Paving the Way with Strength

I’m going to confess: I’m in a mood. It’s Friday as I write this and I’m getting a head start on the forecast. This morning I was angstily considering how the Ace of Swords - our card for the month - hasn’t been as clear in my own life as I’d hoped. So, imagine my delight and frustration when the Ace of Pentacles ended up being our first card for the week.

Let’s take a moment to let this all sink in. Our card for July is the Ace of Swords. Our first card last week was the Ace of Wands. And our first card this week is the Ace of Pentacles. If we get the Ace of Cups next week I’m going to retire.

If you’ve been here a while, you know my usual PSA about the aces; that they’re seeds, limitless potential of their suit, a distillation of an energy, the sign of a new focus emerging.

They’re also really, really tender.

Having a bunch of aces this month is highlighting the sometimes-overwhelming power of possibility. To have so many of opportunities coming our way can give us a lot to process along with excitement and joy - both the paths we could take with these gifts and the realization of how this energy has been missing from our lives.

This week we’re moving from the abstract and instinctual and into the real. It’s time to plant a seed, make an investment, and then? We have to start tending to it.

Don’t shy away from the whole spectrum of feelings that arise when you’re confronted with change and growth, especially in moments when we’re presented with a golden opportunity. This week, we’re getting a hands-on experience with our reality through Strength. It may bring up some challenging emotions around seemingly positive experiences. Feeling sad because something wonderful is happening? Getting teary and nostalgic for a bad situation in your past when something much better is becoming real? Make room for it all this week - accepting the feelings while refusing to depart from the new, promising path you’re on.

I’m feeling like a bulleted list might be a helpful way to map out this situation:

This is a lovely progression - going from the abstract to the instinctual to the actual. Last week we were poised with the challenge of taking the new, fiery and fragile Ace of Wands and stewarding its growth with the slow, deliberate pace of the Knight of Pentacles. All while being tempted to take the path of the Knight of Wands: intense, overzealous action.

We’re entering into this week having passed through that crucible. In this sense, the Ace of Pentacles may be something we’ve sculpted for ourselves. What vision for your life have you been honing lately? What’s come into focus for you as you look towards your immediate future? If this isn’t something you’ve been considering, take some time now to explore. The pentacles cover all aspects of our earthly life - this ace could be pointing to a small adjustment in routine, work, health or an overall vision for your life as a whole.

I think what I’m trying to articulate about the aces is that they initially appear benign, beautiful, and exciting. Yet they also require action, dedication, and follow-through from us if they’re going to grow into anything substantial. Look at the path in the Ace of Pentacles. It extends through the lush, sheltered garden, passes under an arbor, and stretches out towards a formidable mountain range. Sure, we can behold this glimmering coin, but we have to leave the comfort of the garden - the fruits of creativity, imagining - and head into the unknown. That’s the path to follow in the Ace of Pentacles, and while we may want to stay cozy within the walls, it’s not what the card (or life) requires of us.

Okay, so we’ve been encountering aces left and right the month. Now we’re really getting in touch with what we want. Now things are starting to gain traction. Look to last week for clues around what your new project is. Following our ace trajectory, this is the time to commit to a path and start to make things real. Strength is our guide on this journey. This card is intensely hands-on. Think about moments in your life when you’ve felt connected to your inner energy and motivation, when you’ve had to prove yourself, strive, and confront your skills and limitations. This chapter will require the same energy; thankfully, it’s readily available and already driving us forward.

We’ve had a lot of seamless transitions in our readings lately. Last week it was the Ace of Swords blending into the Knight of Pentacles. Here, it’s the path of the Ace of Pentacles leading into the fields of Strength. The same mountain is in the background, we’re just getting closer and closer.

You may find yourself feeling exposed, awkward, and in process this week. It’s a good sign. Strength demands that we relinquish attachment to poise and perfection. You can’t wrestle a lion and look elegant. You can’t take a risk, learn and grow, without making mistakes and reconciling your idealized self with your human self.

Strength shows an important confrontation between these ideas of who we are. The answer lies in the relationship - the interplay between the two. We are neither angelic saint, perfect and pure, nor wild and instinctive beast, messy and feral. This is a time to gain power from our very real, idiosyncratic, natures. What about your have you put in opposition, polarized, like the two pillars in our final card, Justice?

Like our reading last week, this group of cards shows us two options. The first, the unified picture of the Ace of Pentacles and Strength, is an expansive journey. We see a new opportunity and walk towards it. The second, the freedom of the Ace of Pentacles leading to the halls of Justice, is a dead end. If we get too exacting and abstract with our dreams, we’ll get trapped in the land of the hypothetical. Both Justice and Strength exert a strong pull. Both deal with themes of balance. It will be easy (and tempting) to use Justice as an excuse to stay small, not grow. The enclosed space of this archetype is safe, removed from the emotional upheaval and chaos of the natural world shown in Strength. Yet we’d miss out by taking ourselves too seriously, making an ethical dilemma out of everything, trying to be right when the real task is to seek the truth and grow towards it.

Justice may have an important message, but it’s one we must take out from its halls and use in our everyday lives. If you find yourself veering into perfectionism, concerned with the “right” thing to do, whether it’s from an ethical or practical standpoint, take that urge seriously, follow it, and then use what you find out. You’ll notice that Justice holds a sword, mirroring our card for July, The Ace of Swords. There is an important piece of clarity to be found here so long as we embrace that enacting our ideas and seeking our ideals in real life is inherently messy, complicated, and far more beautiful than perfection. That’s where our adventure lies.

Okay, so this is a heady reading! How do we bring this energy down to earth? The Ace of Pentacles invites us to see our daily life as a garden. What are we growing? What’s working? As we can see in the image, things are quite nice as they are, suggesting that a little look around will help us a) gain appreciation for our lives and our role in maintaining them and b) give us confidence for the journey ahead.

And have we talked about this giant coin in the sky? It’s not subtle; aces never are. What is looking good to you? Be on the alert for:

The power of this ace is a helpful antidote to the serious Major Arcana cards this week. Don’t let yourself get stuck in self-seriousness, overthinking, or getting too big picture. Enjoy the delights that appear in the everyday and let them fuel the bigger projects unfolding that require your full attention.