions.

Balance is usually represented in the Major Arcana of the Tarot by Justice found at number 11 – midway through the major arcana or souls journey, which is not by accident. It sits at a permanent equinox. Many of the Justice cards shown below incorporate a sword, but we should not mistake the sword for vengeance. The sword represents the mental component which must be balanced by action.

The first card comes from the Tarot of the Divine where Justice is represented by the “secret royal inspector” who was sent on secret missions by the King to make sure that the villagers were being treated fairly by the local rulers. If unjust things were observed the inspector would report back to the king and balance would be restored.

In the second set of cards which is from the Brady Tarot and comes from the perspective of animals, we see a turkey vulture who is balancing a skull with an egg, and therefore literally balancing life and death.

The last card is Audre Lorde from the Literary Witches Oracle. Audra Lorde was an activist who used her essays and other writings to speak out against racism, sexism, and homophobia. She fought for herself, her values and her community.

Another card I associated with balance in the Tarot is Temperance, which speaks to balance through mediation and moderation, and the ability to understand when to change with the direction of external forces, and when to resist these forces and try to change the situation itself. In the first set of cards Temperance is represented by the Buddhist Bodhisattva, and in the second set the Raven and the Eagle are coming together to balance the light and the dark to combine and make medicine.

In the Wild Unknown Archetypes Oracle we can find two archetype cards representing balance shown below – one is the judge which is similar to Justice. The Judge is the personification of Justice, and if the Judge acts out of fear or fails to act out of self doubt balance will be lost. The Judge must see with impartial eyes and see themselves and the situation as it truly is, not as they prefer to see it. This type of balance is difficult for most of us so it reminds us to ask if we are looking at a situation clearly or only seeing what we want to see.

Yet another way to achieve balance is to obtain enlightenment, and see that all things are connected. Its fleeting for most of us, and we may only feel this level of connection and balance once or twice in our lives. This moment or this feeling of ultimate balance in the universe is represented by the archetype of The One in this Oracle deck.

Lastly we can focus on animals or relationships in nature that show us where balance can be obtained even when it seems unlikely. For a way to represent this interpretation I turned to the Nocturna Oracle deck. It represents things in nature that are only found in the dark or are hidden behind or underneath things. At first this sounds scary or sad but in reality nature thrives in whatever way it can, and maintains balance in the face of much adversity and uncertainty. I usually find sources of hope and comfort where I least expect it in this deck.

Below we can see the Clownfish and anemone and a Manta Ray. The clownfish protects the anemone from predators, and the anemone gives the clownfish a home, a balanced and symbiotic relationship. The Manta Ray is up to 9 meters long and if seen outside of the water it would look anything but graceful, but it glides effortlessly under the sea. It dives to unseen depths with calmness and balance and knows it will always return. And maybe its a stretch, but I can see the hope in that.

How will you bring hope, balance, equality or even Justice into your week?