‘Strength’ Modern Tarot Meanings: A Complete Guide For Beginner Rider Waite Smith Readers
The RWS Strength Card at a Glance
Keywords: Courage, Compassion, Inner Strength, Self-Control, Patience, Taming
Reversed Keywords: Self-Doubt, Weakness, Lack of Control, Raw Emotion, Aggression
Zodiac Sign: Leo
Element: Fire
Yes/No (choice): Yes, as long as the lower self is tamed
Yes/No (prediction): Yes, especially if you persevere through difficult times.
A.E. Waite’s Strength Card
A.E Waite’s Strength card depicts a woman gently closing the jaws of a lion. She is calm and composed, showing no signs of fear or struggle. Above her head is the lemniscate, signifying her access to infinite spiritual power. She wears a white robe, symbolising purity of spirit, and is adorned with a belt and crown of flowers, representing the beauty of her tamed nature. The lion represents our primal passions and the lower self. The scene is not about brute force, but about the quiet, compassionate power of the higher self to tame and integrate the lower nature through patience.
Waite’s Divinatory Meanings of Strength
In his 1911 book, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, A.E. Waite gives the divinatory meanings for Strength as follows:
"Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace."
Upright RWS Strength: Meanings in Context
In Life Areas
‘Strength’ Upright, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Generally: This card relates to a situation requiring inner strength, courage, and self-control. Overcoming a fear, successfully quitting a bad habit, handling a difficult situation with grace and patience, a display of quiet confidence.
In a Love Context: This card signifies a relationship built on compassion, patience, and taming wild emotions. Gently supporting a partner through a difficult time, a relationship that has overcome major challenges, a deep and stable bond based on mutual respect.
In a Money/Career Context: This card points to mastery and quiet confidence in your abilities. Patiently managing a long-term project, handling a difficult client with compassion, having the courage to ask for a raise, a career in animal care or therapy.
In an Intellectual Context: The Strength card represents the self-control needed for deep focus. Patiently working through a difficult intellectual problem, having the courage to defend a well-researched position, the quiet focus of a master craftsman.
In a Spiritual Context: This card is about the theurgic work of taming the lower self. A successful spiritual practice that integrates the passions; having the courage to confront and master the lower passions; the quiet power that comes from a compassionate heart.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice: Use compassion, not force. Have courage in your convictions. Be patient. Tame your impulses.
As (Ultimate) Outcome: A successful resolution. Harmony achieved through patience. A victory won with inner strength.
As Obstacles: A gentle approach is failing where force is needed. Your compassion is being mistaken for weakness. A situation requires more than just patience.
As Hidden Energy: An untapped reserve of inner courage. A potential to overcome the situation with patience is being ignored.
As Resources/Alliances: Your own inner strength and self-control. A compassionate and courageous person. The ability to tame a volatile situation.
Reversed RWS Strength: Meanings in Context
In Life Areas
‘Strength’ Reversed, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
Generally: Reversed, Strength can point to weakness or a lack of self-control. Giving in to a bad habit, a moment of cowardice, an outburst of raw, uncontrolled emotion, feeling overwhelmed by a situation.
In a Love Context: This card often signifies a relationship where passions are out of control. Destructive arguments, jealousy, a lack of patience with a partner, feeling weak and insecure in a relationship.
In a Money/Career Context: This can mean a lack of confidence is holding you back at work. Fear of public speaking, being too timid to ask for what you deserve, a project failing due to a lack of self-discipline.
In an Intellectual Context: This points to a lack of mental focus or giving in to intellectual weakness. An inability to complete a difficult project, abandoning an argument out of fear, a feeling of being intellectually inferior.
In a Spiritual Context: This can mean a failure to control the lower self. Giving in to temptation, a spiritual practice that is inconsistent and lacks discipline, feeling disconnected from your inner courage.
In Common Spread Positions
As Advice: A warning against acting from a place of weakness. It is time to confront your fears or to get your raw emotions under control.
As (Ultimate) Outcome: Defeat due to a lack of self-control. A situation worsened by an emotional outburst. A project failing due to a lack of confidence.
As Obstacles: Your own lack of confidence is the primary hindrance. A lack of discipline is preventing progress. Raw, uncontrolled emotions are sabotaging the situation.
As Hidden Energy: A hidden weakness is undermining the situation. A secret fear is driving your actions. An opponent's perceived strength is an illusion.
As Resources/Alliances: Acknowledging a weakness is the first step. A moment of vulnerability can create a new path forward.
Journal Prompts for Personal Reflection
Where in my life do I need to act with more courage and less fear?
What part of my "animal nature" or lower self needs to be tamed with compassion?
Am I using gentle strength, or am I trying to solve a problem with brute force?
The RWS Strength in Key Card Combinations
Combinations with Major Arcana
Strength & The Chariot
Strength (↑) & The Chariot (↑): Inner strength combined with outer victory. A perfectly controlled and executed plan. Compassionate leadership.
Strength (↓) & The Chariot (↑): A victory achieved through brute force, lacking compassion. A successful but ruthless person. An aggressive outburst.
Strength (↑) & The Chariot (↓): Having inner courage but lacking the external drive to succeed. A project stalled despite inner resolve. A lack of ambition.
Strength (↓) & The Chariot (↓): A project failing from both a lack of self-control and a lack of direction. Giving in to fear and losing the battle.
Strength & The Devil
Strength (↑) & The Devil (↑): The courage to face your addictions and lower nature. Taming your inner passions through compassion. A powerful but controlled passion.
Strength (↓) & The Devil (↑): Giving in to temptation and addiction. A lack of self-control leading to a toxic situation. Being a slave to your passions.
Strength (↑) & The Devil (↓): Successfully breaking free from an addiction through inner strength. The courage to leave a toxic relationship.
Strength (↓) & The Devil (↓): A situation where a lack of confidence prevents you from breaking free. A fear of confronting one's own base instincts.
Combinations with the Suit of Pentacles
Strength & The Five of Pentacles
Strength (↑) & The Five of Pentacles (↑): The inner courage and resilience to endure hardship. Facing poverty with dignity. A quiet strength during a period of isolation.
Strength (↓) & The Five of Pentacles (↑): A period of hardship made worse by a lack of confidence. Feeling completely overwhelmed by financial problems.
Strength (↑) & The Five of Pentacles (↓): Using your inner strength to find a way out of poverty. A small act of compassion that helps someone in need.
Strength (↓) & The Five of Pentacles (↓): A lack of self-control leading to a missed opportunity to escape hardship. A fear of taking the first step towards recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions about Strength
Why is Strength number VIII in the RWS deck? In older decks like the Tarot de Marseille, Justice is card VIII and Strength is XI. A.E. Waite, following the system of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, swapped their positions. This was done for complex astrological reasons, primarily to align Strength with the sign of Leo and Justice with Libra in the zodiacal sequence.
What is The Strength's elemental correspondence? In the system of correspondences used for the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, the primary elemental correspondence for Strength is Fire. This links the card to things like courage, passion, energy, and the will.
