So, after I posted that bit about the hawk, today I saw a Strength card somewhere on the 'net featuring a hawk instead of a lion. (Also saw one with pillars at yotarot) (And pillars also remind me of Justice and of the arabic numeral 11???) Anyway, so then I was thinking about 'pet ethics' and Nature Conquered by Love and some other stuff about Adam and Eve*
No matter how beautiful I find big cats and birds, and no matter how much I cry when I see them locked up, they are, nonetheless, predators. But then, so are the two cats I keep as pets.
I'm a person who lives mostly by my desires. I've heard it said that we should embrace our wild side, but I think we need to differentiate between joyful (perhaps spiritual?) and hurtful (perhaps physical?) desires. Lust is a wonderful thing, but let loose, it can be hurtful. Smoking is something I do totally to please myself, only because I LIKE to, but everyone knows it's BAD, BAD, BAD! (But don't tell me that, 'cause then I'll smoke two.) Can it really be any good for me to eat a whole box of chocolate-covered butter cookies? I think not.
I find that my more joyful desires come from my mind. My desire for my husband, based on love and knowledge, surpasses mere lustful desire enough to bring me halfway across the world. My desire for knowledge stimulates and spurs me. I love to sing and dance, not in the sense of a physical thing, but more an outpouring of soul/emotion. Music is like coffee to me in the morning. I don't grow flowers so that I can physically eat them, rather my spirit soars with their beauty.
Okay, I guess what I'm really thinking is, if we focus on the physical, how can we concentrate on the spiritual?
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*In the book Beginnings of Desire, the author discusses Genesis and the problems mankind has being both horizontal (animal, "Be fruitful and multiply") and vertical (reasoning, "Conquer the earth and subdue it")
TIME: spring equinox, morning
MEANINGS UPRIGHT: (Fortitude) Power, energy,
action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and
honours. Mind over matter. Strength, endurance, persistence,
perseverance, willpower, courage, confidence, zeal. Physical health,
vitality, energy, stamina, recovery. Attention to health and fitness;
enjoying the dance of life; determination to live. Strength of body
and mind. Harnessing the power of the Beast Within. Inner resources,
taking heart despite setbacks, empowerment, moral courage,
conviction, resolve, creative energy, power to achieve, going for it,
facing difficulties and tackling challenges. Patience, acceptance,
composure, forbearance, tolerance, understanding, sympathy/empathy,
compassion. Persuasion, guidance, influencing others, ruling through
love rather than fear, empowering rather than overpowering. Tough
love.
ALSO: Harmony with the environment and other life in it. Women's
freedom and power. Wildness.
MEANINGS REVERSED: Despotism, abuse of
power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace. Weakness,
powerlessness, cowardice, vice, passions take over, giving in to
destructive desires/habits and not having the willpower to stop. Ill
health, disease, sickness, need for recuperation, impotence or
sterility. Inner torment, vacillation, indecision, lack of faith,
pessimism.
ALSO: Being out of tune with the music of the spheres. Inability to
act naturally or in harmony with the environment; abusing the
environment.
ASTROLOGICAL: (1) Aquarius--reformer; (2) Virgo--modifier; (GD)
Leo
ANIMAL/INSECT: lion, bear; ant, cockroach
PLANT: dandelion, 'weeds'
MUSIC: (Renaissance) flute
OCCUPATIONS: security/body guard, body builder, trainer (of humans or
animals), vet, wildlife rescue, park ranger
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 The Vision
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Tarot |
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This page is excerpted from my original contributions to an online
Tarot course discussion of this card graciously sponsored by
Pandora's Bookstore.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/major/Strength/08IMHO.html
