Strength — Inner Power, Emotional Mastery, and Spiritual Courage

Real strength isn’t loud, it’s steady, sovereign, and unshakable under pressure.

Card Essentials

• Number: 8
• Hebrew Letter: Teth (ט) – The Serpent; hidden wisdom and transformation
• Astrological: Leo ♌ – Courageous heart, natural leadership, inner fire
• Planet: The Sun ☉ – Vital energy, life force, illuminating truth
• Element: Fire 🜂 – Creative passion, spiritual courage, transformative power
• Other Names: Fortitude, Lust (Crowley deck)
• Archetype: The Healer / The Gentle Warrior / The Compassionate Master
• Timing (Season): Late Summer (July 23 – August 22) – peak power, mature confidence
• Yes/No: Yes
• Keywords: Inner strength, courage, compassion, gentle control, resilience, patience, taming instincts, moral fortitude, emotional mastery, loving power, spiritual courage, overcoming fear

The Mythology

The Divine Feminine Taming the Beast – Represents the eternal struggle between our higher spiritual nature and our primal instincts. Like Strength, this archetype demonstrates that true power originates from love and compassion rather than force or aggression.

Upright Meaning

Strength appears when it’s time to access your courage and face challenges with compassion instead of brute force. This card represents your ability to harness emotional energy and control difficult situations through gentle determination and moral courage. You have what it takes to overcome any obstacle, but first, you must believe in yourself and push through the doubt holding you back.

This Leo fire card calls you to tap into that energy and stay true to it, no matter what. The woman controls the lion through love and tenderness. It proves that absolute authority comes from within and is demonstrated through compassion, rather than aggression.

The keys to victory are balance, courage, and love. Master these and you can achieve anything. Strength appears when you need to control difficult people or your impulses through patience rather than force or fear. You have the discipline to master your reactions and handle whatever challenges you face.

Trust in the power you hold within to guide you through difficulties with grace.

Career & Money

You’re not a victim in your career. You need to step up. Deal with difficult situations and not hide from them. Lead with patience, kindness, and inner strength to overcome all challenges. No ego, no noise, just a calm presence, and you’ll overcome adversity without fear.

Strength comes from within, not from a hammer; people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Love & Relationships

Time to take back your power. This is a positive card for relationships where you need to reclaim your strength. Control the relationship through gentleness and inner confidence, not force. Real strength is knowing when to speak, when to listen, and when to walk away. Don’t mistake silence for weakness.

And, if you find yourself in a position where power struggles dominate, this card challenges you to break the cycle by reclaiming your energy, not trying to fix theirs.

Singles

Have the courage to overcome the fear of being alone. You won’t be. Your strength comes from within, not from needing someone else to complete you.

Reversed Meaning

Strength reversed reveals someone or something is draining your life force. You’re running on fumes, putting on a front while falling apart inside. This occurs when you let outside voices overshadow your inner guidance.

You’re caught in emotional chaos without the stability to anchor yourself. Instead of moving with compassion, you might be forcing control, lashing out, or collapsing altogether. When the lion leads instead of the woman, instinct overpowers wisdom, and fear runs the show.

This reversal asks: Are you leading from love or reacting from fear? The moment you stop outsourcing your strength and return to your center, everything changes.