Readings
Two Cards
If you are trying to make a very important decision in your life and you don’t know which path to follow, if you are really doubtful about the consequences the crossroads tarot spread will help you to find your way.
Strength
Upright
Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, compassion
The Strength card represents strength, energy, and power – like the Chariot. However, while the Chariot means outer strength and will, the Strength card symbolizes the inner strength. Strength is about knowing you can handle life’s challenges. You have great stamina and endurance, balanced with great patience. You are committed to what you need to do, and you go for your goals with maturity and inner calmness.
When the Strength Tarot card appears in a reading, you are full of individual power. You do not rule by trying to dominate others; you quietly influence and convince. And this is also an advantage that others may underestimate your power, however, it is so ‘transparent’.
Your strength gives you the confidence to overcome fears, difficulties or uncertainties. You have got what it takes to see this situation through to its final. You’re a loyal friend and a supporter and you might also feel compelled to hold space for someone who needs your power and help.
The Strength card advises you to ‘train’ your animal instincts, and raw emotions, and channel these primary responses constructively. It’s normal for negative feelings such as anger, fear, rage, shame, sadness or guilt to appear in certain circumstances. However, it’s what you do with these feelings that make all the distinction. Now is a time when you need to be alert of your instinctual urges. Overtake your situation from a place of love and compassion.
Reversed
Inner strength, self-doubt, low energy, raw emotion
When the reversed Strength card is shown up in a Tarot reading, it may be time to tune in to your current levels of inner strength. Are you overflowing with self-confidence, or are you exhausted? And how can you take these features back into balance?
You may be lacking in self-confidence if you have lately experienced a setback. Know that your center strength will always be with you and now is as good a time as any to reconnect with this strength. You may hold more strength and flexibility than you have always believed – so, be gentle to yourself.
Check on your energy levels right now. The reversed Strength card is your call to rest and withdraw for a temporary period to restore your energy levels. You must take care of yourself first, so you will be able to take care of other people too.
In its shadow form, the reversed Strength card warns that you are likely to show unstable behavior and becoming aggressive. You may end up doing something you regret later by acting without thinking. The key is not to repress the raw emotions and urges, but to learn how to channel it so it won’t hurt others or yourself.
The Empress
Upright
Femininity, beauty, nature, nurturing, abundance
The Empress implies a strong connection with femininity. Femininity is explained in many ways, such as elegance, sensuality, fertility, creativity, nurturing – and is necessary for creating a balance between your masculinity and femininity. Create beauty in your life. Connect with your senses through taste, touch, hearing, smell, and sight. Be drawn on these senses to experience pleasure and joy. Explore different methods for expressing yourself creatively, be it through painting, music or other kinds of art.
You are in a period of growth; your all dreams and purposes could come into fulfillment. When the Empress appears in your Tarot readings, take a moment to think about the generosity that surrounds you and offer gratitude for all you have created so you can continue to build on this energy and create even more wealth in your life.
Like the Mother Earth model, the Empress urges you to be in nature to be in flow with the earth by grounding your energy. Take a trip to your favorite places such as forest, beach, mountain or lake and explore beauties, breathe in good energies. Receive the grounding spirit of nature into your heart and mind. So, you can reach higher planes of consciousness.
By being are in tune with the energy of the Empress, you will simply take on her mothering nature. You feel a strong urge to nurture and care for others, with deep compassion and care. You see it as a gift and an honor to help others. You may step into the role of ‘mother’, perhaps as the mother of a newborn, caretaker of other people’s children, or spending more quality time with your kids.
The Empress can also hint pregnancy or birth. This may be an actual pregnancy or childbirth, or a metaphorical ‘birth’ of a new idea. Bring your creative ideas into being by nurturing them and supporting their growth. Allow those designs and their demonstration to flow through you, acting with compassion and love.
Reversed
Creative block, dependence on others
Reversed, the Empress inspires you to make self-love a priority. Now is the time to bring your loving energy and focus to yourself, especially if you have been giving away your power by placing too much weight on another person’s emotional or material needs, therefore ignoring your own needs.
You may also need a more powerful connection with nature. Now is the perfect time to spend even just a few hours in a natural setting such as a beach, park or garden.
The Empress reversed can suggest that you are feeling a creative block, creating a new idea or expressing yourself.
The reversed Empress may call your awareness to problems around body image. Are you very critical when it comes to how you look and the shape of your body? Learn to love your body again and rediscover your beauty, inside and out.
Or you may take the ‘mothering’ role too far in your relationships, by becoming overprotective, co-dependent and controlling. If this resonates, it is time to shift your focus from the mother-child relationship to an adult-to-adult relationship by creating freedom and trust.