Known in earlier decks as La Force (Tarot de Marseille), Strength (Fortitudo) embodies the archetype of The Gentle Conqueror / Inner Fortitude within the Major Arcana. When Pamela Colman Smith painted this card under Arthur Edward Waite's guidance in 1909, she grounded centuries of esoteric tradition in a single vivid image. A calm hand closes a lion's jaw without a fight. Patience tames what force cannot. Meet the beast with kindness. Soft power works today. Calm the animal in the room with a steady hand. Arthur Edward Waite's own gloss for this card reads: "Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace.".
“Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace.” — A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910)
Strength — Upright Meaning
A calm hand closes a lion's jaw without a fight. Patience tames what force cannot. Meet the beast with kindness. Soft power works today. Calm the animal in the room with a steady hand.
“Mansuetudo fortior est ferro.” — Gentle grace is stronger than forged steel.
Inner Strength
Compassion
Courage
Patience
Gentle Mastery
Strength — Reversed Meaning
Doubt gnaws, or anger presses at the lid. Softer handling, not harder clenching, calms it. You doubt strength you already own. Speak to yourself like a friend would.
Self-Doubt
Raw Impulsiveness
Weakness
Vulnerability
Suppressed Rage
Strength — Real-World Life Scenarios
Love & relationships
Gentle patience heals this rough patch. Hold your partner's fear without matching the fire.
Old rage leaks out at small things. Name the hurt underneath before it bites.
Career & work
A hard colleague softens under patience. Stay kind, keep your spine, and win them over.
Self-doubt whispers before the big ask. Breathe, prepare once more, then speak.
Health & Energy Management
From a holistic wellbeing perspective, Strength encourages mindful awareness of energy levels and physical rhythms. A calm hand closes a lion's jaw without a fight Apply this lens to daily health habits — rest, movement, and emotional balance.
When Strength appears reversed in a health context, it can signal neglect of the body's signals or a need to slow down before strain becomes injury. Doubt gnaws, or anger presses at the lid Prioritise rest and seek professional guidance if symptoms persist — tarot offers symbolic reflection, not medical diagnosis.
Finances & Resource Management
Strength brings the energy of courage to financial matters. Upright, it favours decisive action grounded in clear assessment of available resources. Identify your strongest assets and direct effort where leverage is greatest.
Reversed, Strength warns of self-doubt patterns in money management — impulse spending, avoidance, or undervaluing what you hold. Pause before committing funds, review terms carefully, and consult a trusted advisor on significant decisions.
Strength — Visual Symbolism & Iconography
Lemniscate (Infinity Symbol ∞)
Floating gracefully above the maiden's brow, echoing the Magician's wisdom and symbolizing limitless inner fortitude and enduring compassion.
Soothing the Red Lion
Caressing the beast of primal instinct, fiery passion, and raw vital energy, leading it to yield through gentle loving presence.
Garland and Belt of Roses
Freshly gathered roses binding woman and beast, signifying that pure love and virtue form the gentle bridge uniting divine spirit with earthly instinct.
White Robe
The immaculate white garment symbolizing selfless purity of motive, untainted by conquest or coercion, anchored in quiet guardianship.
Golden Sky and Gentle Hills
Warm radiant yellow tones representing conscious awareness and joyful vitality, backed by soft verdant hills forecasting lasting peace.
Closing the Lion's Jaws
Fearlessly and tenderly holding the jaws without violence or restraint, exemplifying moral courage that transforms conflict through grace.
Strength in Tarot History & Archetypal System
Strength is the 8th step of the Fool's Journey through the 22 Major Arcana. Its ruling astrological correspondence is Leo (Courage & Compassion). The Hebrew letter Teth (ט) is assigned to this trump by the Western esoteric tradition, anchoring it within the Kabbalistic Tree of Life. Within the archetypal sequence, it marks the point where the central theme of The Gentle Conqueror / Inner Fortitude crystallises for the journeying consciousness.
More Fire Element-element cards worth comparing
The Emperor: A stone throne holds a stern, watchful king Reversed: Control hardens into bossiness, or the reins slip from your grip
Wheel of Fortune: The great wheel turns, and your season changes Reversed: A rough patch rolls through
Temperance: An angel pours water between two cups without spilling a drop Reversed: The cup tips: too much of one thing, none of the other
The Tower: Lightning hits the tower, and the crown falls Reversed: You prop up a structure that needs to fall
The Sun: A child rides out under a blazing sun, garland and all Reversed: A passing cloud dims the sun; the warmth stays underneath
Classical Sources & References
Arthur Edward Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), 'Strength'.
Mary K. Greer, 21 Ways to Read a Tarot Card (2006).
Strength in combinations
Strength shifts tone depending on its neighbours: next to The Chariot the message leans one way, next to The Hermit it leans another. Read pairs through their shared element and the weight of any Major Arcana involved.
Read Strength next to The Chariot and The Hermit: if their themes reinforce each other, the answer gains momentum; if they contradict, the surrounding cards decide which current is stronger. A blocked or heavy neighbour weakens the pull, while any Wands or Major Arcana card beside it amplifies the charge.
Related cards
Continue your study with these closely connected cards.
A calm hand closes a lion's jaw without a fight Keynotes: Courage, Inner Strength, Compassion.
What does Strength reversed caution against?
Doubt gnaws, or anger presses at the lid
I drew Strength — what is the most constructive step right now?
Translate “Courage” into one concrete action you can follow through on today.
How does Strength's archetype — "The Gentle Conqueror / Inner Fortitude" — apply in everyday life?
Waite's traditional keyword for Strength begins: "Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours." In practice, the archetype of The Gentle Conqueror / Inner Fortitude manifests as Courage and Inner Strength in upright readings, and as Self-Doubt and Weakness when reversed. Ground the symbol in concrete, observable situations rather than abstract theory.