Strength 🦁

If somebody told you to pet a lion, would you do it? 

Probably not. And if you're the one doing the asking, you probably wouldn't get many people volunteering to pet the lion. 

Lions bite. Lions are huge. A lion can eat you, so obviously, petting a lion isn't a great idea. 

But what if some part of you really wanted to pet the lion, and even though everybody around you was saying "No, that's a terrible idea, don't do it," a little voice inside your head assured you that you can do it, that you're strong enough to connect with this wild animal and that sometimes, the popular choice isn't always the best one? 

idk, she’s making it look like a good idea.

(I'm not condoning petting lions here, btw.)

You'd be putting a lot of trust in that voice. In fact, you'd be putting a lot of trust in yourself to tough it out past the naysayers. That's exactly what's happening in the Strength card. On this card, we see a few symbols: 

🦁 A woman in a long, white dress

🦁 A lion

🦁 Mountains in the background

🦁 Flowers on the woman's head and around her waist

🦁 Lush greenery around her

🦁 An infinity symbol above her head

The woman is bending forward slightly, placing her hands on the lion's face. The lion is looking up at her, almost like he's waiting for her next move. She's not worried at all; she has an expression of quiet confidence as she engages with the lion. That's what this card is all about: confidence to flourish where you are, even if you're flourishing alone. We see this communicated through the symbolism throughout the card. 

First, let's take a look at the infinity symbol. It has another name, and that name is lemniscate. You don't need to know that to read this card, though. 

credit: mathcurve.com

The lemniscate appears in two other cards in the Rider Waite Smith deck: The Magician and the 2 of Pentacles. In all three of these cards, it symbolizes the idea of forever. You can interpret it as the figure maintaining the power they're currently exerting forever, or that they'll use that unique skill for the rest of their lives.  

Our figure on Strength isn't just opening the lion's mouth once; she's engaging with the lion again and again. Strength is a prolonged activity, not a one-off thing. 

There's also lots of earth imagery: a garland of flowers around the figure's waist, lush green grass beneath her feet, and a flower crown atop her head. In tarot, flowers and fruits symbolize abundance. Green, earthy imagery symbolizes earth energy, which is grounded, secure, rooted energy. To be strong, you must be grounded…and in this card, both the woman and the lion are grounded.

Maybe our figure can be strong because she's grounded. Or maybe her strength is what's grounding her. Either way, she's solidly grounded here, rooted and maintaining her calm, quiet confidence as she handles the lion. 

And she's got a lot to handle! Take a look at the background. We see a tall, blue silhouette of a mountain on the horizon. In tarot, mountains symbolize hurdles to overcome. We can read this as her capability to do the hard things and work through challenges as long as she relies on her inner strength. 

Another thing I'd like to call your attention to in this card is what isn't there. Sometimes, you can glean as much information from a card by noticing what isn't there as you can from interpreting what the artist chose to include. 

There's no water in this card. I read that as this isn't the time for emotions—yes, overcoming difficulties is inherently emotional, but your focus here needs to be on two things:

🔥The passion that's driving you to take action (this is a fiery card, between that bright yellow sunlight and its association with Leo)

🌳The abundance you're creating through your strength

Feel your feels later. That's what big, boisterous Leo does. It's not that the King of Beasts doesn't have emotions—he certainly does!—but when he's doing his solo, roaring loud for the crowd, he's wearing his game face. He's holding strong, committed to the bit. 

When you pull this card in a reading, that's the energy that's going on. You're being called to embody that strong, grounded presence that doesn't back down. Strength is about perseverance, so when you pull this card, take it as your sign to keep going. 
Interested in learning more about the Strength card (including its original name, Fortitude?) Listen to the Strength episode of the Omg Tarot! podcast here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/Fq2VcBQr0Lb