Hello, gentle reader! It’s that time again … time for #tarottuesday, and the continuation of The Fool’s Journey through the Major Arcana. Last week we encountered The Chariot. Today The Fool will get up close and personal with Strength. Shall we? Let’s …
As our Hero is progressing down His path, struggling to balance the opposing forces of the horses pulling The Chariot, He comes upon a lion in the road. The lion is just lying there in the middle of the path. Totally chillin’.
Seeing this, The Fool slows His pace and approaches cautiously, curious of what this beast is doing here, but also a little trepidatious at the meeting of a creature He knows so little about.
A deep and guttural growl stops The Fool from getting any closer. “Who are you and why are you lying here?” He asks the beast.
“I am Strength. I have both great power and endurance. But I have somehow managed to embed a thorn in my paw, and it is very painful for me to stand on it. So, I am lying here to recover my energy before moving on again.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Strength. May I help you remove the thorn from your paw?”
As The Fool gently removes the thorn, the lion’s relief is so great that, in gratitude, He invites The Fool to join Him for a while.
The Fool, ever more curious about this new acquaintance, cops a squat and engages the beast in conversation. During this exchange our Hero learns all about Strength. He learns about how to utilize His physical, emotional, and mental strengths to His best advantage. He also learns the importance of discernment so that these gifts can be used to the betterment of all rather than as tools of destruction and oppression. He learns how to harness His own inner and outer reserves to successfully navigate challenges that might arise on His journey.
Strength also teaches The Fool about the necessary practice of rest and recovery in order to allow the rejuvenation of His gifts. Lions, after all, are wonderful examples of this practice in action. They exert incredible power, speed, and virility when hunting and protecting their pride, but the majority of their lives are spent in repose, enjoying the company of others, feeling the sun on their backs, and generally just maxing and relaxing.
This is a most welcome lesson for The Fool at this precise moment. He learned how to master the wild chaos of the polar forces pulling His Chariot, but it was depleting Him quickly. Strength is now teaching Him how to rest and recover HIs energy regularly, and how to use His mental and emotional cunning as well as His physical power to exert the most force with the least resistance. In other words, The Fool learns the wisdom of creating the maximum result with the least effort necessary.
Lastly, The Fool learns that true Strength is also about knowing when to accept help from others. Despite His great fortitude and ferocity, the lion was unable to remove the thorn from His own paw. He needed to allow someone else to give him aid in order to return to His full power.
Feeling replenished by the rest and inspired by the learning, The Fool thanks Strength for sharing His wisdom. The lion thanks The Fool for easing His pain. The two then part ways and continue on their respective paths.
Time will only tell who The Fool will encounter next in His travels. As always, I urge you to tune in next week for #tarottuesday to find out! Until then … happy travels of your own!