The Spectrum of Expression

📸 Justine Anweiler, The Spectrum of Expression, 2025.

The Spectrum of Expression: Repressed → Radical → Regulated

I work with *The Spectrum of Expression often.

As someone with a Core Gift (Core Gift Institute) of helping others to step into their fullest expression — I know it well. Because I’ve lived it.

The steps of personal and collective evolution follow the same pattern:
1. Repressed → 2. Radical → 3. Regulated

If you know the tarot deck, these would go:
1. Emperor/Hierophant (oppressive obedience)
2. Tower (systems detonation)
3. Empress (embodied authority)

Collectively, we are moving from 1 to 2 – leaving the space of Repressed expression and learning to use our voice. In the transition from 1 → 2 there is a growth period that appears quite jarring and chaotic.

Think: Bambi learning to walk.

It is the space where we learn through external feedback, being cancelled, and somatic awareness, where our limits lie.

Our current politics and global affairs are supporting this development. In the devastation of what’s happening in Gaza, we are collectively championed to use our voice. Awakening us to the knowing: we have individual power that lies dormant when we are submissive and silent.

What’s important is that we hold space for the Radical (knowing it is temporary) and actively encourage the transition to Regulated expression. I think many of us who feel doom and gloom at the moment are worried we won’t leave this toddler stage of collective development.

But we will.

Because the future demands it of us. As more people lose their sh*t in rush hour traffic, as more politicians enable/encourage hate speech, and as more of us are less in control of our temperaments – we also feel more. And with more feelings comes the awareness of what life can be like at Phase 3: Regulated Expression.

Phase 3 is communication of our truths from a place of confidence over conviction. A place of inner knowing over external pandering. A place of responding over reacting.

The concentrated charge switches from anxiety to excitement.

Lastly, I think part of the universal attraction to my dear friend Taylor Swift is that we have watched her move along (and play with) the spectrum. Younger videos show a girl Repressed (1) by the music industry and constrained by what a woman "should be". Her music to non-Swifties is mediocre at best, but to a fan, it is radical. In her lyrics, she is saying things that most of us would never let leave our heads. And as she has experimented in the Radical (2) phase with her music, she is now experimenting with Regulated (3) expression in podcasts, interviews and her music. Always remembering the outlet she has for being radical and using it with skill and mastery. She knows when to enter and leave phases. Inviting other women to do the same.

Where do you sit on the Spectrum of Expression?
If it helps you to use a 1-10 scale, label Repressed as 1, Radical as 5, and Regulated as 10.

*The Spectrum of Expression was developed by Justine Anweiler as part of her work on expression and transformation.

Article FAQs generated by ChatGPT:
1. Why is it necessary to move beyond Radical expression rather than staying in it indefinitely?
Radical expression is an essential stage because it breaks repression, unleashes voice, and challenges external constraints. However, staying in Radical expression can create cycles of chaos, burnout, and defensiveness. The goal is not perpetual rebellion but integration — reaching Regulated expression where truth can be communicated with clarity, confidence, and sustainability. Without moving beyond Radical, collective progress risks becoming stalled in reaction rather than transformation.

2. How does connecting the Spectrum of Expression to tarot archetypes deepen understanding of the process?
By mapping the stages onto familiar tarot archetypes — Devil (Repressed), Tower (Radical), and Empress (Regulated) — the author grounds the theory in universally recognizable symbols of growth and transformation. This provides readers with both a visual and intuitive framework: oppression → disruption → embodied authority. It enriches the concept by linking it to a lineage of spiritual storytelling, making the spectrum easier to remember and apply in both personal and collective contexts.

3. In what ways does Taylor Swift’s evolution illustrate the Spectrum of Expression for a wider audience?
Taylor Swift’s career shows how an individual can move across the spectrum publicly. Early in her career, she embodied Repressed expression, shaped by industry expectations. Her radical phase surfaced in her music, where she voiced raw, uncomfortable truths that resonated with fans. Now, she demonstrates Regulated expression, balancing vulnerability with authority in interviews and public platforms. Her trajectory models how expression can evolve with mastery — serving as both personal empowerment and collective permission for others to do the same.

4. How does Taylor Swift having access and an outlet for Radical expression help her to have Regulated expression?
Through Taylor’s songwriting, music videos, and controlled media rollouts, she has a safe container to experiment, push boundaries, and say things that might be “too much” for ordinary conversation or mainstream interview formats. In that space, she can vent raw feelings, test new narratives, and explore edges without repressing them.

Because she’s not bottling it up, she doesn’t get stuck in repression or explode unpredictably. Instead, she cycles that charge into art. This is what allows her to practice emotional honesty without permanent fallout. As a result, when she moves into Regulated expression (her interviews, podcasts, philanthropic choices, or stage speeches), she’s already metabolized the intensity. The emotions have been alchemized into art, which frees her to communicate from clarity, calmness, and embodied authority.

Without Taylor’s outlet for Radical (2) expression, she might still be trapped in Repression (1) or swinging wildly between silence and overexposure.