Today’s card is a reminder that the work we do with shadow self may not make us sweat, but it’s some of the most important that we do. Our elder here is practicing the art of Tai Chi. These slowed down movements, as I understand it, can be used for self-defense when they are done faster.
What I love about this card is the use of the wall. It reminds me of a quote that I got in yesterday’s email.
There comes a time in a man’s life when to get where he has to — if there are no doors or windows — he walks through a wall. -Bernard Malamud, novelist and short-story writer (1914-1986)
I think this is an important secret for us all to know. Strength is walking through walls when there is no other choice. It is speeding up the movements we’ve been practicing and putting them into play.
For now, this elder simply practices. But, in his heart, he knows that he has the strength to walk through that wall if he must. I find this to be such a calming card. I can imagine myself beside him learning the movements and the flow. Once I have the muscle memory, I’ll be good to go.
Joy seeking is the same for me. I practice it every day. I focus on it with intention. Joy, for me, is my six year old’s pony. You know…if you wished hard enough, you would get a pony? Yeah, that. Joy is my pony.
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Strength, Feng Shui Tarot Deck
A very beautiful card! I love Tai Chi! Body memory is a fascinating thing. Very different from other types of memory. I think it is the same memory as riding a bicycle or brushing your teeth or playing the piano. That is why I think that people who play an instrument or practice martial arts gain something intangible from that. It’s a deepening of things. You learn how to grow deep somehow.
I loved your reference to walls. One person may believe that a wall exists and another may be slowing moving through it through practice.
Amy, those walls are funny things, aren’t they! I love the idea of slowing our movement down and practice the steps until we are simply through the wall.
I loved the aspect of gaining strength through shadow work! Such a great message. Not sure about this deck, though, the minors are very strange. Perhaps, as with the wall, it’s a question of working through them until suddenly they make sense 🙂
I read a great review on this deck that suggested NOT looking at the minors as reworked cups/swords etc but as the Feng Shui animals instead. I’m trying to wrap my brain around that.