(Tarot Prompts for Writers)
What I See in the Card:
Strength is a mature card.
In some decks, Strength is #8 of the major arcana (blame the Golden Dawn cult for that — maybe they needed strength early to control their impulses), but the traditional Marseilles deck features Strength as #11, so my Balbi deck does too.
Strength typically shows a woman gently overpowering a lion. Strength is not just the woman; it’s the woman with the lion, the relationship between them. In my card, they share the same colour hair/robes and fur, which suggests their close relation. Together they depict the meaning of Strength.
Many decks show the woman beside the beast, but my card shows her on top of the lion and opening his jaws. The way she subdues him suggests domestication — once tamed, he might serve her and her wishes. She’s a little more domineering than I care for — but perhaps her beast is especially strong and difficult to control. She does what must be done.
Some Strength cards show a different kind of animal, but the lion is most common. The king of beasts. The lion signifies the baser impulses; the lady signifies the higher. Together, they are the journeyer. Some say the lion signifies male aggression, and the lady signifies calm control. The suggestion is that, where you are when you get this card, what your situation requires is gentle authority. Tame your beasts if you want to continue well.
The pointed mountains and grey sky in my card suggest a harsh world around them. They’re together in a calm, secluded green space surrounded by indifference or struggle. They really ought to get along if they’re going to make it through this world; they shouldn’t add strife with each other to the strife they’ll encounter beyond this grassy knoll. They’re going to function best as a team.
The lady is not trying to get rid of the lion, to kill or banish him; they can both live, together, but it will work out best if she’s in control. They’re not really enemies, but the lion is clearly captive to the lady. She’s trying to subdue him, maybe change his ways or keep him on a short leash. This is a taming, a gentle and wise dominance, for the good of both. Or so the lady says.
It feels to me like they know each other well. This is not their first encounter. They’ve met before, and if they should part ways, they’ll meet again. In some decks, they appear to be friends. I wish that were the case with mine, but it’s clearly not a relationship of equals. She’s in control. And that’s probably for the best, because if the lion were in control, the lady might be dead. Or at least lion-less.
Use calm, gentle authority to control your beastly side. You’re stronger than you know.
Read will take you to my notes on how to tell a fortune with Strength — traditional interpretations; what the card might mean in different positions; keywords to help memorize meanings; and questions to ponder or ask the querent.
Write will take you to a few prompts for launching from Strength into a story. A first line, a setting, and a few famous sayings — three possible ways to turn Strength into fiction.
Tarot will take you to a central Tarot-Prompts page.
Go ahead, you’ve got this.
Images on this page are by the following artists:
Banner (and top box), left to right: Marseilles deck engraved by Nicolas Conver; Druid Craft deck illustrated by Will Worthington; Tarot Balbi by Domenico Balbi; Gilded Tarot by Ciro Marchetti; Radiant Rider-Waite deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith; Dragon Tarot illustrated by Roger and Linda Garland.
Mid-page boxes: Tarot Balbi; the Tarot Luna.
Catherine Austen 