Strength / Taming

[lyredragon]

Sorry to revive the topic but the Strength card is one of the four cardinal virtues cards in the major arcana. Prudence or Wisdom(Hermit), Justice, Fortitude(Strength, Courage) and Temperance.  

 

Cardinal means "hinge." They are the four virtues that any person, regardless of their religion, creed, culture, or code must possess to be classically ethical. Throughout antiquity Fortitude in statues and other art is personified as a woman and a lion.  Plato defined it as not just the ability to stand up to physical but moral challenge and to stand firm within your ethic. Basically, as Shakespeare put it "to thine own self be true"

 

The lion is what it always is, Inherent Power and Physical Strength, Forceful Leadership and Natural Authority. But those things are rapidly dangerous to the soul if you don't first have Wisdom and Justice. Calling back to the original ordering of the Major Arcana, Wisdom(the Hermit) (IX) and justice (VIII) it makes more sense according to ethical understanding.

 

The Lady is what she always is, the soul of ethical reasoning, moral authority, Compassionate Leadership, and trained strength.

 

When you apply Compassion (recognizing your Power and the power in others), Reason and ethics (justice) and you know your own strengths and weaknesses enough to correctly assess a situation (Wisdom, prudence) you have Courage (the alternate traditional word for this card)

 

Lions mouth as a greeting. They don't have hands, so a gentle chomp is like a handshake for them. All kinds of predators do that with creatures they consider friends. And the lady is doing the same, but as humans do it, what would normally be a handshake. It's awkward, hands to mouth instead of grasping hands, or giving a gentle chomp when the other animal can't really chomp back, but that's just how it is sometimes. Balancing natural strength with the strength of your ethic is sometimes awkward. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should do something even if you really want the result for doing it the unethical way.

 

SO when it's inverted, I tend to consider it as someone is not considering the consents and boundaries of someone else or they are ignoring their own and that's causing stress in their lives.     

 

I understand why RWS switched it along astrological reasoning. I tend to read the cards with respect to their adjacent cards in order, its harder to get a grasp on Courage if you don't already know morally what you are standing up for (justice).  It works out like this:

 

The procession numbers 1-11 with strength as XI

I in my power, with my people, in my place, under my authority, by my understanding, in accordance with love, and by the weight of my deeds in Justice and Wisdom under the watchful eye of the heavens have the ethic to stand true to what I am.

 

vs. the RWS numbers 1-11, Strength as VIII

 

I in my power, with my people, in my place, under my authority, by my understanding, in accordance with love, and by the weight of my deeds in Courage and Wisdom under the watchful eye of the heavens stand before the seat of Justice

 

a little nuance, a lot of difference.  

  

Edited March 28 by lyredragon
technical correction

[Chariot]

Funny, I was just thinking about the Strength card yesterday, when it came up in a reading I was doing for another person (at her request, although she wasn't  present.)  The first word that popped into my head when I saw the upright card in the 'spiritual' position in the spread was: "coping."  And I realise that's how I usually see this card.  Whatever the situation—and it might be a difficult one—the person is coping.  Whatever life throws at you, you can handle it.  It might involve an unexpected situation requiring your full commitment to it, or having to engage calmly with somebody you don't really know or particularly like, or having to tailor your responses to the nature of the event, or get a person to look at you with respect, and refuse to be intimidated by who or what they are.  You can then shape matters so they work for all concerned.  It involves strength of character, more than physical strength or stamina.  Stamina just means you keep going, but the Strength card means you not only keep going, but are able to improve a situation as you do.

I like the card.  In a way it's similar to Temperance, but different in that Temperance maintains balance and does not let any aspect of a situation overshadow another, while Strength accepts differences and dangers, but remains unafraid of them, and is able to cope with whatever occurs. Temperance is the moderator in a formal debate, while Strength is the person who cares for a disabled relative without complaining or shirking the task.  Similar in some ways, but Temperance remains aloof, while Strength is right in the thick of it.

Edited April 2 by Chariot

[katrinka]

On 3/27/2025 at 7:23 PM, lyredragon said:

Calling back to the original ordering of the Major Arcana, Wisdom(the Hermit) (IX)

Not to split hairs, and I'm certainly no Tarot historian, but don't the oldest decks generally have three theological virtues? And the Hermit is a Saturn figure with an hourglass. Not necessarily wise, just the passage of time breaking things down, IMHO.

(Where is @_R_? He's the guy who could sort all this.)
 

42 minutes ago, Chariot said:

 The first word that popped into my head when I saw the upright card in the 'spiritual' position in the spread was: "coping."  And I realise that's how I usually see this card.  Whatever the situation—and it might be a difficult one—the person is coping.

That's a good one.
I sometimes think of it as the art of persuasion. The woman is gentle and the lion is cooperating. She's kind of a Victoria Stillwell type, as opposed to Cesar Milan. Cesar tries to be dominant and sometimes the dogs bite him, lol. Victoria is firm, but she entices the dogs to do what she wants. "You catch more flies with honey..." etc.

Of course there are a lot of interpretations. Jodo said it's "masturbation." 😐

In the very early Tarots, there's a guy beating an undersized lion with a club. I'm glad that image fell by the wayside!