Tarot Tidbit- Strength

I believe every human being on this planet is “psychic”. It is not a “gift” one person has and another does not. I have often compared psychic ability to athletic and musical talent. Some people have a much higher baseline than others and are sometimes referred to as “naturals”. Then there are those who with time, practice, discipline and determination can achieve mastery.

In the Tarot deck, the Strength card features an image of a lion and a lady. They are typically depicted in a harmonious and loving balance. The Strength card for me has always embodied the struggle to balance our logical, rational human mind with our base instincts and intuition as an animal.

We are after all, animals on the food chain albeit the top of the food chain. It is this position in the natural world of beasts which allows us to consider ourself separate from the animals we share this world with. Hence distancing ourselves from our animal instinct and often placing a higher value on our intellect.

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To be “animal” is considered to be outside of what is considered the norm and to be without morals. A murderer for example will be called an “animal” so why would we strive to honour that part of ourself when our society deems it negative? By those same social standards what makes us human and above the animal kingdom is our command of intelligence in the form of logic and reason. As a result, we value the information we process with our head and are awarded with affirmation from our society. While we often dismiss the information we get from our gut and rarely receive affirmation unless we are perceptive and aware.
In my daily practice, I strive to integrate and re-member the parts of self I feel I am neglecting or ignoring. If I am not accessing these parts of myself I am unable to access vital life force which could be useful in my life.

Our instinct, which I will define here as intuition, is one of these parts. This intuition is what I believe to be our birthright. Opening to this innate ability allows us to perceive the world differently. We begin to sense with our gut not just with our mind. It is this sense that many police and military use and have shared countless tales with me of how it has saved their lives.

Our life in this modern age is for the most part, comfortable. Those of us privileged to live a life where there is lack of danger at ever turn or rife with war and violence can go about our day not needing to access that instinct until we find ourselves in a deserted car park at night or unfamiliar area in a “bad part of town”.

Ask yourself if you have ever felt yourself shift in to a heighten state of awareness? Where do you feel it in your body? Do the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end? Do you get goose bumps? Do you feel a sinking in your belly or a lump in your throat? Does your heart race a little faster and your senses sharpen. Can you feel or sense behind you while your eyes scan around? Do you have thoughts that say I better do this or not do that? Perhaps I should go back or walk a little faster?

If you answered yes to any of the above then congratulations you ARE psychic! You have just used your animal instinct and flexed the muscle that perhaps lies dormant but is always present. Like a muscle not used for ages, we can begin to train ourselves. By flexing the muscle of our intuition a bit more often we begin to see the results of it strengthen.

The lion and the lady of the Strength card remind us that our rational mind can peacefully co-exist with our intuition. They can assist one another in accessing and processing information that is useful to us but is not easily perceived through our regular senses. It strengthens us.

I find the Strength card appears in a reading when a client has opened to and experienced their intuition but are fighting with the logical mind. Have you ever had a gut feeling about something and then told yourself “That's silly or I'm just being paranoid” only to discover your instinct was correct later? It is this discord which makes it difficult to trust which information source is correct.

So how do we bring our lion and lady into balance? Observation. Begin to cultivate an awareness of both voices. Turn up the volume on your gut, listen. What does it say? Hold on tight to the gut information because the voice of your reason is louder and has been the favourite advisor. Wait a second or two for your logic to kick in and start working to explain away what information you just received.
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Observe this tug-of-war between the head and the gut as one would watch a sparring match from the sidelines. Who wins? Why? What was the information that won the argument? Now drop into yourself and observe: How does the losing voice feel? What is your deeper knowing of truth? Which voice speaks that knowing? Do you accept the deep knowing or are you resisting it by taking an easier, more desirable explanation? Avoid measuring this exercise in terms of “Good or bad” it is just information.

The more we observe the struggle between the two voices within us the more information we gather about ourselves. We come to know the different textures of each voices and know when each is speaking. We can then hold them in balance and understand our truth by facing our resistance and naming it's source.

For example; A person knows a relationship had withered and is no longer the best place for them to be. The resistance to step out of the relationship can be rooted in a myriad of things. The gut says “Leave now” the mind says “Well...... but..... if.....”
The Strength cards helps us remember and reclaim our birthright. It assists us in making decisions from a more fully informed place and allows us to be aligned with ALL our parts of self. It invites us to find the courage within to act on choices for our highest and best good even when they are difficult. It brings us into balance with ourselves and the world we live in.