It was an incredible shock to hear of the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In a year turned upside down by the COVID pandemic, and by the continued misbehavior of the current occupant of the White House, we are now faced with the GOP wanting to force a replacement vote before the election (which is just over a month away!). Please know that the title The Notorious RBG was gifted to Justice Ginsburg in good faith, and as an honor. The title was the brainchild of NYU law student Shana Knizhnik, and was intended as a riff on the iconic rapper The Notorious B.I.G. Both the rapper and Justice Ginsburg hail from Brooklyn and respectively carry great power. The humor comes in when you put the two side by side – the large, rather imposing B.I.G., and the 90-pound Jewish grandmother.
What I am going to attempt to do here is to take a look at the energy that Justice Ginsburg’s passing carry’s overall (a reflection of who she was/is), what it means for me personally, and what it means for the populace in general. I choose to use images from Joanna Powell Colbert’s “Gaian Tarot” (majors only, self-published, 2004). The images were deliberately chosen, for what appealed to me, for what seemed to be the right card for each section.
For the energy of who Justice Ginsburg was/is as an individual, and as a judge, I chose The High Priestess. Judge Ginsburg lead a very open life, and yet she remains a woman of mystery. How deeply did she have to go within herself to see the larger picture on issues that came before her – even though she may not have even though about the concept of ancestors, she had to have held the thought, in some manner, of seven generations down. In other words, she had to understand how things came to be as they were, she had to recognize what was unfolding in the present, and she had to have the vision to see (a) what would happen if things continued on in the direction they were going, and (b) what would happen if change were brought into play. IMHO, she listened to the voices in her dreams (paraphrasing Joanna Powell Colbert from the book that accompanies this deck). She reflects the wisdom of age, the openness of youth, and walks the fine line between both.
She is a lady for all ages.
I choose The Hermit to represent what her passing means to me personally. I have always loved this card, and it is one of my birth cards. Justice Ginsburg’s death threw me into a tailspin, not only because I knew that in our current state of political upheaval in this country that Trump would rush to appoint a new Supreme Court Judge, which would alter the balance of the court in a negative manner. I don’t blame the Republican party for this – the more astute Republicans are saying that no appointment should be made until after the election. I also feel that there is no one that can fill her shoes. It will be hard for anyone to carry on her legacy, but someone must attempt to do so. In the past (almost) four years women’s rights have eroded at warp speed – not just reproductive rights, but all of our rights. I grew up under Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s influence – I hope that my actions reflect this, and will continue to reflect it. I need to go into the darkness to find my truth. I need to walk with spirit.
To represent what Justice Ginsburg’s passing means to the general populace, I choose The Teacher/Hierophant. Dignity and peace abound in this card. The Teacher is asking all to walk with spirit. In another way, we are being reminded that Justice Ginsburg herself is a teacher. Take what she has taught you over the years, and in turn, teach it to others. This is how we keep her legacy alive. Recognize what you are being called to do at this time.
(c) September 2020 Bonnie Cehovet
Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the author.
Perspectives On Tarot 