Strength
Major Arcana · VIII
- courage
- patience
- compassion
- inner strength
- self-doubt
- weakness
- impatience
- raw emotion
In the picture
A woman in a white robe, crowned with flowers and with an infinity sign above her head, gently closes the jaws of a lion. The scene is calm, set in an open landscape under a yellow sky.
Upright meaning
Strength is quiet courage. The woman tames the lion with calm and kindness, not with force. The card speaks of patience, self-control and the confidence to face something difficult gently. It is the strength of steadiness rather than of muscle.
Reversed meaning
Reversed, the lion has the upper hand: anger, fear or self-doubt run things for a while. It may point to low confidence or to reacting instead of responding. Go easy on yourself; gentleness is still the way back.
About the Major Arcana
The 22 Major Arcana are the trump cards of the deck, numbered 0 to 21 from The Fool to The World. Read in order they tell the story of a journey, and in a reading they tend to point to big themes and turning points rather than day-to-day events.
