In the world of numerology 2024 is an 8 year (2+0+2+4=8). In the world of Tarot, Strength is the eighth1 card in the Major Arcana. So the theme for this year ahead is Strength. Now, no matter what you believe about numerology or Tarot, I think that exploring the idea of Strength can’t hurt, can it?
Strength is especially needed in the world these days. But not just physical strength. The world needs Tarot Strength.
In Tarot, the Strength card signifies inner strength and fortitude. Strength that rises from within and manifests in patient, loving ways. There is no hastiness in Strength. No rash decisions nor violent defeat of enemies. No lashing out. Instead, there is the reminder that we can only face our fears and our struggles if we are willing to actually see them and feel them. Otherwise, we’re raging impotently in the dark. Otherwise, we risk damaging ourselves as well as others in our quest for destruction.
Strength tells us that the only way to overcome our challenges is not through force but through understanding and acceptance, through compassion. Strength invites us to embrace our fear so that we can understand it, forgive it, and hopefully move through it.
Basically, Strength begins within you. It’s not dependent on what you do to others or to yourself.
So if you can, lay aside any skepticism you might harbor regarding the usefulness of numerology or Tarot and join me in an exploration of the Strength card. I’m actually really excited about this because Strength is my favorite card!
I invite you to look through the depictions of Strength below and let your mind gentle and relax. See what comes up for you. Which versions of Strength resonate? What might they mean for you in your life? How can they help you to embrace Strength this year? You don’t need me to tell you what a card means when you see it, although I will write some notes because I can’t help myself and it’s just so fun! Tarot can be read—and actually I think it often should be read—intuitively. You know how a card is best meant to fit into your life. Deep down, you know where wisdom and support are needed. So take a few deep breaths and dive into strength.
Lastly, before I move on, I wanted to share a little one-sentence scribbled note I took before giving an interview on the Strength card in Tarot last fall:
Maybe the greatest act of strength is to be in our bodies while we feel things.
The classic. Ole faithful. This is Pamela Colman Smith’s revolutionary depiction of Strength for the deck commissioned by Arthur Waite and first published in 1910 (this is the 1971 version). This was the first deck to depict the Minor Arcana cards with full scenes and not just as numbered pips. Notice how gentle and loving the woman is as she closes (opens?) the lion’s mouth. See the red flowers and the white dress—passion and purity? And there’s that gorgeous lemniscate (infinity symbol) floating above the woman’s head. Is Strength infinite? Is love infinite? And that mountain in the background—might it be telling us that strength takes time and can only grow from very great, primordial depths? Some people interpret the woman and the lion as the animal, instinctive part of our nature being balanced and controlled by the thoughtful, reasoned part of our nature, or the conscious taming the unconscious. Does this resonate for you?
Here’s the Dreaming Way tarot illustrated by Kwon Shina and the Carnival at the End of the World tarot by Kahn & Selesnick. I love Kwon Shina’s soft pastels and quirky costuming. Notice how the woman and the lion both have their eyes closed and together they move very purposefully toward the right. Into the future? And look how soft and gentle her hand is atop the lion’s head. No force involved. Kahn & Selesnick depart from tradition but still keep the red and white theme and the mountain theme going. Is she putting her head into the lion’s mouth or taking her head out of it? You decide.
Tarot Nova illustrated by Julie Paschkis and The Transient Light Tarot by Ari Wisner show us two new versions of Strength. Julie Paschkis gives us a joyful, naked woman and a silly, playful lion looking contentedly into each other’s eyes. Is the woman naked because strength is about who we are underneath all our trappings? Also, there’s a lovely little red bird, again, perhaps signifying the red of passion? Also, remember that red is connected to the root chakra, if that feels relevant. In Wisner’s Strength the lemniscate sits above and between the lion’s eyes—the third eye? Also of note, the lemniscate is held within the shape of a diamond. This could perhaps, like the mountain, be another reference to the passage of time and the importance of patience. Also, diamonds are multi-faceted—a reference to strength having many different faces?
How beautiful are both The Zillich Tarot by Christine Zillich and the Mary-El Tarot by Marie White?! These decks seem to almost vibrate with such luscious warmth and passion. Orange and yellow—what do these colors mean to you? I especially value Marie White’s version of Strength because it reframes strength around faith and prayer. Whatever your religious beliefs, I think this is a beautiful reminder. There’s also an almost palpable sense of intentionality in this card. Also, ahem, sexuality. Wowza. With Zillich’s depiction, I find the way the woman embraces the lion really beautiful, achingly so. She’s not just subduing or quieting the lion; she’s loving him. All the oranges, reds, and yellows in that card feel especially important, too. Color theory? Hmm.
Here in the Little Sister Tarot by Ginny Thomson and the Scorpio Sea Tarot by Maggie Stiefvater we see a mountain lion and a horse, respectively, instead of the typical lion depiction. I love Maggie Stiefvater’s Strength with the horse especially, because it brilliantly illustrates the idea of Strength being more about restraint than it is about force. She’s not pulling or tugging aggressively. She’s feeling what is necessary. Also, notice how her eyes are closed. Do you know what strength feels like in your body? Where does it live? In Thonson’s Strength, notice how the woman and the cougar are looking off to the left. Might this signify looking into the past? Does this mean anything? Also, that mountain lion looks fierce. It’s not going to take any crap from anyone.
The Forest of Enchantment Tarot illustrated by Meraylah Allwood and the Witches Wisdom Tarot illustrated by Danielle Barlow are two lovely earth-based departures from the classic imagery. Allwood’s version could be an alternate storyline to Little Red Riding Hood, couldn’t it? Those little pink flowers are so soft and innocent. The wolf’s gaze is so soft as well. Barlow’s version with all the animals is brilliant. I imagine that strength to each one of these creatures means something different, doesn’t it? Can we remember this when comparing ourselves to others? How many different faces Strength can take?
Here, both the Tarot de Carlotydes by Carlota Santos and the Fyodor Pavlov Tarot also depart from the traditional lion imagery. Santos’ illustration is interesting to me because although I don’t feel like it resonates with me, it is useful to me. I spend so much time thinking about Strength as not being physical that it’s good to remember that physical strength isn’t a bad thing. I look at this woman and I think her Strength is about discipline and close attention. What could it possibly mean? Then, in Pavlov’s guidebook, he says that this wolf is “a mix of a wolf, Barghest (the black dog of death), and a werewolf.” Later in his explanation, Pavlov also writes, “in the German lowland of Schleswig-Holstein, it was believed that a werewolf could be cured if one were simply to address it three times by its Christian name … There is also a legend that claims the voice of its loved one can transform the werewolf back into a human being.” So what is he saying about Strength here?
Here in the Tarot of the Abyss by Ana Tourian and The Wild Unknown Tarot by Kim Krans we see Strength primarily in black and white. Tourian’s woman and lion look particularly solemn and almost suspicious, as if they’ve been hurt before and yet know they must still go out into the world and see what happens. Does that resonate with you? How hard it can be to keep being strong when you’ve been betrayed or disappointed in the past? What support might this image offer? Kim Krans’ lion is my favorite lion! So welcoming and so wise. He reminds me of what I imagine Aslan would look like from Narnia. And that rose clasped so delicately in his jaws—! Powerful imagery indeed. This Strength never fails to give me courage and hope. I find him so comforting.
More lions in nature! These Strengths are from The Majestic Earth Tarot by J.D. Hildegard Hinkel and the Elemental Tarot illustrated by Rohan Daniel Eason. The Majestic Earth Tarot is a deck that uses paintings from the Hudson River School (Strength is the painting Lion and Lioness by Wilhelm Kuhnert). This is also our first depiction of a clearly female lion! In the guidebook Hinkel writes, “they are completely what they are, without intellectualizing, without fear or doubt. They live knowing life is death, and death is life.” In Eason’s illustration the lion exposes his belly, relaxed and content. Is Strength vulnerability? The herb beside him is ginger. The flowers beyond are wildflowers. They look like they could be poppies… Relevant?
Here we have the Botanica Tarot by Kevin Jay Stanton and the Spiral Tarot by Kay Steventon. Stanton’s Strength is our first plant depiction of Strength! In his deck, Strength is ironwood, a plant that can withstand harsh conditions and still thrive. Steventon’s Strength card is very similar to the original Smith-Waite version but with added astrological (Leo) and elemental associations and the Kabbalistic Tree of Life represented down in the left corner of the illustration. Steventon has presented white roses as well as red roses. The lion has a beautiful solar emblem on his forehead. This version interests me because the lion isn’t especially friendly looking. It’s actually quite terrifying. That open mouth looks dangerous. And still the woman is calm and purposefully as she works to close his jaws. She is not frightened.
Lastly, I’m sharing the Tree Spirit Tarot by Laurel Virtues Wauters and the Gaian Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert. Wauters depicts Strength as a mangrove tree. As she writes in her guidebook, this is because “mangroves exist to support coastal shorelines by taking the brunt force of tidal waves, hurricanes and tsunamis. They disperse this potentially destructive energy through their elaborate and exposed root system.” Does this give you any added insight on the idea of Strength? For Colbert, I’m so glad to see a woman of color represented! Although we’ve come a long way thankfully in representation in tarot, in the 90s Colbert’s Gaian Tarot was one of the first to show strong, capable women of color in the Major Arcana. I love that both the woman and the lion are female and that they are embracing each other with clear love and understanding.
I hope these different illustrations of Strength can be useful for you! Believe it or not, I actually have more decks than this! But I’ll leave it there for now…
Here’s to a new year full of Strength.
I read Tarot using the Smith-Waite, Golden Dawn, and Marseille systems. In the Thoth system created by Aleister Crowley, Strength and Justice are reversed, making Justice the eighth card in the Major Arcana and Strength (renamed Lust) the eleventh. That’s why some of the cards I’m showing here are labeled 11 instead of 8.