We are all living life with different struggles. We are all navigating life, and though we travel our own paths, we encounter the same themes and realities under different circumstances. A tarot deck is representative of the spectrum of the human experience. Each card in tarot has a traditional meaning and each deck the creator’s interpretation of that meaning. Kaila Wilde uses her knowledge and interpretation of the tarot as a personal growth tool and to create an affirmative statement + note to keep us lifted and to remind us that we are not alone.
Each week, take what you need. Leave what you don’t.
Some Sundays, I step away from my standard affirmation/reflection/application format and just go with whatever flow I’m feeling. We refer to said notes as Wilde Cards ;)
Wilde Card: Strength
I love words so much and for different reasons. One thing that I love about words is that they often carry more than one meaning behind them. Today, I want to dive into the word strength. The majority of people think of physical power and force when we think of strength. However, there are other ways to define strength.
The Strength card can be symbolic of various inner strengths (i.e. mental and moral strengths) that we possess and that should be celebrated. Below, I want to explore the strength in qualities that can sometimes be overshadowed or overlooked as measurements of strength.
To genuinely and properly love is a strength.
The most powerful love is a tangible action and often requires us to go to the greatest heights and depths in order to love people properly and to love people in the way they deserve to be loved. Love requires the use of much of our energy, and anything that requires our energy requires some sort of strength on our part. We are strong when we choose to love because often the easier option is to stop using the energy and effort required to love, so in choosing to love people (universal love, self love, romantic love, etc) we demonstrate one of the greatest strengths we possess - our ability to love (or to learn to love) people genuinely and properly.
To be loyal is a strength.
Throughout life, we are tested and tempted with opportunities and scenarios that put us in the position of choosing between being loyal or being disloyal. Every time we choose loyalty we showcase strength because temptation is rooted in weakness. Every time we stand strong in our ability to remain loyal we prove to ourselves and to the party that expects or deserves our loyalty that we are trustworthy and dependable. It takes a lot of strength to remain loyal but that is where true power lives - in choosing to do the right thing when it is easier to choose what is in front of us.
To be authentically you is a strength.
From the moment we are born, we are living up to the expectations of someone. As we grow into and learn who we are, sometimes it can be a struggle to be who we want to be or do the things we want to do. Struggle or not, it takes strength to truly live how we want to live because all around us somehow or another we are being fed an expectation of who we should be or what we should be doing based on some box we should fit into (i.e. gender, race, socioeconomic status, upbringing, etc.). For those that can quiet the outside noise of other’s expectations and figure out their own expectations and live by their own rules - they possess a strength and freedom in authenticity that I pray fills us all at some point in our lives.
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There are so many qualities and strengths that we can possess that qualify as indicators of strength: being mature, being disciplined, being able to let go, being honest, etc. I pray that we begin to value these strengths as much as we value physical. Happy Sunday - or whatever the day of the week you are reading this. Be blessed.
Tarot Card from The Lioness Oracle Tarot