Strong Enough

From the Slow Tarot, the Nine of Wands; from the ROAR Oracle, Sojourner Truth:

Persistence and resilience only come from having been given the chance to work through difficult problems. ― Gever Tulley

Goodness, this woman looks exhausted and worn, but she's still standing. I can understand today how she feels; you take care of one thing only for another to arise that must be dealt with. If I get lost in the self-pity of "what now!?" I can fail to appreciate what I have already accomplished and may give up. This resilient lady is likely very aware of the cherry blossoms blooming on the wands behind her, showing the successful progress she has made. She takes the proverb "No hill lasts forever" as gospel. Sojourner Truth was an evangelist and an advocate for abolition and women's rights. In 1851, she delivered her famous “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech, challenging prevailing notions of racial and gender inferiority and inequality. She welcomed the challenge to make a stand for her values and beliefs, ignoring the expectations of others, and she would encourage us to do the same.

 If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them. —Sojourner Truth 

Swift Change

From the Brady Tarot, the Eight of Feathers (Wands); from the African American Wisdom Knowledge Cards, 'Sojourner Truth:'

          The gyrfalcon (Jer-falcon), the largest falcon in the world, is a fierce predator in the Arctic. It plummets to the ground at speeds up to 130 mph to catch prey unaware. The Eight of Feathers/Wands is about swift culmination; if we don't want to end up as surprised as this ground squirrel, then advance preparations need to be in place. Sojourner Truth was a slave who escaped to freedom in 1826 then spent her life crusading for the end of slavery and equal rights for all. She chastised the abolitionist movement who seemed focused on achieving civil rights victories for black men, leaving both white and black women without suffrage and other key political rights. Sojourner refused to be delicate and demure because she realized fierceness would be needed in creating such change. When change is afoot, sometimes it requires a transformation of attitude and stance as well.

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.

― Leo Tolstoy