We begin the second sepentary act of our journey. This next group of seven cards is representative of the lessons we learn.
The Fool Finds Strength
I remember when I first saw this card thinking “I don’t see strength here” and I didn’t make an instant connection until I studied it and stepped into it.
We see a beautiful woman in a flowing white gown gently closing a lion’s mouth. Above her is the same infinity symbol we saw above The Magician’s head. She wears a flower crown and sash and looks so peaceful.
How can that relate to strength?
Then I looked deeper. This serene woman is closing a lion’s mouth.
The King of the Jungle!
She does it with such grace and without any fear.
That’s what struck me.
She is in the very face of danger yet gently and tenderly closes his mouth, and he lets her with his tail between his legs. She conveys her power with confidence and courage. The lion is feared, yet allows her to control him.
The lesson here is that we can assert dominance and control over what we fear without aggression and without a fight. We see that we can control our inner animal and ego. The lion represents ego, our internal animalistic nature and things we fear. We learn that we can take control with our inner strength, compassion and kindness, always.
At one time, I perceived everything in life as a fight. When we experience turmoil, strife and trauma, we begin to build a wall around ourselves and although we perceive it as protection, it’s really a fight, isn’t it? A fight to keep what we fear inside. A fight to never let anyone see us in a weak state, which is our own perception usually.
We create our own prisons.
Inner strength is gentle and loving. We are fighting ourselves and the trauma inside we hide along with all the things that make us feel “less than” and small. The real strength is facing that lion and gently “handling our business” with grace.
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