Tirza Schaefer: Romance Author & Goddess Facilitator

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The Strength card of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, traditionally Number Eight but sometimes swapped with the position of Justice on Card Eleven, symbolises your inner power. However, I have chosen to adhere to the traditional form of numbering, rather than adopting the more modern one. Neither one is better or worse. There are good arguments for both ways and it is entirely up to you which path you want to follow in this.

 

When you face obstacles or disease, this is a very auspicious card to draw. Strength represents your deepest animalistic instincts and the raw power within you that has not yet taken shape or form. It is up to you to give a form to your power, or else, it will overpower you. When you think of the Egyptian lion goddess Sekhmet, you have a divine archetype for this power. Sekhmet is both, a goddess of war and of destruction, as well as of the healing arts. From this, we learn that the raw power within us is neither good nor bad. Instead, it is energy that must bow to the will of its master, the mind.

 

When your mind is disciplined and you harness your power in a controlled manner, giving it a distinct shape or form, your inner power can become the source of great deeds and manifestations. It can sustain your willpower and support you in keeping consistently on your path towards the goals you have set for yourself. In this way, Strength can denote great good coming your way or being created and brought forth by and through you.

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However, if you unleash your inner beast without giving it its proper direction, this animalistic power will be the source of great chaos and destruction. In order to work effectively with your inner power and allow it to be a source of strength, good character and perseverance, you must learn to control your inner beast.

 

Once you have a good grasp of how to direct these powerful, but raw energies and give it shape and form, you can effect great good in the world and utilise your strength in order to get far ahead in a short time. Like the Hindu elephant god, you are the “Remover of Obstacles,” one of the many titles of this deity, albeit the most well-known and widely worshipped aspect.

 

So don’t fight or try to suppress this animalistic raw power within you, because this will merely lead to you losing it and disempowering yourself. During my Usui Reiki Master initiation, I had a vision of Ganesha and at the time, I still felt small and powerless and thought that deities are way above me, better, higher, way more powerful than any small, insignificant little mortal. I will never forget His words! “Don’t you understand? The power lies in you!”

 

I had taken Ganesha to be an outside power, far greater than any strength I held within me or was capable of ever possessing in my human form. Instead, He told me himself in this way that He was an aspect of me, my inner strength, my own innate power personified as a giant elephant.

 

The same applies to you. The card Strength tells you that you have all the power you need to manifest anything you desire. All you need to do is direct the energy in the right way. Do this consistently and with mindful intent and you can move mountains!

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