Lessons from the Strength Card

The Strength Card from the Modern Witch Tarot

This month as we move into Leo season, we are presented the opportunity to embody the wisdom of the Strength card.  In the Tarot, the Strength card is the card that carries the energy of Leo season. As a Leo, I find that people often simplify the essence of Leo into someone who is boisterous and overbearing, while overlooking the qualities that make Leos great.

The Strength card represents these qualities well.  With Strength we are confronted by our inner beast and how we react when we feel threatened.  It’s a card of advocacy and using your inner fire for good .  It’s an invitation into taming the reaction that comes up when we feel triggered by something.

The brilliance of this card is that it’s an ongoing process.  We get a little better with every opportunity we are presented to practice.  It’s not about the quick, big success but the progress we make over time.  It’s about the baby steps. And, slow and steady progress that delivers us to deeply understand ourselves.

Strength shows us how to cultivate resilience in confronting our own shortcomings and reactions.  It asks us to be loyal to ourselves above all else.  This can be very challenging as it brings us face-to-face with the conditioning we experienced growing up.  

The Strength card confronts us with how we react when we feel threatened.  It asks us to observe what we think about those reactions and what we were taught about them from the time we were young. What were you taught about showing emotion?  What were you taught about your responsibility to stand up for yourself and other people?  Were you taught to ignore bullies? Were you treated as if you were weak or scared because of that reaction?  Did you feel a need to confront every bully and right all wrongs?  Did you enforce your perspective on others?

Strength asks us to stare into the face of these reactions and try to approach them with gentleness and understanding.  Almost as if you are trying to gentle tame a beast.  It still exists but, in what ways can you learn to cultivate the positive qualities of it and ease the vicious ones?

Strength is one of my favorite cards and one I have worked with for a long time.  I consider it a great ally of those with trauma and a fighting spirit.  In moments when I have felt that overwhelming desire to fight back, I have paused and tuned in to that Strength card and asked myself why I’m feeling that way, and if this is something that needs a big reaction.  Sometimes the answer is yes.  Sometimes the answer is no.  But, it’s allowed me to have a greater sense of agency over my reactions and has allowed me to give up the feeling of helplessness that often frustrates me.

For that reason, I’ve decided to offer a two part Strength Card Embodiment Workshop this month.  This workshop is a celebration of resilience and will dive deep into tempering your reactions and meeting yourself with gentleness when you feel triggered. The point of this and other embodiment workshops I have offered is to bring awareness to the wisdom of the physical body.  When we are feeling these emotions and triggers, they also show up in the body and can act as a powerful signal to let us know to pay attention and take action. For most of us, it’s easier for us to recognize the physical feelings in our body than it is to be aware of our emotions. In part 1 on Wednesday, August 12th at 7 PM ET we will discuss theory of the Strength card, practice some embodiment exercises, light movement, guided meditation and journaling. Then, you will have a week to create an intention for our new moon ceremony.

Part two will solidify lessons learned in part one and give us the opportunity to shed the last bits of extra fire we stirred up in part one and will include a New Moon in Leo Intention Setting and Healing Ceremony live over Zoom on Wednesday, August 19th at 7 PM ET.  (If you’re saying, wait Sheila, the new moon is Tuesday, August 18th – I know, but it’s best to wait until the moon moves out of it’s dark phase to set the clearest intentions.)  This ceremony will be an opportunity to get really clear on what you want to cultivate as we close out the Summer.  You can sign up here.

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