Strength: Read the Card

(Tarot Prompts for Writers)

Here’s a compilation of my notes on reading Strength as a card of the day or in a spread.

If you’re just learning tarot, use the deck that most appeals to you, and spend some time looking at your card. What does it say to you? (See my description of Strength as I see it.)

Tarot is personal and open-ended. There are traditional meanings — and yes, you should know them if you want to read tarot cards — but it really only “works” if you follow what the cards mean to you personally. Your strength and my strength may not mean quite the same thing.

Number

The number 11 can indicate vulnerability and danger, but as two 1s, it indicates leadership and power, and as 1+1=2, it suggests balance. It is the successor to 10, so it’s at the start of a new cycle and hopeful as such. Some say it signifies charisma, intuition, and good fortune. (Some decks show Strength as #9 and Justice as #11. See my Reading of Justice for a description of the #9)

Name

Strength implies power, energy, action, courage, and tenacity. There are many forms of strength: physical, emotional, spiritual. There’s strength of will, endurance, the ability to withstand or to face problems, as well as the ability to change things, to move things, to force things to be another way. There’s the strength to be different, to be compassionate, to be with pain and suffering. Life calls for all sorts of strengths. This card implies the strength of integrity and self-control.

Placement

Strength is in the middle of the major arcana, at the beginning of the new cycle following the Wheel of Fortune. Its placement signifies maturity. The card is about the attainment of self-control, channelling energy to a higher purpose, and respecting the way things are without having to accept that as unchangeable. Strength is like the Magician grown up and not even needing a wand anymore.  

Traditional interpretations

The card signifies the defeat of base impulses. It symbolizes female energy subduing male energy. It can indicate the triumph of love over hate, of wisdom over ignorance, of persuasion over force.

The card suggests a subduing of nature but it traditionally includes respect for nature – husbandry, not hunting. The lady sees the lion for what he is. She’s no child thinking he’s a tabby. She knows he can be ferocious. But she has learned to tame him. Not kill him. Not ignore him. Not lock him away. She tames him so that his nature serves her.

The card says that patience and diplomacy and courage — not aggression — will achieve the results you want. Face reality, be mature and compassionate, and deal bravely with your issues.

The card reminds you that you have a reserve of inner strength that will provide you with more power than you realize. It advises you to be honest, compassionate, restrained but determined. 

Be brave. Be strong. Master yourself and all will follow. 

Reverse interpretations

The card reversed can have two meanings:

It can indicate an abuse of power, despotism that alienates others, a pretence of strength that is actually weakness when you surrendering to bullying impulses. You’ve lost sight of your higher goals and lost the sympathy of others. Don’t be too forceful. Use mindful compassion to face your problems and see all sides. 

The card can also indicate wasted effort or defeat and disgrace. It warns you that failing nerve will cost you a dear opportunity. You’re in danger of being overwhelmed and you must exercise your willpower to persist and prevail. Don’t give up now. Be strong. Get back on track and face your problems bravely with maturity and dedication.

Thematic readings

  • In love, strong love, healthy and warm. Compassion in all relationships. This is an optimistic card for romance, especially for female querents. 
  • In work, exude strength of character. Seek ways to increase your professional development. Don’t hide in the background, but don’t act rashly. Be controlled and brave. 
  • In general life, the card indicates reconciliation (with others or with a side of yourself or your past). There’s no reason to fear. You’re no longer easy prey. Be brave. You’ve got this. Meet your problems head on and overcome them through strength of will and gentle persuasion. Don’t hide from them. They are not as monstrous as you might think.

Specific positions

  • Current situation: There is an opportunity to act on your plans if you have the courage to risk. Persuade with gentle force; think about the best way to approach things from your perspective and others’ to achieve mutually beneficial ends.    
  • Past influence: You need to accept yourself and others, to take responsibility for yourself and your life, and to work patiently toward meeting your goals and changing what seems to threaten you. Stop denying and stop hiding. 
  • Outcome: You will have complete success and honour if you defeat your base impulses. In a confrontation between your conscious mind and its shadows, gentleness will win the day. Be quietly determined and all will be well. 
  • Blocked: Progress requires reconciliation with lost paths inward. The card can indicate that you’ve been suppressing your needs, or that you have a false sense of security. You may be either a marshmallow or an aggressor, and neither path is best. You need to show more compassion for others. Be less self-centred; empathize and relate to people. Don’t dominate. But set your boundaries. Control your fears. 

Questions for the Querent

  • Do you have any reaction at first sight of this card? What do you focus on?
  • Do you see this card as you? (The lion or the lady?) As someone in particular?
  • Do you ever feel out of control? Are there parts of yourself that you can’t deal with?
  • Are you a marshmallow or an aggressor? A peacemaker?
  • Have you experienced weakness disguised as strength?
  • In what situations do you feel strong? Or a need for strength?
  • In your current situation, do you try to look beyond your own point of view?
  • Do you have a tendency to deny problems?
  • Do you believe you’re stronger than you know? (You are!)
  • Why is she opening the lion’s mouth? To show off? To retrieve something? How does he feel about it?

Keywords to aid Memory

  • Compassion/Gentleness
  • Courage/Control
  • Patience/Determination
  • Mature confrontation

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Images on this page are by the following artists: Banner, 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 (also shown in box); Radiant Rider-Waite deck illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith; Dragon Tarot illustrated by Roger and Linda Garland.