I Am the Strength Card

This might start out a little woo-woo for some of you, but hang on… I promise reality comes into play quickly.

There is this card in Tarot called “Strength.” It’s a major arcana card and in traditional tarot, it is symbolized by a lion and woman. In my Celestial Tarot, it is symbolized in the same way but is also given the energy of Virgo the Virgin and Leo the Lion as the combination power that makes up this “strength.”

Courage. Resilience. Compassion. Inner Fortitude.

I am a Virgo Sun, Virgo Moon, and Leo Rising (with a Venus in Leo). When I first glanced at this card in my deck, I was brought to tears. I felt it resonate so strongly with me. The feminine gentleness blended with the quietly powerful and resolute lion.

During moments of weakness, I usually see this symbol appear—and not always in a tarot deck. One day, perusing Facebook, I saw this artwork that took my breath away. It was just an ordinary post, but the picture captivated me to the point where I needed to find it. Have it.

Luckily, the artist (Emily Balivet) was tagged and I was able to trace it back to her. She sold prints of these, and in a rare moment of not caring what the cost was (not too bad, but it’s not something I normally invest in), I placed an order.

When it came in, I knew exactly where I would place it. Right on the side of my bedroom wall, where it would be the first thing I saw every morning when I woke up and turned to get out of my bed. A constant reminder of who I am and who I can be.

Sometimes in my lower energy and emotional days, I purposefully ignore it. And then somehow my eyes begin to have the muscle memory of avoiding it, looking at the carpet and my feet instead.

I don’t want to be reminded in those moments—and yet, it is in these moments when I need to see it the most.

So why this post and why now? Because I have finally, consciously started turning my life around. Mindfully treating my body better in nutrition and movement. Advocating for self-care over work responsibility. Reducing stress and reactions as much as humanly possible in my multiple job line of work.

I received uplifting news about cool opportunities, and it has added to the fuel of my healthy regime by nurturing my mental and emotional health. A dream come true 50th birthday travel experience is coming up. The people around me are incredibly heartfelt and supportive, and it’s so easy to return that love right back to them.

I’m back to a morning routine that sets my day up for clarity, flexibility, peace, and patience (okay, only just a little of it – let’s get real, now haha) I’m more in the flow of life and remembering. Remembering what I dream. Remembering how it feels to build on those dreams. Remembering how it feels to help others in a profound way.

Remembering who I am inside when I remove the wounded woman affected by external influences and re-center her inward.

It’s no coincidence that in all this, I realized something. I have naturally been lifting my head every morning now. It’s instinctual—and I see this gorgeous vision of a goddess and her lion and I simply smile. Because now I see just me in the her image.

She never went away. She just needed to come back out of hiding.