Strength Tarot Card Meaning

Keywords (Upright)

• courage
• inner strength
• compassion
• self-mastery
• resilience

Keywords (Reversed)

• self-doubt
• weakness
• repression
• anger
• imbalance of power

Card Description & Esoteric Background

A serene woman closes the jaws of a mighty lion—not through force, but with a tranquil hand and fearless presence. Above her head floats the glowing lemniscate (infinity sign), symbolizing eternal spirit, divine balance, and mastery that transcends brute power. Her white gown denotes purity of intent, while the golden lion embodies primal passion and instinct.

“Strength is the union of fierce desire and gentle will—where the wild is neither slain nor unleashed, but embraced in calm dominion.”

In the Thoth and Thelemic decks, this card is known as Lust. Here, a woman rides the multi-headed Beast of Revelation, cup lifted in ecstatic power. It portrays the joyful fusion of will and desire—where mastery does not deny passion, but channels it. Linked to the Hebrew letter Teth (serpent), it weaves through the mysteries of creative fire and transformative pleasure.

The Strength Tarot Card Meaning: Upright

When upright, Strength illuminates the courage to lead with heart and presence.

Key Upright Interpretations:

• Inner Resilience: Meeting challenges with calm confidence and trust in your own fortitude.
• Compassion & Patience: Taming inner or outer beasts through empathy and understanding.
• Self-Mastery: Balancing instinct and reason, letting neither rule unchecked.
• Integration: Uniting fierce drives with gentle control, creating a stable center amid chaos.

The strength tarot card meaning here reveals that true power is not loud or harsh—it is the quiet, steady force that holds even the most primal urges in loving command.

The Strength Tarot Card Meaning: Reversed

Reversed, Strength signals a disruption of this balance.

Key Reversed Interpretations:

• Self-Doubt or Fragility: Losing faith in your own resilience, feeling small before trials.
• Suppressed Passion or Anger: Bottling powerful emotions until they distort into fear or resentment.
• Misuse of Power: Trying to control through force or intimidation—internally or toward others.
• Imbalance: Either overindulging wild impulses or denying them to the point of inner fracture.

“Reversed, this card asks: are you quelling your instincts so fully they turn against you, or letting them run so wild they burn your house down?”

Summary: The Dance of Passion and Grace

Strength is the card of love’s power over fear, of will guided by compassion, and of passion transformed into purpose. Upright, it celebrates mastery rooted in heart-centered courage. Reversed, it warns of imbalance—where desire dominates or is dangerously denied.

“Ultimately, Strength teaches that sovereignty is not won by crushing what is wild, but by holding it close in tender, fearless embrace.