Tag: strength

Cats, Chiweenies + Focus

I like the linear look of this card. I have to tell you that I haven’t even looked at the rest of it. Just pulled a card this morning to see what the deck’s first message was.

BleuCat_8Strength002So today’s card is from a brand-new deck. It will be released in two days. It’s from Schiffer so you know I love the box. There’s something else about the box this time but I’ll show you that in a video review…later.

Today I wanted to talk to you about the Strength card. In the Bleu Cat Tarot by Beth Seilonen all the cards are of a Siamese…blue point.

The thing that leaps out at me here is this cat’s focus. Even though a butterfly and a dragonfly hover within paw’s reach, le chat is all about the fish. ALL. ABOUT. THE. FISH.

Talk about intense right? Strength used to be called Fortitude (sometimes still is) and carried a message about single-minded purpose. This card has that going on, y’all.

I like the linear look of this card. I have to tell you that I haven’t even looked at the rest of it. Just pulled a card this morning to see what the deck’s first message was.

Focus.
Intensity.
Single-minded purpose.

I had an example of that this morning from my chiweenie, Batman. My yarn bag was on the loveseat. He decided it was the optimal bed. No amount of NO from me could pull him away.

So I moved the bag.

No sooner had I sat back down then I heard the bag rustling. Looked up and, yep, sure enough, he was dragging it back to the loveseat. Smart little cookie.

I moved it to a non-reachable by chiweenie place.

So now he’s curled up on my purse. Guess the loveseat isn’t soft enough. But my 14 year old Maine Coon is now right beside him so he’s got his desired cushy bed.

That was my lesson in focus this morning. My own living Strength tableau!

[Tweet “Your journal prompt today is, “What am I focused on? What can grow stronger once I get serious about my intentions?” “]

Strength, Bleu Cat Tarot, Schiffer Books, 2013

Seek joy, y’all. Pass it on.

What Do You Not Like?

What is your Modus Operandi when faced with something you just know you won’t like? Have you ever thought that gut feeling might be fear? That maybe you have brought in your own prejudices into the mix?

Efflorescent_8StrengthToday’s card reminds me that sometimes I must try what I think I won’t like. I have to experience things firsthand. Parents have to do this all the time to their children. My mama was pretty strict in some areas. One of those was the “three bites” rule. I’ll bet many of you have been through that on both sides of the spoon.

Here we see a lion seeming to grimace or growl as a woman tenderly hugs him. He isn’t ready for this gentle touch. He wants to go rage and roar and rip things up. But he’s allowing her this intimacy because of trust. What we don’t know is how she built that relationship. I doubt it was instantaneous.

How do you build relationships? What is your Modus Operandi when faced with something you just know you won’t like? Have you ever thought that gut feeling might be fear? That maybe you have brought in your own prejudices into the mix?

I have. I just knew I wouldn’t like yoga. I knew it would hurt my back. I knew I would ache afterwards. I’d look stupid doing all those weird poses and people would laugh at me. But I bartered two readings for a private lesson anyway. I did that because I really liked the two guys I was reading for. Their partnership makes me smile.

Then I put off doing the yoga class until I realized my heel dragging was inconveniencing someone else. So I went.

Yeah, you know the end of this story, right? Loved it. Wanted to do it every week. Haven’t yet but that’s on my this year list. And you can still join me in creating your Incredible Year. It’s never too late.

So for your 180 seconds today, can you commit to trying or exploring something you are sure you don’t like just in case it’s just fear holding you back?

And for the record? I’ve tried lima beans and beets. It’s not fear. It’s really that I do not like them. 😀

Seek Joy, Y’all! Pass it on!

Strength, Efflorescent Tarot, Katie Rose Pipkin
(I own two of the black and white version)

Tarot In Nine Words: Strength

rws_strengthIn my ongoing effort to write a poem for each of the major arcana, I have the Strength card in front of me. This is from the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot. Card 8 in this deck is the classic scene of the woman taming the lion. For me this is not an external struggle so much as an internal one. I see it as the external manifestation of our personal struggles with our own shadow selves.

This card is big for me right now as I am doing some personal shadow work. The second to last line came to me during some of this core examination. I realized that I needed to Continue reading “Tarot In Nine Words: Strength”

Musing on the Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets Strength

The Fool climbed out of the chariot and stood watching as the Charioteer disappeared in a cloud of dust. Looking down at his dog, he murmured, “I wonder how he knew what I was looking for? Oh well, let’s rest a bit then we can go find this woman and her lion. I’d like to see that, I think.”

So the Fool wasted no time at all. He whistled to his little dog as he set off at a brisk pace. All the time he wondered what he would find when he found the woman and the lion. The sun was high in the sky when he began but as he walked, time passed while the sun fell lower and lower in the sky.

“I don’t know if we will ever find this lady the Charioteer told us about, Dog.” The Fool stopped to drink from a crystal clear stream. “Do you think we should just forget about all of this searching for Will? I mean–is it that important after all?” Continue reading “Musing on the Fool’s Journey: The Fool Meets Strength”