The weighing of souls, an image of judgment in which Saint Michael commonly holds scales while souls or moral deeds are weighed.
Psychostasis is the weighing of souls. In medieval Christian imagery Saint Michael frequently holds a balance while the soul or its deeds are weighed, sometimes as demons attempt to pull down one side of the scales.
Etymology
From Greek psyche, “soul,” + stasis, “weighing, standing, balance.”
Sculptor Notes
The balance gives the sculptor an unusually clear geometric device: a horizontal beam suspended from a vertical figure. The drama is strongest when the scales remain structurally legible rather than disappearing into a crowd of small demons and attributes.
References
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/paragraph_5_heaven_and_earth.html; https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/437742