A Year of Strength

Strength is the card of the year for 2024. If you’re wondering why, it’s pretty simple: 2 + 0 + 2 + 4 = 8, and Strength is card number 8 in the Major Arcana in the Smith Waite deck.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but I can say for myself that living my values over the last several years has required some courage and a lot of resilience. I have also gotten better at transforming rage into productive action and letting compassion be my guide—even when I’m dealing with people whose views I find abhorrent. (I’m on the School Board in a small Midwestern city. Use your imagination.) These are all lessons from Strength.

I don’t claim to be able to read the future, but I feel confident suggesting that we are all going to need a lot of Strength energy as we head into 2024. Here are some of the qualities I associate with this card:

• Empathy
• Active listening
• Partnership
• Rewilding
• Self-acceptance
• Self-control

Some of what I’ve just said about Strength only pertains in relationships built on good faith and mutual respect. No one should feel compelled to empathize with someone who hates them. You are not required to listen to people who demean you. You do not have to engage in a partnership with anyone who does not see you as their equal. The wisdom of this card is built on a foundation of self-knowledge and self-love. Strength talks about your relationship with yourself and your relationship with nature—nature being a complicated concept that includes plants and wild animals but also your instincts and intuition.

Here are some questions you might ask yourself on the cusp of the new year:

• When do I feel most fully myself?
• How can I be showing the vulnerable and difficult parts of myself more love?
• Where in my life do I need more trust and negotiation?

This post is public. Share it with someone who could use a little strength.

A Postmodern Witch’s Guide to Strength

I’m also putting the finishing touches on a downloadable workbook that includes a history of the Strength card, suggestions for what this card might mean in a reading, and more guidance culled from decades of working with Tarot. This guide will launch on December 9 is currently available as a lightly discounted preorder.

So far, Postmodern Witch has been free for all. I will continue to make free posts, but some of what I offer will be for paid subscribers only in the year ahead.