8. Strength
i. The Nutshell
Upright
Strength calmly talks you off the ledge with a cup of tea and a stare that sees straight through your facade. This archetype is the reasoning in a world of shouting, the steady pulse under pressure, and the one who reminds you that real power rests in your ability to stay balanced and enduring in a challenging moment. Strength is linked to Leo who is the heart-centered Lion of fire that holds steady in the face of fear. Love meets courage and reminds you that force is easy, but mastery is quiet. The message is to feel it all, hold your ground and don’t mistake gentleness for weakness. This is spiritual stamina and the ability to remain whole when everything tries to split you.
Keywords: Inner strength, compassion, resilience, courage, patience, self-mastery.
Translation: You don’t have to fight to prove your power. Breathe. You already have it.
Reversed
When Strength is reversed it’s gritting it’s teeth through a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes, and says, “I’m fine” whilst internally screaming. Maybe your patience is threadbare, or maybe you’re forcing yourself to keep it together when what you really need is to fall apart safely, intentionally and without shame. This reversal signals inner depletion and suppression. Strength reversed can also point to people-pleasing masked as peacekeeping, resentment wrapped in silence, or a disconnection from your own instincts because somewhere along the lines you learned that vulnerability wasn’t safe. Remember you don’t have to tame every emotion, but you do need to meet them with honesty.
Keywords: Inner conflict, avoidance, burnout, control issues, emotional suppression.
Translation: Strength isn’t about holding it all together. It’s about holding yourself through whatever comes.
ii. Illus-traits
A quick glance at The Strength’s symbolic traits in the Rider-Waite-Smith deck - what's hidden in plain sight?
Woman and Lion – Power with, not over. Collaboration as courage.
Infinity Symbol – Strength is a process.
White Robe – Purity of intent, even when taming the wild.
Floral Garland – Growth through patience because nothing blooms under pressure.
Gentle Touch – Mastery by compassionate presence.
iii. Influences
Planetary: Strength, governed by the Sun, represents energy, growth, and uncovering hidden truths. It highlights clarity over power, promoting courage and awareness. The Sun inspires open self-expression, even when it feels hard. Pluto acts like a therapist, showing that true strength comes from accepting our darkest truths and loving ourselves regardless. Together, they encourage shining through with imperfect honesty.
Natal House(s): Strength resonates with the Fifth House, associated with creativity and personal courage. It prompts you to reveal yourself and embrace visibility. The Eighth House brings themes of transformation and emotional endurance, while the Twelfth House highlights spiritual resilience through surrender. These houses collectively embody vulnerability, sovereignty, and the capacity for love in discomfort.
Astrological Sign(s): Strength is associated with Leo, a fixed fire sign that embodies a strong heart. Leo is confident and doesn’t need to prove itself. This sign represents courage, generosity, and a loyal bond that demands both strength and gentleness. With Leo's energy, strength means staying calm and steady. In contrast, Aquarius offers objectivity and clarity, highlighting the emotional bravery needed to detach and think wisely rather than let ego take over.
Numerologically: Eight represents Strength and balances power, karma, and inner authority. It symbolises balance and sustainability, showing that endurance lasts longer than outbursts, and real control comes from integration. While Seven encouraged purposeful movement, Eight maintains progress from within with the workaholic themes, poverty-consciousness or scarcity mindset or intimidating weaknesses. Eight tempers power with respect and recognises the illusory nature of the material world.
Element: Fire symbolises our energy, determination, and drive. Strength is a steady flame representing controlled heat, focused power, and enduring passion. Fire urges you to act calmly and stay energised without losing yourself. Strength is the foundation that can handle any challenge. What hidden passion motivates you, even if others overlook it?
iv. A Day in the Life of Strength
Well That Escalated Quickly
You white-knuckle your way through the day, pretending nothing gets to you while bottling every emotion like a ticking time bomb. You smile through gritted teeth, say yes when you mean no, and call it ‘being strong’ while your nervous system files a complaint. You start to feel bad about yourself because someone gave you a strange look.
Adjusting the Knobs
You spend the day internally negotiating with your anxiety like it’s a hostage situation, and try to positively think your way out of an emotional vipers nest. You’re holding it together by the skin on your teeth and calling it growth, even though your jaw’s been clenched since breakfast.
Unsubscribed from Self-Sabotage
You pause before reacting, take a breath and realise you don’t need to win every argument or carry every burden. You let someone see you cry and don’t implode with shame. You name a boundary with your inside voice and your inner lion has now started to purr.
Writing the TED Talk
You lead with compassion and control. You hold your ground without armouring up and whilst feeling something intense, you let it pass without shaming yourself for having the emotion or intrusive thought. You remember that real strength is about presence and move through the day like someone who trusts their own capacity to stay open, even in the heat. You mind is as strong as your heart.
v. Working with these Energies
Staying Centered and Leading from Within
Strength is not about control or showing off. This archetype encourages you to develop true resilience while engaging with it. When Strength appears, especially reversed, it signals you to reflect on where your calmness is genuine and where it is merely hiding your true feelings. Are you meeting life with presence, or appearing calm before your cork pops?
1. Reclaim your presence
– Where are you pretending to be fine just to keep the peace?
– What emotions are you avoiding because they feel ‘too much’?
– What would it look like to stay with yourself instead of managing everyone else?
2. Redefine strength on your own terms
– Whose version of ‘strong’ are you still trying to live up to?
– What does true inner power feel like in your body and your mind?
– Where might you be confusing endurance with self-abandonment?
3. Choose compassion over control
– Where are you trying to force an outcome that needs patience instead?
– Who benefits from your kindness instead of your harshness?
– And, how would it feel to face challenges with that same kindness?
4. Let Leo and the Sun restore your centre
– Where are you being called to shine without apology or defensiveness?
– What inner fire needs tending to that’s about thriving?
– Are you offering yourself warmth, or only discipline?
5. Respond with integrity, not impulse
– What choices show your true bravery?
– Where can you respond with calm confidence?
– What does it mean to express your power by simply being?
vi. Building Skills
Gentle Strength
Strength is to express kindness when self-criticism is strong, remaining compassionate and in control.
Consider this: Sit quietly. Breathe mindfully. On each slow exhale, gently repeat to yourself:
“May I be peaceful.”
“May I be safe.”
“May I be healthy.”
“May I be happy and free from suffering.”
Repeat the cycle another couple of times. Let the words settle like warm water in cold places. Let them remind you that fierceness and gentleness are allies. The Strength card teaches you to approach tough times with kindness and courage.
vii. Embodiment
Tarot is somatic. This card asks how you hold your power and anchor it in. It lives in the body as a breath you can trust, and the instinct you honour. This is the kind of power you feel in your bones and can be embodied through your senses:
Smell: If Strength had a scent, what would it be? A large winter bonfire? Something steady, grounding and alive?
Body: Where do you feel the tension between effort and ease? In your jaw? Your hands that want to fix, hold, or fight?
Soundtrack: What song sings courage? The kind that builds slowly, holds steady, and never has to shout?
Action: What can you do today that requires you to stand your ground with an open heart?
Nature cue: Step outside. What mirrors the essence of Strength? A tree bending in the wind but never breaking? An animal pausing, alert and calm?
Notice what grounds you: Deep integration is important, so let Strength remind you that being strong is about choosing kindness on purpose.
viii. Your Impressions
Look at the Strength card in your own deck if possible. Take a moment to observe without overthinking.
What draws your attention first - the figure, the lion, the hands, or the absence of struggle?
How does this card register in your body or mood: calm, steady, open, restrained, quietly powerful?
If this card could ask a question, what would it encourage you to be more flexible about, or to hold your ground on, or how to remain authentic to yourself?
ix. Intuitive Meaning
Use this space to explore what Strength means to you as a lived energy. Let it reflect the places in your life where resilience, self-trust, and quiet power are being asked to lead:
When have you held your ground with compassion - choosing response over reaction, presence over pressure?
Where are you appearing strong on the surface whilst feeling frayed underneath?
What would it look like to embody strength without resistance, to stand fully in your power without needing to dominate, convince, or defend?
Applied insight with a three-card reading using Strength as your anchor:
What part of me is asking for compassion?
Where am I being called to present with quiet courage?
What would true inner strength look like if I listening to myself as well as others, and vice versa?
Pull or shuffle-fling your cards and note your feelings. Take your time and let the answers unfold. Write three ‘you’ words that relate to your current experience:
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x. Closing Reflection: Track Your Evolving Lens
Your relationship with each card will grow over time because it’s meant to shaped by your life. Consider the prompts below to revisit and reflect.
What I thought this card meant when I first pulled it: —————————————————
A recent experience that changed how I see it: —————————————————
How I feel about it now, in my body or life: —————————————————
What surprised me as this card kept showing up: —————————————————
One way this card is living in my life right now: —————————————————
If this card visited me today as a guide, what would it want me to remember? —————————————————
Revisit these after a week, a moon phase, or a meaningful moment. Let the card evolve as you do.
If you feel a quiet sense of recognition, curiosity and want to explore it, browse the sessions page for what feels right.