Strength Tarot Card – Meaning, Reversed, Guide, Love

Tarot cards offer an amazing insight into the destiny of an individual. Divination practices seize back into the ancient past and, in a way, they are all connected.

Tarot reading, as we know it today, comes from the occultists and mystics quarters of the late eighteenth century Europe, while the richly illustrated cards are older.

The cards originate from the late medieval times and were originally used for playing various card games.

You have maybe heard of tarock or another name. Cartomancy or card reading emerged a bit later.

As for the cards, their meanings have always been full of symbols.

These rich illustrations become even more symbolical when used in esoteric purposes.

There are many variants of tarot card designs. Nowadays, they seem to be a separate art genre!

You could find amazing examples of tarot decks.

However, it is taken that the Tarot of Marseille was the standard pattern, while the most popular one is Rider-Waite tarot deck, an a bit more of a century old suit of mysterious card images.

Rider-Waite deck is a work of the illustrator Pamela Colman Smith and the mystic and academic Arthur Edward Waite.

The imagery of these cards are strongly influenced by the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and the work of the occultist Eliphas Levi.

The deck was first published in 1909; today you could find it virtually everywhere.

The Strength Tarot Card Quick Facts

The cards of a tarot deck are divided into two major suits, the Major and the Minor Arcana.

The cards of the major Arcana are trump cards, 22 in total, numbered from 0 to 21.

Our card of Strength is number eight of the Major Arcana. The Minor Arcana, that is, the rest of the deck, is divided into four more suits.

Each of the cards features carefully and meaningfully chosen symbols.

Let us first look into some basics about The Strength card, before we move on to the visual description and various meanings of the card.

It is easy to guess that the Strength stands for – the strength. There is more.

Key terms for The Strength tarot card: Courage, persuasion, emotional uplift, spiritual power, feminine energy, trust, compassion.

Key essential element of Strength: Fire

Major Arcana numerical of The Strength card: 8

Planet and astrological sign of Strength: Sun, Leo

Yes/No question for The Strength card: Yes

Related to the card of: Star

Visual Description of The Strength Card

Look into the beautiful imagery of the Strength card! As you could learn from the quick facts, The Strength card is strongly associated with the feminine strength, but it is ruled by the Sun, which is masculine principle in esoteric traditions.

Hence we have two dominant figures to observe, one of a fair woman and the other of the mighty lion.

The lady on the image is depicted as a beautiful young or ageless woman. Her face is calm and gentle, her robes are fully white, long and loose.

The white color is always associated with purity, chastity, gentleness, spiritual and divine. The lady’s dress is tighten by the belt made of flowers; roses, in particular.

A wreath of flowers and leaves adorns her golden locks. She has a symbol of infinity above her head, or a horizontal number eight. Do you remember another card with the same symbol?

The Magician, the mediator between the worlds, the master of channeling the inner energy towards the outside, also features the very same symbol.

The Strength woman figure strikingly differs from another we have seen, the solemn High Priestess. She reminds a bit of the Empress, though.

Here, for the first time in Major Arcana, the woman figure is standing (if we leave out The Lovers card, for the man and the woman depicted on that one are meant to be understood as an inseparable pair).

She appears to be a lovely mortal woman, considering her dress and general appearance.

The flowers and leaves are her only decoration and they do remind of the goddesses of fertility, prosperity, nature and agriculture. There is definitely something more about her.

Her ‘magical hat’, to call it so, as it is the same as the one the Magician wears is a symbol of mysterious power, the inner self, the inner potential, which is connected with the divine source.

However, what is the main difference between the figure depicted on the card of Strength and that of the Magician?

The Strength lady has no tools, no special equipment; she does not possess neither the magic wand nor any of the mystical items the Magician has on his disposal.

The ability to transfer that magical force is in her hands alone. Look now at the position of her hands. The woman in the white robe caresses the mighty lion.

The lion does not appear particularly scary, as one might expect of such an admirable and fearsome beast, the king of all animals.

The lion is tamed by the hands of the woman; she looks at the animal with kindness and compassion; the lion is tamed.

The symbolism of lion is that of the solar energy, the masculine principle, the leadership, power, rule, strength, in its raw form.

What is your impression when you observe the card in its totality? It appears pleasant and tranquil, perfectly harmonious.

Behind the woman and the lion, the landscape is green, making you think of pleasant valleys and tame hills. The background is yellow, like the brightest sunshine.

The Strength Card Meaning Guide

I am filled with strength.

Overall, the meaning of The strength card does not appear to be complicated as some other ones. It is first and foremost the allegory of the conquered raw strength.

The woman on the image represents another type of strength; the strength of love, compassion, patience, dedication. It is the spiritual strength, rather than physical; it is the power of trust and faith, as well.

The lion represents the raw strength, the courage of a daring hero, the active principle, the wild physical aspect.

Lion is an admirable beast, associated with royalty, with reign, power and force, with high authority.

However, all of it  remains in the domain of the tangible world. Such a force needs refinement, in order to last.

In other words, one has to control his animalistic nature, by using the spiritual energy, in order to grow and prosper. We have to curb our instinct to devour everything in front of us, in order simply to conquer it.

What helps us in such a process? The unconquerable force of love, above all. The taming of our base instincts through spiritual strength.

The Strength card represents our dual source of strength, the two dominant types of strength.

In this imagery, they are in perfect harmony; the Strength card represents things the way they should be.

The mindset of the card means to be filled with the perfect combination of these forces; actually, it encircles the idea of harmonized forces.

Terms of bravery, heroism, courage and victory are usually associated with strength.

However, wars and battles, to talk figuratively, are not won solely by the strength of the hero’s mighty arm, but by his heart.

There is a beautiful quote by the famous Montenegrin Prince-Bishop Njegoš, who said that shiny weapons don’t fight battles, they are fought by a brave heart.

That is the ultimate message this card has to pass on. We should use both types of our strength, but it is the strength of our heart and soul that should be the moving one, inspiring the other towards highest deeds, and not the other way around.

The infinity symbol could be associated with the infinite power of love, the divine one.

Such energy is the one we should channel. Just as the beautiful woman on the card, all power to do so lies in our own hands. There is another important, crucial thing – trust.

The lion here, the admirable, powerful, though wild beast, trust the woman.

He allows her to tame him, surrenders to her gentle touch, but it is not conquered by it, it is enlightened.

Strength  – YES or NO

Readings of this type are very easy to perform. ‘Yes or no’ readings are perfect if you have a straightforward question to ask.

All that is necessary is one card to be pulled. The answer would be as simple as yes, no or maybe. What about the Strength card?

The answer provided through Strength card is YES. This card tells that you actually have strength to do something you are doubting.

It acknowledges your inner strength and its powerful potential. In simple terms, you do not have to seek for external sources of strength, it is all within your heart.

For this reason, this card would most likely appear as a very firm YES. You should trust your inner self and build your towers through love and faith.

The Strength Card Upright Meaning

When Strength card is seen upright in an opening, all its most positive qualities are on the table.

In general, it encourages you to trust yourself, to trust your spiritual self.

When we want to achieve something (and ‘achieving’ could be a very stretched term, it is definitely not simply about wining the prize in strict, material terms), our first instinct is to use some sort of raw force.

We commonly fail to realize that this raw part of ourselves is, in fact, the one we should first tame.

Overcoming the beast within leads us towards the well-being, towards fulfillment, peace and joy.

There are, in truth, drastically less circumstances in which we should use brutal force for real; our way should be that of love, grace, sensitivity and wisdom.

Once again, the woman on the card has all the tools she needs to tame the lion in her hands.

She is connected with the inner self and the higher realm and she channels that beautiful life-giving energy.

This type of strength is associated with feminine principle and it is linked with terms of compassion, understanding and patience.

The balance between the raw energy and that of the spirit is what you need, what everyone needs in their life. The Strength card tells about the confidence and trust.

You should trust your kind and gentle self, which would always turn you towards long-term achieved tranquility, fulfillment and peace, in contrast to burning, forceful and uncontrolled energy.

The Strength Card Reversed Meaning

When The Strength card opens in a reversed position, it indicates there is no balance between the raw energy and the spiritual one.

You feel as if you have no control over the beast within you; you have allowed it too much and now you have hard times to bring it into order.

The reversed Strength card is about being aggressive, forceful, imposing, furious.

It is greatly about being distrustful, actually deeply insecure, trying to fight the insecurity by using raw, uncontrollable strength as a manifestation of power. You lack the spiritual awareness.

You try to control others, because you cannot control your own ways, by means of force, imposing your rules and ideas, and fear.

You have came to the point at which you cannot recognize the true value of the Strength; you have completely identified you with the raw force.

Sooner or later you will see that holding control over something by using only such force in the end leads to nothing lasting.

The card of the Strength should help you remember where the true strength lies hidden.

It could also tell about someone in your life or someone who will come your way that is forceful, imposing, fearsome and very authoritarian.

No one knows what would be your relation with such one. If it was worth enough, maybe you would be the one to help such person overcome the trap of raging strength, through love, grace, patience and trust.

The Strength Tarot Card – Career Meaning

The Strength card in a career reading could indicates everything you need to achieve your career goals lies in your hands.

You do not need any magic wand or any external help to be successful.

That does not exclude cooperation, creating good relations with others and so on.

It is also greatly about the mutual trust. This is a good sign, when it comes to that.

On one side, the card clearly tells you that everything is at your disposal; moreover, you will ‘feel’ what you should do that would lead you towards your goals.

On the other hand, as it is about understanding and trust, it suggest you will have reliable people around you, those you will have a harmonious cooperation.

This card also tells that it is good to be at service of other people.

For example, some voluntary work engaged with helping those in need or something like that, would be a fulfilling and enlightening thing to do.

The Strength card is greatly about achieving noble deeds; it is not about simply piling up money.

The Strength Tarot Card – Love Meaning

When it comes to romance and love in general, well, The strength card is greatly about the greatest strength a human being could posses, the strength of love.

The strength of balance, harmony, connection. This is the card of compassion, patience, dedication, trust and grace; all are ingredients needed for a healthy and steady and lasting relationship.

This applies on all types of lasting and valuable relationships.

In that sense, the Strength card is an auspicious omen for lovers, for long term friends, for families and relatives, for parents and children, coworkers and colleagues and virtually any relationship of strong and reliable bonds.

The Strength card is about the balance between the two types of energies, the feminine and masculine.

Sometimes the raw, masculine, needs a graceful maiden to tame it; at other times, however, the maiden needs the lion to protect her, but only after they have built this unbreakable bond that is beyond the visible world.

The Strength  Tarot Card – Health Meaning

The Strength card is, as expected, a very good card for health. It tells that all the strength we need to, for example, recover from illness or simply feel well, within our hearts, our soul and our hands.

The healing touch is an expression that comes alive with this card. Sometimes we need a gentle, warm hug from another person to chase away our anger, that comes from our fears.

Speaking about the recovery, be it from physical ailment or a mental or spiritual one, the strength is within.

We should always be kind towards ourselves, which is something people often forget to be.

When you are feeling unwell, you should treat yourself just as the lady on the card treats the lies.

Do not be mad at yourself for feeling week, be nice, patient, understanding and caring.

Strength Combined

Each of the tarot cards gets another meaning if it was paired with another.

Let us look into several examples of The Strength card combined with other cards from the Major and Minor Arcana.

  • The Strength and The Star: Hope for the best
  • The Strength and The Death: Spiritual emptiness
  • The Strength and The Ace of Wands: Loyalty to traditional values
  • The Strength and The Knight of Cups: Close friendship
  • The Strength and The Four of Swords: Relief from problems
  • The Strength and The Eight of Pentacles: Vanity

Astrology and Strength

The Strength card is associated with the brightest of planets in astrology, the golden Sun!

The Sun represents the active, moving energy, self-power, leadership, glory, optimism, motivation and drive.

Strength Zodiac Sign

The zodiac sign of the Strength is Leo, the sign ruled by the Sun. Leos are kings of the Zodiac.

They are self-confident, brave, somewhat pompous and attention seeking, could be forceful and aggressive, but they are overall very passionate, loving; they are loyal, honorable and generous.

Numerology and The Strength

The numerical of the Strength is the powerful number 8.

Eight resonates with the energy of stability, abundance, personal power, inner strength, truth, trustworthiness, good judgment, insight, peace and love for humanity.

It is the number of Karma, some say.

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