Strength Asks Us to Focus Our Fire: A Look at the Impact of Major Arcana Card Eight

Strength is one of those tarot cards that emanates power. The eighth (or eleventh, more on that below) guide in the Major Arcana, Strength is often depicted as a woman with a lion. The woman is the epitome of self-discipline and control; the lion, a gentle kitty in her care.

Because the woman has befriended the lion, she knows what it means to allow her untamed qualities to go unchecked. She understands how to harness her fierceness, fire and inner wild to maintain balance.

The woman is confident in her ability to be calm and respectful in times of chaos. When a situation requires the full force of her passion, she can unleash it, directing it with focused, single-pointed determination.

Where a more traditional masculine approach to overcoming obstacles would be to use external force and motivation, Strength turns her energy inward. Through this cultivation of personal power, she acts with purpose, compassion and courage.

In reverse, these same characteristics become detrimental to future growth. Pride becomes a downfall. Courage is lost to weakness and fear. Once a larger-than-life energy, Strength reversed is an indicator of smallness, a loss of control, passions run amok, power abused.

Before we look at how Strength can be interpreted in the four tarot spreads below, I’d like to share one more interesting tidbit…

If you look up at the first picture, you’ll notice that in The Fountain Tarot deck, Strength is card 11. In the opening paragraph, however, I mentioned that Strength is sometimes card eight. In those cases, Justice is card 11. Why the discrepancy? Well, you can thank The Rider Waite deck for changing things up.

In the traditional tarot deck, Strength was always the eleventh card. When the Rider Waite deck came onto the scene, it moved Strength up a few spots to better align the Major Arcana guides with their astrological correspondences.

Strength represents Leo in astrology. Justice is the card for Libra. In order for the deck to follow the astrological calendar, Strength/Leo had to follow The Chariot/Cancer. All decks based on Rider Waite tarot followed suit, and apparently, my collection of decks mostly follow this same convention. The exception is The Fountain Tarot, which adheres to the traditional order of Major Arcana cards.

OK, last thing (really, this time) before we begin the general energy readings below: Please note that this post was written as a complementary piece to the Cup of Sugar tarot newsletter series. While subscribing to the newsletter is not required to understand the post, it will help provide additional information. You can sign up to receive the remaining newsletters in the series here.

Spread 1: A Strong New Beginning Will Turn Things Around

In this spread, the reversed Sun and The of Coins jump out at me right away. I get the sense that you’ve been enduring a period of unhappiness that is likely exacerbated by a profound lack of abundance or physical wealth.

The Sun, when in its upright position, indicates that we are on the right path, that our lighter qualities have an opportunity to shine. In this orientation, however, the card reveals a sense of darkness, heaviness and depression.

The Ten of Coins reversed is a sign that things have not been going your way financially. While the card upright tells a story of hard work resulting in abundant rewards, the reversed position reveals that you a recent failure or setback has you feeling less secure about what you have. I get the sense that the combination of these two cards is seriously impacting your self-confidence.

Strength says this won’t be the case for long. While you will need to reconnect to your inner power to move things forward, you are fully capable of doing so. After this period of feeling out of control, you’re beginning to feel the heat of your inner fire again.

Strength encourages you to be brave, cultivate these fierce energies that went dormant for a period of time. Remember not to act from a place of anger. Be gentle and compassionate with yourself, and know that self-discipline will serve you better.

The Page of Wands gives another clue as to what’s in store for you. A bit of a wild child, this Page wholly embraces her childlike passions. Though young, she is a force for new beginnings. If you’re careful to keep things focused (instead of succumbing to angry tantrums when things go awry), you will enthusiastically find your way forward.

Spread 2: Future Growth Requires You to Release the Past

Something from your past has stopped serving you in a big way. You’re no longer willing to nurture it in order to foster its future growth. This tradition or way of life has been causing you pain for some time, but it is difficult to release completely.

Whenever you’ve tried to separate yourself previously, you find yourself called back. I get the sense that the challenge is overcoming a sense of rigidity, especially around religion or cultural practices. Tradition can keep us stuck in the past, whether we want to be there or not.

The Hierophant in reverse is an indicator of this predicament. He clings to the past whenever his fear of change overwhelms his desire to progress or move in a new direction. Even when he rejects “the old way” of doing things, he still may not feel empowered to release these rules completely.

The reversed Seven of Coins, however, tells me that you’re ready to stop putting your energy into this tradition, religion or belief system. It’s clear that this has become infertile ground. Nothing can grow here. Save your energy for something that will help you flourish in the way you want. This change of direction needs to feel good to you.

The reversed Ten of Cups tells more of the same story. This potential transition feels fraught, even though your cup has felt far from full for a painfully long time. When a ten card is pulled, it can either mean the end of a journey or a time to go in a new direction. Reversed, this card tells me that you haven’t reached the end. The cycle cannot be completed (nor road blocks overcome) if you’re still heading in the wrong direction. Time to change course.

Strength highlights the need for patience and grace. Give yourself a break. Some paths are less straightforward. Expect to go two steps forward and one step back until you can find your footing. Be confident that this turning point is the right way. When you need additional courage, call on your inner strength to see you through.

Spread 3: Overcome a Past Failure, Hope is on the Horizon

You know that feeling when things just aren’t working, despite your best efforts? It can be difficult to stop trying and accept defeat, but sometimes that is precisely want we need to do to move on from our failures. It’s OK that it didn’t work out. Cut your losses.

The reversed Three of Wands indicates that no matter how much energy you infuse into the situation, it’s not going to go your way. And trust me when I say that I know you gave it the old college try. Resist the urge to give it one last shot. You did all you could.

Now, I also understand how these types of situation tend to ignite fiery feelings of rage. Strength reversed tells me that you feel very defeated and more than a little salty about the way things turned out. Honor those feelings. Attempting to ignore them or push them down will only force them to rise up in the most extra and inconvenient ways. A controlled release is much safer than attempting to pretend nothing is wrong.

So, yea, that experience sucked. But here’s the good news. The Six of Wands and reversed Devil are all about hope, motivation and moving beyond a shitty situation. Once you stop fighting, it is easy to accept the consequences. That, my friend, is a victory. It may not feel like one, but the Six is a sign that you’re better off than you think.

Similarly, The Devil can be an indicator that we’ve become bonded to our desires. It is a sign that we’ve gotten a little greedy, taken more than our fair share. In reverse, this guide tells us that we’re moving away from the feelings that create bonds (karmic, energetic and otherwise). When we release our attachment to a person, relationship or outcome, we are free to expand into the best version of ourselves. Your past failure does not define you. Keep your head up and your gaze on the horizon.

Spread 4: A Betrayal Prompts Anger, Cynicism and Resistance

Is there anything worse that being betrayed? Whether by a person or a situation, you’re feeling the sadness that comes from realizing not everything is what it appears to be. I get the sense that you fought particularly hard for success, so this backstabbing (energetic or otherwise) is quite the blow.

The reversed Seven of Wands is familiar with the situation. In the upright position, victory is assured regardless of being blindsided. As he stands here, not so much. This experience may made you hesitant to trust yourself and others.

The reversed Eight of Cups and Strength cards tell me that you’re feeling helpless, fearful, angry and pretty damn cynical. In the upside down, you’re bound to feel disoriented. It’s understandable that these emotions are running the show right now. Walking away is easier said that done, and you’ve found yourself in unknown territory, despite your best efforts to stay on track.

The Four of Coins warns of becoming too cold, of giving into the temptation to turn away from the world. There is a lot of abundance all around you, but it can be hard to feel it while you’re busy mourning what could have been.

Instead of going down a rabbit hole of darkness and hanging out there endlessly, allow yourself to feel fully. Then, muster up the courage to release your instincts to shut out the world. There is so much to be grateful for when you stop resisting, surrender and create space for what really matters.