A STRENGTH CARD FOR THE FOUND TAROT

The above photo of mine has always suggested a lion's open mouth to me. The mundane name I gave it is even "Lion in Waiting" (4-4-13 12427e). So I'm surprised I've not posted it here before as a possible Strength card for The Tarot. For comparison, here's the Strength card in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck:

As usual when posting new Found Tarot cards, I find that doing so today also serves as a reading for me. The issue is not what may be roaring or swallowed up, but how I relate to whatever is going on. As my Found Tarot Strength implies, to put as much distance mentally and emotionally as possible between myself and disturbances/disruptions before reacting. How do I see this in my version? There's no maiden present. She's way out on the open, grassy plains of the veld, waiting to know how and when to respond. And this sort of waiting does require quite a bit of strength of me. I.e. being patient -- not my strong suit -- and gentling the intense emotions that rise while doing so.

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N.B. A small thing, but just in case: some of the extra reference links offered at the very end of my oldest (years old) posts no longer work. As there are so many posts here to go through I am choosing not to find and change all of those links that are "dead." If you are interested, you can try Googling for the name of the site or article referenced. I've found that some are still around in new locations or incarnations, some not.

'til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot, in whatever ways it comes to you in your life,





[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile")**** SEE ALSO: United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS) (charter member); Roswila's Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila's Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); Trying to Hold A Box of Light for digital photos only.

ONE MORE FOUND TAROT CARD: Strength

Amazing how the associative mind works. I was not up to writing a new dreamku or even dealing with an older one for the daily post to my dreams & poetry blog. So I decided to just post a photo. Well, the photo I chose after a bit of a search began to resonate and I realized it was putting me in mind of the Strength card. Here it is:



Here's what I say today in that dreams & poetry daily post: One quick association: The Strength card in the Rider/Waite/Smith Tarot. Because, as on that card, one can't be sure if there's an opening or closing. Yes, technically its being a flower means it's opening, but given it's a frozen image the direction of motion is not captured. The eye can interpret it as going either way. Here's Strength in the Rider/Waite/Smith deck:



Even the colors are similar to my photo at the top. And I note that bottom middle petal in my photo is a bit tongue-like, as if we are looking down the throat of the lion.

I'd say this process has given me a reading for the day. There are both openings and closings going on in my life. And it is inevitable toward this end of life and given my health issues that the closings would be on the physical plane. (Worsening arthritis, e.g.) I'm also getting an intuitive tug that's urging me not to assume I have identified the openings and closings; that these are always taking place in our lives. LOL! I just saw the RWS Two of Pentacles in my mind's eye ...



... as I thought that what I need to do is get used to going with changes, even if they do make me vaguely sea sick. Note that ship on the rolling sea in the background, not to mention the figure's back and forth dance of balancing. And today I see ambiguity in this card also: Are the pentacles he's holding rocking him back and forth as they roll, or is he shifting them as he dances? Or maybe it's a chicken/egg question, or a happy partnering. Phew. My need to know and be clear is really not being satisfied today. And I'll just have to go with that as the ultimate message for the time being. AhHAH! Maybe there's a certain "strength" in just that: being with not knowing in a graceful accepting way. Unfortunately, even though my middle name is Grace, I'm not feeling very graceful these days.

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‘til next time, keep enjoying The Tarot,

[aka: Patricia Kelly]
****If you wish to copy or use any of my writing, please email me for permission (under “View my complete profile”)**** SEE ALSO: Roswila’s Dream & Poetry Realm for Tarot poetry; Roswila’s Taiga Tarot for taiga (illustrated tanka); and Yahoo DREAMJIN: Group for Dreamku – Haiku-Like Dream Poems.****