Cosmic Tribe Tarot

XI - STRENGTH

Mother Earth and Father Sky: I am your orphan child abandoned to echoes and reflections of your promise.
Give me the courage to inhabit the animal and the grace to make it fly.

A large whiskered nose samples the air. Powerful paws pad across the dreamscape. Her tail flicks self-assuredly as golden eyes scan her realm. Does she hunt? There in a clearing stands a man, alone and apparently vulnerable. She roars mightily. He does not flinch. She passes, licks his hand, and curls up in front of him knowing, she has a home.

In the card a figure appears in an open and powerful stance. His eyes are closed as he calls upon his inner Strength. Around his body a burning aura of lifeforce shows that he is making his connection and can trust the universe to meet his deepest need, Ripples of energy emanate from his heart, representing the unconditional love he let's flow through him. Love is the source of his lion-taming Strength. But he does not need to subdue the lioness. He works with her power and combines it with his own to break the chains of self-hatred and denial keeping love a prisoner. Likewise, the jeweled border of the Card reminds us to value ourselves. With self-love as a foundation, moral and physical Strength come to us naturally.

Curled up in front of the figure, the lioness represents both the fiery Strength coming from our animal Instincts and the ability to mediate between those deep-seated instincts and the higher purposes of consciousness. This huntress is the mightiest ambassador of the animal kingdom. She has been sent to our dreams to awaken us to the fierceness that the universe expresses though our animal bodies. The difference between a world crafted with love and one built on self-negation appears as the difference between the soft grasses beneath the figures and the arid hills in the background. The latter are ever ready to retake the ground should Strength fail. But for the present, Strength prevails. The lion's eyes of our passion gaze out from the top of the card. They are the Inner Strength of the figure and those of' us who conquer enemies. Within and without, by trusting the power of love.

Divinatory Meaning

Should Strength manifest in your reading, honor the fearless lion inside you that subdues your worst nightmares. Often in the process of asking why life is the way it is, we forget how to live. We lose the courage love requires to tend our animal selves. Does negative judgment, inflexibility, or past scarring keep you from loving yourself? What kind of healing will burn negativity away and embody your strength? Perhaps your fires are already stoked. How will you keep them burning? Take a risk. Free yourself from oppression and self' repression. How will you keep an open heart to the world even when the world around you tries to push it closed? Strength is the power to overcome the obstacles to love. Love is written into our DNA and is allied to the animal power within us. Find a way to walk with your hairy beast in peaceful companionship. Be fearless. Love your body. Love the world.