Very interesting post, Jenna, and extremely insightful. Of course everything has its shadow. Passive aggressive bullies can take advantage through their kindness and the earning of trust before they wish to take liberties. Nothing is free with them, not even love given freely without a price. Making others dependent with their protection schemes is the art. I was intrigued by the Ace of Pentacles coupled with this archetype, but it does make sense. Success and the freedom comes in many forms and there has to be a business plan even for the bully. Bullying oneself of course is also a form of a push to get things done. My mother always said: "You can't plough a field just by turning it over in your mind." ***
Thank you, Dwina! 💖 I love your insights here. Those passive aggressive bullies are deep in the shadows, even more insidious than the more obvious bullies. I love your mother's quote! She's absolutely right, and, as you said, I think when the Bully nudges rather than shoves, it can be a force for good. Thank you so much your wonderful comments!
Jenna, what an incredible combination. A combination that invites great healing and support, great empowerment and love. To be held in the Ace of Pentacles is so pure and real. and at the same time so encouraging. To know that when I can release the need to be unkind to myself or to stop doing things that hinder my self care I can actually step beyond the beautiful archway and have a FULL LIFE.
Jenna, your words are always so magically empowering. Blessings to you dear one, and thank you. 💖
Thank you so much, Sam! 💖💖💖 I love the image of stepping through the arch to have a full life. That's sort of my mission this year (2024). I've been committed to being in love with my life, which I'm finding is so very much about FULLness and FULfillment.
When I read this the first thing I felt was "were are in love with something we are so FULL in every aspect of our life, and the tumbles that life presents invites us to address them in a different way." You are very inspiring Jenna. 💖✨💖
The visual of the Bully stepping onto the pentacle and being illuminated is wonderful!
I was raised by a Bully that did a lot of operating from the shadow, and I have a lot of Bully in me too. It was so nice to read so much positivity in your post! Understanding where the opportunities for manipulation or power-over exist, but then not exploiting and instead leveraging those vulnerabilities for good is a type of superpower I hadn’t considered before.
Thank you so much, Jenna! 🤗💕 One of the things I love most about this work with the archetypes is seeing the ways that the antidote to the wound is contained somewhere in the same pattern. The Bully is definitely one that we mostly know from the shadow side because of how we've been wounded by it (either through bullying ourselves and/or having been bullied by others). But when we can see its full expression, we get to know the gifts and superpowers of the pattern too. For me, among other things, it really helps me with processes like forgiveness too.
Fantastic, Jenna!! This reminds me of something I learned about biology as well the other day, about how our body develops from an embryo. The different cell types inside the embryo all have a variety of functions, but it's sometimes through bullying by other cells that they follow their proper path. I remember for sure that skin cells heavily rely on this bullying to be so effective for their task!! Otherwise, they'd just do whatever they want, and mess up the whole system. That said, I've much experienced the dark side of bullying (my mother took pride in being domineering) as well. This article was super enlightening. I love your way of matching archetypes to the different tarot cards. ✨🙏 Take care.
Thank you so much, Gustave! 🤗 The idea of skin cells bullying each other to stay on task is fascinating! Thank you for sharing that with me! It reminds me of how one of my teachers used to always say "try your best to be regular sized." By that he meant that it's a very real fact of life that there are things/beings that have more power than us and also that we have more power than other things/beings. When we accept that and don't engage in what he called "power mixups" (where we're trying to have either more or less power than we do in any given situation), these varying degrees of power can be used for the greater good. And now I'm going to spend some time thanking my skin cells for their experience of bullying. ❤️
Again, I am always fascinated by the pairs that present themselves to you, Jenna thus to these posts. This pair is... well, let’s say, different? When I consider the bully, I rarely see the light side just because the damage and trauma they inflict can be quite substantial. So, thank you for the light side, I will need to consider this some more. What arose for me around this reading is the inner bully. I could not ever imagine inflicting these thoughts on anyone else, but I do that to myself. Words of shame, blame, guilt, etc. My inner bully knows exactly where to rub it in. With that said the AofP is like the rising of the Divine Feminine. A grounded presence of life in form. Inviting me to remember the true abundant nature of my essence. Bringing a different language, one of connectedness, rootedness and love. Reminding me that the inner bully is not a natural part of the persona, but one installed there by the bulling of patriarchal messages that have been around over the millenniums.
I love this, Julie! The Ace of Pents as the rising of the Divine Feminine. So beautiful! When the might of the bully in the light is suffused with the kindness, tenderness, and abundance of the Divine Feminine, true power can be known and, even more importantly, become a framework for real relationship. I love this. Thank you, friend! ❤️
Hi Jenna, I love how you have given both the light and the dark side of the bully archetype, so that we all can investigate this archetype within ourselves. "But, at its essence, the Bully is all about power dynamics, which isn’t always a negative thing."
I love this especially too: "By acknowledging the dual nature of the Bully archetype, we can transform its energy into a force for positive change and connection."
And I love the invitation, "to reflect on our relationship with power." Thich Nhat Hahn's book, The Art of Power really resonated with me. I love how he says that there is only one true use of power which is to alleviate suffering within ourselves, and in others.
That Thich Nhat Hanh quote is so beautiful! It makes me want to sit and contemplate how I use power in my own life. Thank you so much for sharing this, Camilla! 💖
Sadly a good portion of bullies are malignant narcissists. But interesting examination between the bully and Ace of Pentacles. That is one card I would have never associated with a bully.
Thanks, Miriam! 🤗 I know it, when I drew these two cards, I thought for a moment about reshuffling both decks and starting over. But that would be cheating. Lol. I had to sit with this one for quite a while. The Bully is one whose light side is so much harder to see. We almost always associate it with its shadow side (because so many of us, unfortunately, have been bullied).
No you definitely had to put out what you got so I get that! I only have compassion for mild bullies who were falling into peer pressure that went out of their way to apologize, mean it, and admit their mistakes. I get it as none of us are perfect but the malignant ones are either narcissistic or psychopathic or both.
Very interesting post, Jenna, and extremely insightful. Of course everything has its shadow. Passive aggressive bullies can take advantage through their kindness and the earning of trust before they wish to take liberties. Nothing is free with them, not even love given freely without a price. Making others dependent with their protection schemes is the art. I was intrigued by the Ace of Pentacles coupled with this archetype, but it does make sense. Success and the freedom comes in many forms and there has to be a business plan even for the bully. Bullying oneself of course is also a form of a push to get things done. My mother always said: "You can't plough a field just by turning it over in your mind." ***
Thank you, Dwina! 💖 I love your insights here. Those passive aggressive bullies are deep in the shadows, even more insidious than the more obvious bullies. I love your mother's quote! She's absolutely right, and, as you said, I think when the Bully nudges rather than shoves, it can be a force for good. Thank you so much your wonderful comments!
Jenna, what an incredible combination. A combination that invites great healing and support, great empowerment and love. To be held in the Ace of Pentacles is so pure and real. and at the same time so encouraging. To know that when I can release the need to be unkind to myself or to stop doing things that hinder my self care I can actually step beyond the beautiful archway and have a FULL LIFE.
Jenna, your words are always so magically empowering. Blessings to you dear one, and thank you. 💖
Thank you so much, Sam! 💖💖💖 I love the image of stepping through the arch to have a full life. That's sort of my mission this year (2024). I've been committed to being in love with my life, which I'm finding is so very much about FULLness and FULfillment.
When I read this the first thing I felt was "were are in love with something we are so FULL in every aspect of our life, and the tumbles that life presents invites us to address them in a different way." You are very inspiring Jenna. 💖✨💖
The visual of the Bully stepping onto the pentacle and being illuminated is wonderful!
I was raised by a Bully that did a lot of operating from the shadow, and I have a lot of Bully in me too. It was so nice to read so much positivity in your post! Understanding where the opportunities for manipulation or power-over exist, but then not exploiting and instead leveraging those vulnerabilities for good is a type of superpower I hadn’t considered before.
Thank you so much, Jenna! 🤗💕 One of the things I love most about this work with the archetypes is seeing the ways that the antidote to the wound is contained somewhere in the same pattern. The Bully is definitely one that we mostly know from the shadow side because of how we've been wounded by it (either through bullying ourselves and/or having been bullied by others). But when we can see its full expression, we get to know the gifts and superpowers of the pattern too. For me, among other things, it really helps me with processes like forgiveness too.
good 👍
Thank you! 💖
Fantastic, Jenna!! This reminds me of something I learned about biology as well the other day, about how our body develops from an embryo. The different cell types inside the embryo all have a variety of functions, but it's sometimes through bullying by other cells that they follow their proper path. I remember for sure that skin cells heavily rely on this bullying to be so effective for their task!! Otherwise, they'd just do whatever they want, and mess up the whole system. That said, I've much experienced the dark side of bullying (my mother took pride in being domineering) as well. This article was super enlightening. I love your way of matching archetypes to the different tarot cards. ✨🙏 Take care.
Thank you so much, Gustave! 🤗 The idea of skin cells bullying each other to stay on task is fascinating! Thank you for sharing that with me! It reminds me of how one of my teachers used to always say "try your best to be regular sized." By that he meant that it's a very real fact of life that there are things/beings that have more power than us and also that we have more power than other things/beings. When we accept that and don't engage in what he called "power mixups" (where we're trying to have either more or less power than we do in any given situation), these varying degrees of power can be used for the greater good. And now I'm going to spend some time thanking my skin cells for their experience of bullying. ❤️
Again, I am always fascinated by the pairs that present themselves to you, Jenna thus to these posts. This pair is... well, let’s say, different? When I consider the bully, I rarely see the light side just because the damage and trauma they inflict can be quite substantial. So, thank you for the light side, I will need to consider this some more. What arose for me around this reading is the inner bully. I could not ever imagine inflicting these thoughts on anyone else, but I do that to myself. Words of shame, blame, guilt, etc. My inner bully knows exactly where to rub it in. With that said the AofP is like the rising of the Divine Feminine. A grounded presence of life in form. Inviting me to remember the true abundant nature of my essence. Bringing a different language, one of connectedness, rootedness and love. Reminding me that the inner bully is not a natural part of the persona, but one installed there by the bulling of patriarchal messages that have been around over the millenniums.
I love this, Julie! The Ace of Pents as the rising of the Divine Feminine. So beautiful! When the might of the bully in the light is suffused with the kindness, tenderness, and abundance of the Divine Feminine, true power can be known and, even more importantly, become a framework for real relationship. I love this. Thank you, friend! ❤️
Thank you very powerful and revealing!
Thank you so much! 💖
Hi Jenna, again thank you! You gave me a very different and extremely useful insight into the ace of pentacles. Ta heaps Arpana
Yay, thank you Arpana! 🙏💕
Hi Jenna, I love how you have given both the light and the dark side of the bully archetype, so that we all can investigate this archetype within ourselves. "But, at its essence, the Bully is all about power dynamics, which isn’t always a negative thing."
I love this especially too: "By acknowledging the dual nature of the Bully archetype, we can transform its energy into a force for positive change and connection."
And I love the invitation, "to reflect on our relationship with power." Thich Nhat Hahn's book, The Art of Power really resonated with me. I love how he says that there is only one true use of power which is to alleviate suffering within ourselves, and in others.
Thank you for such a beautiful post, Jenna!❤️🙏🕊️
That Thich Nhat Hanh quote is so beautiful! It makes me want to sit and contemplate how I use power in my own life. Thank you so much for sharing this, Camilla! 💖
Sadly a good portion of bullies are malignant narcissists. But interesting examination between the bully and Ace of Pentacles. That is one card I would have never associated with a bully.
Thanks, Miriam! 🤗 I know it, when I drew these two cards, I thought for a moment about reshuffling both decks and starting over. But that would be cheating. Lol. I had to sit with this one for quite a while. The Bully is one whose light side is so much harder to see. We almost always associate it with its shadow side (because so many of us, unfortunately, have been bullied).
No you definitely had to put out what you got so I get that! I only have compassion for mild bullies who were falling into peer pressure that went out of their way to apologize, mean it, and admit their mistakes. I get it as none of us are perfect but the malignant ones are either narcissistic or psychopathic or both.