not a centaur

This is a very strong card.

We have the centaur in the centre of the card, obviously the primary symbol on this card. But what is a centaur? Well, as you can probably see on the card itself, the centaur is made up of the top half being man, and the bottom half is made up from a horse, including the horse's tail and the horse's hooves.

A centaur is related to Greek mythology and often he is connected with the Greek god, Dionysus. And that Greek god is the god of wine, of revelry. And, quite often, the centaur is seen as rushing into a situation and causing havoc.

We're talking about fighting spirit here. If you look at the centaur on the card closely, do you honestly think he is about to rush into a situation and cause havoc? It doesn't feel that way to me, looking at him. Look closely at his face. It feels like he's looking inward, he's gathering strength from within, he is raising his fighting spirit. What this says to me is that you might be in a situation where you need to stand up for yourself, where you may be challenged. We see he's surrounded by what seem to be flames, on the card. The flames are all about passion and all about fighting for what you believe in and standing up for what you believe in. So it does, very much, feel to me that you may be challenged by somebody either about your beliefs, or about the career you have chosen, about you choice of relationship, your choice of friendships. It feels like you are being challenged by somebody or by a group of people at the moment.

And this card is stepping forward and saying, be like this centaur; be strong, hold your head high, but don't rush into a fight. Raise the fighting spirit in you so you can stand up for what you believe in, what is right for you, not what other people see is right for you or what they believe is right for you, but what you feel is right for you.

If you feel passionate about it, stand up for yourself but don't go in like a bull in a china shop, don't completely wreck everything in your path. You want to have the strength, the thinking, the hard work, the effort of the man. You want to have the power and the stamina of the horse. And loyalty as well, horses are loyal as well. You want to be loyal to who you are, have the stamina to go the distance. Because this battle might not be over shortly. It might be a longer battle. But if you are passionate about what this is about, you'll go the distance, you'll stick it out.

I'm going to highlight a few things on this card. I've highlighted the red, the flames in the background which is all about passion, all about not entering just any fight but choosing your battles. We're not here to fight with everyone, but we are here to stand up for ourselves and what we believe in. We want to be stong, we want to be passionate about what we do and who we choose to be with, and anything that affects our life. You want to be passionate about that. And you want that passion to come through.

I also want to highlight another couple of symbols.

Firstly, he's carrying a spear and a shield. Let's look at the spear first.

Look at the strength in his hand while his face looks like he's seeking courage and looking inward, his hand is already displaying that strength and that determination. When you throw a spear, it's very direct. You have your eyes set on your target and you throw your spear towards it. It has a very direct force, it's a very strong force. So, in this battle, you want to be direct. No beating around the bush, no dropping hints, no hoping that somebody will understand and read between the lines. When you choose to enter this battle because it's something that you're passionate about, you need to be direct. It's also a symbol of power so you need to have that strength and power behind you and be direct and also, to a degree, assertive.

He's also carrying a shield. A shield is all about protection. You're not going to enter this battle and stand up for what you believe in and stand up for what you're passionate about, without some degree of protection about you, some degree of shielding. Because, if you go and throw a spear at all these poeple who are wanting to attack you, and they throw spears at you, you're not going to stand a chance. You want to have some degree of protection, you want to go in and, because you have this shield and because you're carrying it, you want to have a sense of confidence about you, a sense of bravery, a sense of boldness. You're saying to these people, "This is a battle I'm going to take one. You can't stab me in the back. I'm going to stand up and we're going to address this. We're going to talk this through. We're going to, if necessary, battle this out and it may take a while. But I'm not retreating. I'm not surrendering. I've got my shield of protection and my spear of authority, directness and assertiveness. I'm not going to back down on this one easily. This is a battle I need to fight because it's something that is deep within me, something I believe very strongly in."

The final symbol I want to talk about is the headdress. It's very much like a Native American headdress. And what do Native American's use their headdress to show? It's to give a sign of strength and a sign of bravery as well. It shows that they are the chief, that they know what they're talking about, that what will come out of their mouth will be words of wisdom and that people should listen. And that's the kind of message you want to give across.

So, this centaur is not necessarily your usual centaur that you're used to thinking of in Greek mythology, the one that dashes in and causes havoc and mayhem and can't control his passions and his emotions. This centaur is very thought-full, he's working things out in his head. He's still ready to take action, he's still going to be assertive, he's still going to be direct, he's still going to be brave, he's still going to be bold, he's not going to give up, he's not going to retreat, and he will protect himself, but he is going to do so using sensibility and, I feel, a degree of humility as well. He's not going in all guns blazing.

And I feel that is a really strong message for us today. That whenever you are, or feel you are, under attack by somebody that you don't come out and just brutally attack back. If it's something that you are really passionate about, really care about, something that touches your heart and you feel people are attacking you, engage your head as well as your heart. Don't let your emotions go wild. Engage your head and make sure, when you speak, you speak with authority, you speak with compassion, you speak with love, but you speak with bravery, boldness, and you're willing to take on the battle. You have your shield to protect you, but you're willing to go the distance as well.

It feels like there is a really important battle ahead of you at the moment, or you could be in the middle of it. The card is encouraging you to go the distance, stand up for what you believe in, what is right for you. It may not be what is right for anybody else but what is right for you is what is right for you and that's what you want to stand up for.

So be prepared for the battle ahead or the battle that you are already in. You have the strength, you have the courage, you have the protection, you can go the distance, you have the stamina, and you have the mental ability to win this battle.

Reference: This beautiful card is from Unicorns Oracle Deck by Paolo Barbieri, text by Rachel Paul