Strength, Hunger, and Fear
Inspired by a recent tarot spread
This started as an Instagram post, but I realized I had a lot of thoughts and figured that it deserved a bit more real estate. To be perfectly transparent, I debated sharing this. 1. It’s part of my personal tarot practice, and 2. It’s inspired by someone else’s work and not my own original thought. Then I decided that those doubts are hogwash. First, personal experiences and storytelling can be impactful and inspire others to their own self-inquiry. Secondly, it’s an opportunity to share someone else’s work that I highly value.
This string of thoughts was inspired by a tarot spread I got from Oak Moon Tarot’s recent Substack, where she discusses 2024, a Universal 8 year in numerology (2+0+2+4 = 8), which corresponds to Strength, the 8th card in the major arcana in the Smith-Waite tradition. She discusses how she sees Strength as related to hunger, appetite, and the ways we honor or suppress it. Strength corresponds to the astrological sign Leo, which rules pleasure, fun, creativity, and desire. The cards I pulled for the spread really hit, and I hope you enjoy it.
To start my 2024 Strength Year, I chose the following spread to explore themes of hunger, appetite, and the Strength card:
Card 1: The hunger I’ve resisted feeding - 6 of Cups (Joy, playfulness, nostalgia, childlike wonder)
Card 2: The fear behind the resistance - 4 of Pentacles (Security, stability, scarcity, control)
Ooof. If this isn’t the definition of modern adulthood, I don’t know what is.
A few months ago I had a dream about a conversation with a random woman who told me, “I think I’m a repressed child.” I replied, “I think a lot of women are.” (It goes without saying that this applies to adults of all genders.)
We resist giving in to our childlike impulses to play and do things just for the fun of it. We ignore our physical hunger and our innate wisdom in nourishing our bodies. We become “responsible adults,” seeking the modern world’s definition of safety and security. We believe that if we’re having fun, we’re not prosperous or productive, a cardinal sin in our capitalistic society. We compartmentalize and shape shift to fit the mold instead of showing our whole, weird, unfiltered self. We fear that we’ll fritter away what we worked so hard for if we loosen our grip. We tightly control and optimize our environment, rather than trusting that things will work out even if we don’t know what the future holds.
The 4 of Pentacles on a good day models grounded stability and taking a beat for gratitude. You cease striving for a moment and say, “You know what? I’m good where I am for now.” When left for too long, this energy can become stagnant and fearful. It’s the devil you know vs. the devil you don’t. It’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. It says, “If I keep doing what I’ve always done and cling to what I have, I can stay comfortable.” The paradox is that what seems like the ultimate security can also be our downfall: Everything stays the same. Nothing changes. Life becomes predictable and small. We cling to old ways as we’re dragged kicking and screaming into a future that implores us to dream bigger. There’s more to life than dutifully continuing the familiar routine. We’ll never know what’s available to us if we don’t leave our comfort zone and see what’s out there.
We embody 6 of Cups energy when we realize that we can revive our childlike wonder without losing the solid foundations we’ve built. We embrace simplicity and see the world with curiosity and minimal judgement. We remember that safety and security lies in connection rather than superficial power and success. Joy and lightness is available to us in the daily grind, even if it’s something small. It’s not always frivolous or irresponsible to acknowledge and make time for these things; it sustains us and gives us energy to keep going.
Reflection Questions:
What old ways do I cling to out of habit or fear that no longer serve me?
What foundations keep me grounded and stable?
What did I love doing as a child that I stopped doing because I learned that it was silly?
How can I incorporate little moments of wonder into my day?