reception

"sadly. . . we often have negative associations with the bodies that bore us. those of us that have been assigned female frequently feel boxed into being valued for the the sole abilities of making babies and sexually gratifying men. male assigned folks likewise face the threat of being targeted if they are seen as feminine. out of these very real concerns, many of us have come to associate letting go, giving, and admittance with danger.

this misconception can actually make us more vulnerable to outside influences. the walls and rules we create to protect ourselves may also be blocking out nourishing energies that we need, not only to survive, but to thrive and to grow. pulling this card is not an indication that you should allow anyone or anything into your life. . . hold your own hand and open up to deeper intimacy, while distinguishing what is actually dangerous from what just feels emotionally vulnerable. . . this is a great time for you to heal misconceptions about creation and mothering."

"your creative energies will heighten when you seek out and receive things that feel good. don't get stuck in social ideas of what sex and sensuality are supposed to look like. . . our world is generous in its complexity. . .

receiving has often been associated with weakness. it is actually the sturdiest of endeavors."

-the collective tarot

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"for a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. the shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. to someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction." -cynthia occelli

dogs

"in capitalism, we are told it is a 'dog eat dog' world. in scarcity cultures, dogs are likely to eat other dogs even when food remains, in anticipation of the aggression of others. we are told to look out for ourselves because others will not extend kindness or generosity to us. when community members make choices presuming that others will fail them and are not trustworthy - that it is best to look out for yourself because no one else will - you are complicit in creating a culture where that is true. in cynicism, we anticipate the worst and so manifest it. the seven of feathers is a calculus based on the assumptions of how others will react. sometimes the world is bleak. we witness our community's collapse in moments when we would most like to see our friends rally together and take care of one another."

"am i making choices that privilege my wellbeing to the detriment of others? are my choices informed by the assumption that other people will do me wrong? further, ask yourself: are members of my community, family, or friend group looking out for me? do i trust the people around me? the seven of feathers does not suggest you are wrong to imagine other people could be disloyal to you, or make choices that come at a cost to you. instead, it asks you to examine the ways you could disrupt that."

number 8: strength

from the collective tarot

strength is about letting go of control, grounding in self knowledge, and living in your own power.  this strength image represents surrender, integration, and vulnerability.  it's about living in communion and partnership with all parts of self.  the decorated and half-naked person draped with cloth gazes at the lion, exhibiting great trust and knowing.  her concern is not with maintaining control, but with collaborating with and understanding her many-chambered self - and, from a place of self-knowing and integration,she establishes her own authority, developed not from domination but grounded power.

the traditional image for strength is a womyn (the self) gently dominating a tamed lion (base selves civilized and under control), who gazes up at her devotedly.  this image relies primarily on assumptions about gender and power - that a feminine figure could dominate a dangerous wild beast implies miraculous power and strength.  acting emotionally or irrationally are feminized, and therefore devalued, modes - the traditional imagery and interpretation of strength leans heavily on privileged "mastery" of emotions, and seeks to uproot emotional and intuitive agency.

in masculinist traditions, strength is equated with "conquering fear" and is characterized by the absence of weakness.  strength here is both the product of and the source for integration of disparate and diverse parts of self.  this image represents literally facing your fears and emotions, building intimacy and equanimity with devalued, instinctive, and non-lingual/non-cognitive parts of self.  strength invites you to make a place at your table for your instincts and feelings, to honor that which you normally fear - initiate a collaboration.

pulling the strength card indicates an opportunity to examine old ideas of indestructibility, self-blame, courage, work ethic, and bogus cultural claims of rugged individualism.  this is a chance to parse out your own ideals and principles from the rich buffet of cultural baggage around strength.  do you ask yourself, or force yourself, to "prove" your strength in ways that aren't true to who you are?  are you gritting your teeth to wait out some infringement on your boundaries?  in work, school, parenting, and community, can you make time for yourself to replenish, daydream, travel, draw?  knowing and loving yourself actively and fully are unshakable sources of strength.

this card is an opportunity to think about what you're asking of your body - are you getting enough sleep?  eating well?  getting the action you want?  dancing?  moving and breathing?  in our inherited ideas of strength and unstoppableness, we often tax our physical selves to a point of self-destructiveness.  our inherited ideas of strength derive much of their punch from the ableist, classist, sexist, racist, capitalist structure we function within.  pulling the strength card is an invitation to look at the patterns in your life, and to work on getting closer to your own inner sense of groundedness, clarity, self-care, and healthy power.

mythical images of noble character, martyrdom, and purity have mitigated our intuitive sense of strength.  it doesn't make us any less strong when life circumstances demand that we compromise our ideals.  we live in a broken system, and we frequently have to use broken tactics in order to survive.  if we don't want to acknowledge we're compromising our beliefs, we usually pay, in some form, to let someone else compromise for us.  strength is about learning and following your own compass - incorporating the brilliance and idealism of your community and your culture with what you know needs to be done.  only you can define your own strength, so do it with integrity, accountability, and confidence.

this card indicates communication and fellowship with animals and plants.  it represents empathy and support for spheres of life dominated by human-centric culture.  this is true on a very physical level, but also functions as a metaphorical representation for one's own animal-selves and inferiorized, "lower" selves.  the strength card can indicate a leap toward risk, a departure from learned or familiar ways, and can invite or acknowledge the questioning of these established modes and ideas.  it calls you to be your own best ally, to advocate for and honor all forms of life, in yourself and in the world.  it indicates that you are following your internal compass, your sense of self, or suggests that you need to do so.

often, power and strength become synonyms for not getting hurt - learning how to eschew vulnerability, withhold trust, inspire fear in would-be combatants, out-smart abuse, and stay vigilant.  here, strength is about being grounded in systems of support that interrupt patterns of isolation - "doing it all myself".  it is about love, support, and esteem manifesting in the individual as a result of radical and transformative community.  the self represented in this image of strength is unburdening himself of defensiveness.  he is learning to trust, rather than trying to function based on fears, assumptions, old hurts, and old patterns of woundedness.  he is tired of living his life trying to prevent getting hurt again.  by connecting with deep knowing, you have the strength and clarity to trust new steps, to take risks, love big, and luxuriate in the wealth of feelings and experiences your life has in store for you.

the strength represented in this card is strength you already have by existing, not by physical strength or ability, not by conditioning, not by biting the bullet or turning the other cheek or bending so as not to break.  it is about the strength to break and rebuild, to bend with the wind, and the exhilaration of the strength implicit in just being alive.  strength is about defining yourself, and surrendering to being changed.  groundedness in desire, integration, surrender, and fierceness - knowing who you are, what you want, and why you do what you do - are all sources for and products of strength.