One of the Sacred Cows of the New Age is that we must meekly accept everything that comes, judging no-one and nothing, lest we ourselves be judged. But the reality behind the Sacred Cow is that this kind of blanket, apathetic acceptance serves no one.
The notion of Judgement – communicated to us very well via the Tarot – is intricately bound up with Choice and Discernment. It is, of course, essential that we work to accept what we see, and try to grasp what it is telling us. But once we have seen these truths we must then decide what we think about them and then, most importantly, what we are going to do about them. Without this kind of Judgement the weak will always be at the mercy of the strong, and the unsure always pushed aside by the certain.
In this sense, Judgement is nothing to do with being nasty, critical or superior. It is about seeing what is, deciding whether it needs to be in your life/family/community/society, and acting appropriately.
As human beings we are receivers and transmitters, passive and active, individual and collective. It is vital that we discover and align ourselves with our true purpose and then – imperfectly and messily – get on with it. This means that every single day we must form judgements, make decisions and discern what is and is not appropriate for our path. We must deal with the world as we see it, and even if we see it ‘wrongly’ we must still play our hand. To play it wrongly is better than not playing it at all, for at least then there is the chance to learn from error.
Society’s fallacy of acceptance grows ever more obvious. Our refusal to accept racism, sexism or bullying has contributed to a better society. So what else might we be intolerant of in order to make a better world? Think about this as you go about your life. Things happen for a reason – and that reason might be so that we can make a change.
I am not advocating impulsive behaviour or strident militancy. The ability to judge and discern what is correct develops over time, and is a product of knowledge, experience and wisdom. Rather I am saying that the task before all of us is to wake up and make ourselves imperfectly wise, before we become subject to the even more imperfect wisdom of others. We must understand that Judgement is the ultimate expression of personal power and responsibility, tantamount to saying ‘I know what is best for me’. We had better hope that more people are prepared to start saying this, for otherwise the opposite must come to pass, where others will insist that they know best for you. Under this ‘Tyranny of the Well Intentioned’ you will be judged a thousand times more harshly than you would ever judge yourself.
(Tarot Card Images Copyright l to r: Camoin, Morgan Greer, Frown Strong, Cosmic)
The Impossibility Factory 