Undoing Assumptions about Strength

Occasionally I’ll start thinking about a tarot card and hope that it pops up in a reading just so I can share my musings. Today I got lucky and we have one of those cards: Strength. It’s not as if we’ve been neglecting this archetype - it was the card of 2024! - but I’ve been thinking lately about how there’s more to it than meets the eye.

In the classic image (more gently re-imagined in the Spolia Tarot deck above) we see an angelic figure gently touching a fierce lion. Often, these characters are seen as representations of our animal nature (lion) and the “higher self” (angel). Through gentle and consistent work and relationship-building, these two characters can come together and form an alliance, leading the individual towards integration and, fittingly, personal strength.

In the past few weeks, I’ve been realizing that I make an immediate assumption about this card: that the ideal flow of information travels from the higher self and to the lion. That is, the higher self has something truly transformative to teach the instinctual/animal self. In making that assumption, I realized that I’ve been projecting judgment and a hierarchy onto what should be (and is) a relationship.

Now, if you’ve been around here long enough, you know that I do often mention that the animal self has something to tell the higher self. But, as I was mulling over this card over the past few weeks, I recognized some falseness there, a little dash of self-deception. When it came down to it, I didn’t really believe that the animal self’s wisdom was the same as that of the higher self. And in doing so, I was prioritizing perfection, grace, and poise over imperfection, instinct, and messiness.

A tricky component of the idea of the higher self is that there’s an overabundance of “shoulds” from our culture, backgrounds, and beliefs that stick to it like it’s some sort of archetypal lint roller. Think about what you believe it means to be good. That’s what I recognize when I look at this lovely figure, face placid and serene as they touch the snarling lion. Plus, who doesn’t love an angel?

But spiritual growth and discovery, as this card itself is meant to convey, is a messy process. Sometimes we want to skip ahead and place ourselves in the role of the angel preemptively. Sometimes we assume the angel is better - the place we want to go - nevermind that so much of our life is here in the world of the lion: physical, visceral, complex, and ever-changing.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot as the world continues to shift rapidly in seismic and unpredictable ways. It seems like so much has been shaken up, and with it the sense of self and stability. It’s in these times that the lion becomes more and more important.

As a classic eldest daughter, it’s very easy for me to put on the clothes of the angel. I can analyze, project calm, and spit out (mellifluously) a seemingly clear-eyed take on what’s happening, both within myself and in the world at large. Yet inside there’s a lion gnashing their teeth and clawing to get out. Things are strange! Confusing! In this tension, I try to say things with the voice of the angel, but the turmoil inside is making it all sound strange, not right, from somewhere else.

This bifurcated experience of Strength - Strength-lite, not-quite-there-yet Strength, faux Strength, Strength as performance - is not enough in times like these. It’s not the real deal. Our second card, the Queen of Cups, gives us a more interesting path towards integrating this archetype. As our theme card for the month of February, it invites us to stay still, embrace change, and sit down and be patient so that we can observe and contemplate the changes roiling around us, learning about their patterns and trusting our emotional agility and… strength.

It’s possible that you’ll have some surprising and messy insights into where you try to be angelic and deny your lion. It’s also possible that there’s a gentle breakthrough happening, though it might feel more jarring at first. The Queen of Cups is patient and a little sly. I imagine her with a slight smile twitching on the corner of her lips as she watches the tides come in and out. Whether we realize it or not, we’re creatures of change, and if we situate ourselves inside the cycles, recognizing our role as part of them, then we can swim with the current and not fight against it.

To put it another way, this week is a potent time for following new paths towards the answers to questions we’ve been too scared to ask. Is there something you’ve been circling around cautiously, curious but not able to approach directly? Since Strength was the card for last year, look to 2024 for hints about how you’ve grown, flexed your muscles, and also where you’ve over-invested in angelic parts. Is it time to bring your lion-self into a position of more respect? I’m thinking of how we often seek to transcend difficulty, to look like we know what we’re doing, when, in fact, we’re often being called to step down into life more - to take risks, be messy, and risk mistakes, embarrassment, or loss.

As we bring the patience and emotional wisdom of the Queen of Cups to the deeper layers of Strength, we end up approaching the brave, truth-seeking, and truth-telling stance of the Knight of Swords. Many of you have likely clocked that this reading is 2/3 court cards, the continuation of a wild pattern we’ve been experiencing in our readings in 2025 so far. There have been so. many. court. cards. Yet I’m sensing that we’re honing-in on something crucial and learning how to direct aspects of our personality towards a unified goal. This week, that goal involves the search for truth.

Our opportunity card for the month is the Ace of Swords. At the end of the week, it’s looking like we’ll be poised to directly approach an idea, breakthrough, or key thought, as if we’re the Knight of Swords asking for the Ace of Swords to reveal themselves. Resting in the resiliency of the Queen of Cups, don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself, ask difficult questions, to be brave and messy like the lion in strength. Perfection isn’t getting us anywhere this week, and these big questions are too precious to avoid asking.