Strength At A Glance
Keywords: Physical/mental/emotion strength, will power, patience, delayed gratification, hard work, earned rewards, confidence, self-worth, overcoming fear
Season: Summer
Zodiac/Planet: Leo
Strength Tarot Card Description
Strength is the ninth card within the major arcana and is usually numbered as 8. Within the original RWS (Rider Waite Smith) system which most modern day tarot cards are based on Strength card’s art depicts a young maiden in a flower crown restraining a lion with ease.
Her hands rest inside the mouth of the lion who holds it open for her. They are in a beautiful lush field and the scene is very serene. She is not afraid and the lion is submitting to her with complete trust. This card is all about its name sake: strength. There are many forms of strength, not just physical like the lion’s but the mental strength of the young maiden.
Strength Upright Meaning
When the Strength card is turned over in a card reading and is in its upright position (the art work is right side up) it generally symbolizes the reader is being asked to lean on their strength right now. This means all types of strength, like the physical strength acquired to work hard on something manual, the emotional strength to over come our past and the mental strength to navigate stressful situations in our present.
This card says do not fear hard work because we are up to the challenge. Everything we need for our success is already within us.
“Don’t stop when you’re tired, stop when you’re done.” - Wesley Snipes
Strength Reversed Meaning
If the Strength card appears reversed (the artwork is upside down) then it carries a slightly different meaning. The Strength card, even when reversed, is still about strength but unfortunately the lack of it. Or more accurately the feeling like we lack it. This card reversed is the universe cheering us on and telling us “YES YOU CAN.” It might feel difficult right now but out of adversity breeds strength. This situation is happening for us not to us. Tough we feel weak we are able to do this.
“Tough times never last, but tough people do.” - Robert H. Schuller
Strength: Yes or No
This card is like the universe is a cheerleader and it’s cheering you on. “Yes, Yes, Yes” it chants as it shakes its tree-like Pom poms and dances in the wind. When this card pops up and we’ve asked a simple yes or no see it as a clear and true confirmation sign from the universe.
Even reversed this is still a yes, but there is a caveat that you might need to strengthen an element of your life first before you are ready for whatever the yes entails. For example it is saying “one day soon you will be strong enough to tackle X project so you better prepare by focusing on X now.”
Let’s Break Down Strength In Our Lives
How the Strength card applies to our lives in more detail and what it means more specifically within the different areas of our life.
Strength In Love
If the reader has asked a question about love either romantic or platonic and the Strength card appears then it can suggest this person will be very good for us. They will encourage and support us and be a very positive addition to our lives. We can trust them fully and the feeling is mutual like the connection between the lion and the maiden.
Reversed Strength in love can mean this person may not always be the best for us. We may need to take a step back to conserve our strength and energy because this person doesn’t appreciate all that we give them. It is not saying to leave this person or severe the relationship. It could just mean we need to invest into ourselves a little bit more.
Strength With Money
If the Strength card appears when a question about money has been asked it is suggesting that fortune will be ours if we are willing to work for it. We will need to grind for this and really push with all we have but it is within us do to this work if we choose it. Having worked hard to earn it the riches will feel all the sweeter and mean more to us.
Reversed the Strength card with money means this is not an area we should be trying to push for right now. Our energy will be wasted here because we are not ready to attempt this. We will learn a valuable lesson of knowing our limitations. They can be pushed a little but right now this goal is too much for us.
We can still work towards it but first we need to strengthen ourselves and train hard until we are up to the challenge and remember it will take more time than we initially thought.
Strength At Work
When asking a question about a situation at work or about our careers the Strength card can mean we are more than capable of this challenge and we are the best person for the job. Everyone knows it accept us. This cards tells us to remind ourselves of all our achievements and reach for the stars. We are worth it and we deserve it.
Reversed Strength at work suggests someone sapping our strength and maybe taking credit for our hard work, or leaching from us in some other way. There is no easy way out of this, we need to harness our courage and go above them to fix this situation. We deserve to be recognized for our hard work and if there is unfairness here we must fight it head on.
It can also mean we are putting ourselves down meaning others do not even see how hard we have worked. They take us at face value which is unfortunate because we have sabotaged our work with our words.
Strength With Others
If we are asking about our external world, either our immediate world of people we know or the world at large and we get the Strength card as an answer it means our situation is about to change for the better. There might be a tricky adjustment period but long term this will be much better for us and we will feel much happier in our daily lives.
It can look like a move or job change and how we would need to make all new friends again in these areas. At first it’s scary to imagine starting all over again but once we do we realize we aren’t really starting again because we have the experience we had last time. We must be calm and patient with ourselves whilst we are still adjusting to this new change.
Reversed Strength with others can signify we have been trying to be independent and do everything on our own. We are exhausted and getting nowhere. This card reminds us to lean on other people without guilt or anxiety.
The universe is working with us through the actions of those around us, when we block them we block the opportunities that are on their way to us. Many people in our lives are just itching to help us, we only need to say the words. We must drop our pride and accept their help.
Strength With Self
The Strength card relates to our internal world by reminding us we are so much more than what we believe. We are strong and capable. We have survived so much. From our darkest days to now we have experienced many beautiful happy days in between. This card is a sign from the universe that things are turning around. Our hard days make us stronger. We survived them and very soon we will flourish. We are reminded to have courage and do not stop, the end is in sight now.
Reversed the Strength card with self can symbolize feeling weak and insecure for no good reason. We can sometimes get in our own heads and downplay our achievements. It’s important to have a practice that raises our self esteem if we start to notice ourselves feeling this way often.
We can say positive mantras daily, or keep a journal or record of all the good things we have done for others and all we have achieved. We must combat the negative self-talk head on each time it appears.
Strength As Feelings
This one is quite self-explanatory, there is a feeling of mental, bodily and emotional strength associated with this card. This is how it feels when we are consistent with exercise and we Elaine we can lift a shopping bag or perform other tasks much easier than we could before.
It is the feeling of an old trigger no longer affecting our emotions because we have worked on ourselves. It is the feeling of achievement and pride we feel.
