GAZELLE MAGAZINE WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH EDITION | Page 94

WELLNESS & WELL-BEING
Demanding
Justice and
Balance
By Julia Gordon-Bramer
I
n the tarot, the Justice card pictures Greek goddess Athena
sitting on her throne, balancing the scales of justice in one hand,
a sword of severity in the other.
Athena is our representation for the powerful female. She
holds her own in a man’s world. And she is one heck of a role
model for the empowered woman.
What I like about this card is that it is not power that Athena seeks
(although she has it), it is balance and righteousness. Working women,
and especially working mothers, have a tough time balancing it all. As a
professional tarot card reader, I get many clients who work 50 hours a
week, raise children, and then feel like failures because they don’t have
time to keep fit, find love, or whatever it is that they feel like they’re
lacking. But when did they last make themselves a priority?
When we look at Athena, we know she knows she’s powerful. This is
a woman who puts herself first, knowing that by doing so, she reaches
her highest potential. If she’s exhausted and spent - or worse, if she’s
resentful - she knows that is not good energy for her to have.
“But that’s selfish!” some people might say. “My kids, work, family
or other people have to come first!” While your motives may be noble,
I am here to tell you they are incorrect. It is like when you are on an
airplane, and the flight attendant tells you in the event of a loss of cabin
pressure, you put your own mask on first. You are no good to anyone
if you’re dead. Nor are you any good if you’re unhealthy or miserable.
Athena's sword of severity is the key. She knows that sometimes
feelings will be hurt in order for her to do what is right. She knows that
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sometimes she has to be tough, to tell her boss (Zeus, in this case), “No,
I can’t work late tonight. I’m taking the ‘maenads’ to soccer practice.”
Let’s also not forget the scales of balance. Athena is not taking it easy,
not out goofing off 24/7 with Dionysus, the party god. She’s a ruler, after
all - a woman of responsibility. But she knows that to keep centered, she
must take care of her body and her spiritual and emotional needs, in
addition to keeping the world in order.
You must also be a priority for you. You must love yourself and tend
to yourself, and know that in the long run, that makes you infinitely
happier, healthier, more powerful, and your best gift to the world.
Gordon-Bramer i s a professional tarot card reader in St. Louis, and author
of “Fixed Stars Govern a Life: Decoding Sylvia Plath” and the “Decoding
Sylvia Plath” series. Visit her website at juliagordonbramer.com.