Читать книгу Step by Step Tarot - Terry Donaldson - Страница 19

Great power is given under this placing. The Strength card has come up for you and is saying that through the conflicts which you have had with your own weaknesses, you have gained some degree of mastery over others. And vice versa: that through the conflicts you have had with others, you now stand much more in control of yourself, of your own energies, and are more single-minded.

This card was traditionally represented in old Tarot decks as showing the battle between Hercules and the Nemean Lion. In more recent decks, the same principle has been shown by the image of a beautiful woman, serenely opening and closing the mouth of a roaring lion. The symbols are different in that in the former it shows the domination of one power by another, while in the latter it shows the transcendent influence of reason over passion.

This latter image is more in keeping with what the Tarot is trying to say to you. It is saying that it is by keeping your cool that you will be able to come out in top of whatever situation of conflict you are going through, or are about to go through.

Remember that the strongest weapon you have at your command at this time is the fact that you are not to rise to the bait of whatever provocation is made towards you.

Above the head of the woman in this picture, we see a figure of eight on its side, the symbol of infinity, which means that no matter what is occurring on the outer level of action in your life at this time, it too will change and move on to become something else.

Remember, just as the serenity of the woman is more powerful than the lion, so your own spirituality is a stronger force than the animalistic passions of yourself and also of others.

This card is calling upon us to examine where our real strength lies. We are so often used to thinking of ourselves as ‘strong’, especially when in perfect bodily health. But are we? All it takes for us to be reduced to whimpering wrecks is to step on a nail and get an infection. Or to develop a soar throat. Many people get very angry when a loved one is sick or ailing, basically because it is a reminder of their own frailty.

What are you doing with your own strength? Are you using it positively or are you wasting it on irrelevant jousting tournaments, left, right and centre? What are you doing that is helping others get in touch with their own strength?