Strength

Strength that works through calm, not force. Meet what is wild, in yourself or in others, with patience and a steady hand. Gentleness here is the stronger power.

courage · gentleness · patience · inner strength · compassion

Self-doubt, or strength turned to force. Fear or anger has the upper hand, or you have stopped trusting your own steadiness. Come back to the breath and the open hand.

self-doubt · fear · anger · lost nerve

A young woman in a pale robe, her hair gathered up, leans over a great striped tiger. One hand rests on its brow and the other cups its jaw; the tiger sits calmly, eyes closed, mouth just open. A vine of hanging wisteria loops above her head in a figure of eight, and more wisteria trails from her waist to the ground. Behind them lie soft green hills, pines and a glimpse of water.

In Rider–Waite–Smith tarot a woman in white gently closes the jaws of a lion, a garland of flowers at her waist and the sign of infinity over her head. The card is courage of the heart: the wild force of instinct, anger or fear met with patience rather than a whip. Here the tiger takes the lion's place, and wisteria, a vine soft enough to bend yet strong enough to climb a tree, echoes her kind of power.

Tenderness and patience hold the bond. Meet a hard moment with warmth instead of pressure.

Quiet confidence persuades where force would fail. Meet a difficult person or task with calm persistence.

Next time something provokes you, wait three breaths before answering. Respond from the calm, even if the calm takes a moment to find.

Yes

Patience and steady courage are enough here; gentle persistence carries it.

What wild thing in you is asking to be met with patience instead of force?