Margarete Petersen : XI - Strength - the bliss center on fire

firemaiden

XI - Strength

link to image: Kraft

As I see it, Strength is depicted here as the spirit of woman at full-moon, when her magic is highest. All her chackras wide open and spiraling energy, she dominates the great eagle-feathered lion-clawed snake-skinned white goat/stag thing before her. His horn is the crescent moon. As she steps on his claw - she unifies all things in the cosmos, joining in the great cycle of ends and beginnings, waxing and waning, submission and dominance.

  • Translation
    Painted with red, she dances in the middle.
    She is surrounded by a fine net of channels left and right.
    In the Muladhara --where the spirit of fire lives --amidst the flames
    which are her nourrishment
    she is the moment of creation
    like a spark in the light.
    Her BEING-THERE* a flowing
    LETTING GO OF SELF.

Oh dear... we will need, I think, a translation for the translation.

*DA-SEIN

I didn't know what the "muladhara" was so I looked it up. The Muladhara Chakra - is the "bliss center for the physical body" -- corresponding to the perianal area. Now I see how MP has included the Thoth "Lust" meaning for this card.
[...]It is, according to Shakta Tantric doctrine, the seat of Kundalini, the latent cosmic energy or shakti that resides in every living being. When this latent power is activated [...] it rises through each of the rear or spinal chakras, and up through the top of the head, to the Sahasrara or "Thousand Petalled Lotus" located above the crown. There it unites with its opposite polarity, the Paramashiva or Supreme Godhead Consciousness, and the yogi attains total Liberation from phenomenal reality..

I think this uniting of polarities is depicted in MP's painting. Furthermore, perhaps the animal upon whose paw she rests is a deity? I am intrigued by the illustrations on the Muladhara Chakra site -- see the deities at the feet of the goddesses -- oh great knowledgeable ones of AT, enlighten us!



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joya250

hey FireMaiden,

where to begin with this card...?

Does she say why chose to number Strength 11? To me, a Rider-Waite girl, Justice always seemed to fit this position better. But... I'm starting to see some other ways to look at it...

anyway, I dig the sexuality that Crowley invokes on his Strength (or rather Lust) card... and I can definitely see it portrayed here as well. Sex is a powerful force. It has the capability to be Fortifying, Strengthening, Intense. And Lust itself is a powerful motivator. To tap into that potential, unhindered, is huge. It is empowering. It makes us feel ALIVE in all senses of the word. It is physical -- and I guess it brings us into that density. Grounds us so to speak. And, thereby, we create a space from which we become an actual powerhouse of "psychic energy." I'm not just talking about the "act" of sex here, but the embracing of our sexuality in general, and the tremendous effect that can have on us when we celebrate and accept this energy within us and let it flow through our everyday actions and interactions. We all have this power.

Here, I see the beast represents this power, as such. Btw, just what IS this thing? haha. As side note, the first thing that came to me was the stag-like horns, which often represents the "God" or the Male Energy. So it looks like the "conquering of" or rather the integration of the male within the female. There is definitely a Woman Thing going on... what with the moon cycles and such. She is standing on it's foot. She has her hand on it's head. This Force can be overwhelming, but here it knows its place. She is letting the energy flow though her, lighting up her chakras. And then, it flows back into the ground -- as can be seen with the waneing moon descending from her open palm. Back to the sex thing (as if I ever left!) -- it is almost detailing orgasm (bear with me here)... The growing moon, rising up from the Stag Creature's horns (the male/active energy)... coming to fruition, it's fullness, its climax, its peak... then waning back down, to be recycled. And, how about her exhalation? Do you see the white breath blown through her nose? ... and maybe I'm out on a limb here, but just WHERE is that beast's tongue?!? LOL

:) Strength as Concentrated (Self-Generated?) Sexual Power...
 

firemaiden

joya250 said:
Sex is a powerful force. It has the capability to be Fortifying, Strengthening, Intense. And Lust itself is a powerful motivator. To tap into that potential, unhindered, is huge. It is empowering. It makes us feel ALIVE in all senses of the word. It is physical -- and I guess it brings us into that density. Grounds us so to speak. And, thereby, we create a space from which we become an actual powerhouse of "psychic energy."

You said it, babe!!!

(As for Strength being number 11, I would have considered it to be very odd if she didn't respect the traditional Marseille placement--especially since Crowley --who went back to the Marseille order-- seems a big influence here, as well as -- perhaps, Haindl)