Strength Tarot Card Meaning
Strength, courage, persuasion, influence, and compassion. Inner strength over raw power.
| Arcana | Major Arcana |
|---|---|
| Element | Fire |
| Planet | Sun |
| Zodiac | Leo |
| Yes or No | Yes |
| Keywords | courage, persuasion, influence, compassion |
| Reversed | Inner strength lacking, self-doubt, low energy, and raw emotion. |
What does Strength mean in a tarot reading?
Strength is courage of the quiet kind: enduring, forgiving, staying soft in situations that invite hardness. It appears when you must manage a powerful force — your own temper, a crisis, a difficult person — and says influence will come through composure, not domination. There is also raw resilience here: recovery from illness, persistence through a long ordeal. You are stronger than the situation looks; lead with compassion and the lion will walk beside you.
Strength symbolism and imagery
A woman in a white robe calmly closes — or opens — the jaws of a golden lion, garlands of flowers at her waist and the infinity symbol hovering above her head. There is no armor, no weapon, no struggle in her face. The Rider-Waite-Smith image argues that the deepest power is not force but relationship: the lion is not defeated but befriended. Instinct, appetite, and rage are tamed by a patience that does not humiliate them.
What does Strength reversed mean?
Reversed, either the lion wins or the woman forgets she has one. It can show temper flaring, appetites running the schedule, courage failing at the decisive moment, or self-doubt so loud you hand your power to anyone who seems certain. Sometimes it marks harshness toward yourself masquerading as discipline. Rebuild strength the way trust is built — in small kept promises — and stop mistaking self-attack for self-control.
Strength in love and relationships
Upright, Strength shows love that stays patient through flaws and fire — passion held with tenderness, and the courage to be vulnerable first. Reversed, it flags jealousy, volatile tempers, or clinging born of insecurity; the relationship needs less control and more honest gentleness.
Strength in career and money
Ideal for high-pressure roles, difficult clients, and long hauls that reward persistence over brilliance. Lead by steadiness; people follow calm. Reversed, burnout or self-doubt is eroding performance — restore the inner resource before pushing harder.
Is Strength a yes or no card?
Yes. Yes — if you meet the situation with patience and quiet courage rather than force.
Will Strength appear in your reading?
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