Strength
Strength is major arcanum XI (or VIII according to some schools) of the tarot. It represents inner strength, dominion over instincts, gentle bravery and the ability to tame the wild without violence. Associated with Leo, it embodies the loving power that wins without attacking.
Origin and symbolism
In the traditional Marseille, the card carries the number XI; in the Rider-Waite-Smith, A.E. Waite changed it to VIII (swapping it with Justice) for astrological reasons. The iconography is always a woman opening or closing the jaws of a lion, without apparent effort, with the infinity symbol (∞) above her head.
The symbolism is clear: true strength is not that of one who subdues by violence, but of one who dominates without imposing. The woman does not fight against the lion — she pacifies it. It is moral strength, gentle courage, the power of the heart over the beast. The infinity above her head indicates this strength does not deplete: it springs from an eternal source, not from muscular tension.
Meaning in a spread
Appearance in a reading: inner strength, calm bravery, dominion over one's own instincts, ability to calm conflicts without aggression, patience that wins, healthy personal power, loving self-control, persuasion without manipulation. It appears when the situation calls for responding with calm strength rather than explosive reaction.
In shadow: repression of vital instincts (not taming them but crushing them), weakness disguised as patience, passivity that avoids necessary conflict, unhealthy self-sacrifice. Strength's trap is to confuse softness with submission, or patience with cowardice.
Also known as
- La Force
- Strength
- Inner Strength