Strength: Modern RWS Tarot Card Meanings
‘KEY VIII: Strength’, Rider Waite Smith tarot deck.
‘Strength’ Upright: Modern Meanings
Keywords: Courage, Compassion, Inner Strength, Self-Control, Patience, Taming
In A General or “Open” Reading
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 or Relationship Reading
This card signifies a relationship built on compassion, patience, and the higher emotions (joy, spiritual connection, respect etc.). Gently supporting a partner through a difficult time, a relationship that has overcome major challenges, a deep and stable bond based on mutual respect. Like the Two of Cups.
In a Money Or Career Reading
This card points to self-mastery and faith in pursuing your vocation. 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 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. Like the precursor to The Magician.
‘Strength’ 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. Like The Emperor reversed.
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.
Strength Reversed
Reversed Keywords
Self-Doubt, Weakness, Lack of Control, Raw Emotion, Aggression
In A General or “Open” Reading
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. Similar to The Devil. Overcome by The Chariot.
In a Love or Relationship Reading
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. Like the 3 of Cups reversed.
In A Money Or Career Reading
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. Like the King of Wands reversed.
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.
Meditations on ‘Strength’
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’ Card in Combination
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.
Additional Notes On ‘Strength’
Waite’s Divinatory Meanings of The ‘Strength’ Card.
"Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace." (Pictoral Key To The Tarot, 1911).
A.E. Waite’s Strength Card Symbolism.
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 Divine Wisdom. 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 the lower (self) in service of the Divine Soul.
Why ‘Strength’ is ‘KEY 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. Read more about A.E Waite’s Major Arcana.
