Strength Askew

From the RochesTarot, Strength; from the Animal Shaman Vision Cards, the Salmon:

          Something seems off-kilter in this Strength card. I get the feeling that the man is trying to suppress his feminine side. Is he afraid to appear gentle, tender and nurturing in front of his colleagues? Perhaps he's in a profession that looks down on such traits, believing it makes him appear too soft and passive. Particularly among religion and politics, I've to noticed a swing back to gender-specific roles lately, as if a person should only act one way if you're male or female. But while someone might have certain physical characteristics on the outside, all of us have feminine and masculine traits on the inside. I don't think it's healthy to try and repress those traits simply to impress someone or fit in with a group. Could a person be happy and content with such an arrangement? I think he'd have more luck trying to get that cat to jump through the ring of fire.
          Typically, most salmon are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce. The term "salmon" comes from the Latin salmo, which in turn may have originated from salire, meaning "to leap." It is descriptive of the driving instincts of mature salmon to return to their spawning ground. Celtic mythology and poetry identifies the salmon as a symbol of knowledge and wisdom. This card implies that acting from both our masculine or feminine sides is natural. And the Celtic element reminds me of the ancient Greek maxim to "Know thyself." Being true to oneself can be freeing:

I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness. ~ Walt Whitman

Yet in dealing with others, kindness and respect will always have an important place:

 No man is free who cannot command himself. ~ Pythagoras