Embodied as The Lover
The Dimension of Powerful-Work
Inspired State of Attunement
Builds the Capacity for Unconditional Love
Responsive, Self-Mastery, Strength
There is enormous power in the rising of leopard energy. Though appearing languid when at rest, harmless when not yet in motion, the bulky paws are heavy and willful, unexpectedly resistant, and the body is all muscle, a massive hyperalert predator, capable of alarming speed.
Spots rising into the Fox is a signifier that reminds us of deep mammalian circuits that are designed to protect us and those we love. It can also tear apart prey with a burst of effort. This force is frightening for many because we have all been preyed upon. Few are comfortable with their own assertions of strength. They either reflectively disown their potency or abuse it.
Responsive
Why this painting?
When you are responsive, which is an Inspired state of your authentic self, you are merging with the leopard. He is such an effective animal in the wild (undomesticated) landscape because he is always alert, relaxed, until the moment he needs to act. Let that be your mirror. Look until you can see your inner strength staring back at you, and honor it. This is a strategic resource which you squander at your peril.
When you are relying on your strength, use it focused and intentionally, otherwise, as leopards know, you will just lose your power, get outmaneuvered by panicked creatures who do not deserve to get away, and you will feel humiliated standing in the dust.
The Leopard merged with the Fox can be a confusing portrait for those who do not understand the Power required for unconditional love and acceptance. To provide empathy and support without judgment or criticism is extraordinarily difficult for mammals. Insight is a precondition, and you must somehow find a way to self-acceptance, self-empathy and self-support without judgment or criticisms before you can extend it. The Powerful-Work is that with sufficient insight you can provide safety enough so two together can explore beliefs about themselves and about others that have led to misery and Pain. Only in a bond of co-created genuine love can attachments traumas begin to heal.
Inside Out:
What do you call your strength? Give it a name, maybe several names, so that you can call it to you when you need it. It is a living being. It wants to be named because there is a certain magic in that. Intimacy and familiarity. It is like a nickname in a family. It means you are serving your role. A name may even have dulled the pain when they hurt you. But here naming is not in the service of any pathology. It is in alignment with what is True and Beautiful. Of course, you must use it that way.
Directing your attention with intention requires energy. So, if you allow yourself to be depleted by the societal or interpersonal spectacles, you will simply be too depleted. You will not have the resources to see beneath the veil, and you will mirror the conclusions of unenlightened monkeys. You will drop out of Love and into Fear.
Upside Down:
When potency is required, gather your strength for what is to come. Though there are many times when the best response is to take no action; when spots are rising, you are being tested and challenged in a way that will require speaking up. Reveal there is amble weight behind your assertion. Step out of the forest into the light. Recognize your great Heart which resists hiding in the bushes. You have the capacity to stand against an injustice and express yourself with conviction. If you have had an ambivalent relationship to your own anger, then consider loving anger, which is simply protecting what needs your protection, as a grown leopard will stand between danger and vulnerable cubs. Loving anger holds both boldness and self-mastery; strength and wisdom; care and assertion. You are a complex creature, capable of keeping your Fox wits about you, while growling out a clear no or an unequivocal yes.
Staying in this energy is exhausting. It takes effort to modulate such animal energy according to the needs of the moment. Tangling with Narcissistic personalities (Working for Power energy) is especially draining. If you have a prolonged need to assert yourself, you will need equal time to chill out in a safe refuge. Give yourself permission to rest and to be nurtured when you can.