Strength
Tarot card meaning, upright and reversed.
Strength represents inner strength, compassion, and patience.
Reversed, Strength points to self-doubt, forcing control, and impatience.
Strength upright meaning
In Strength a woman rests both hands on a lion's open jaws, not prying them apart and not fleeing, just present with the animal until it lets her. She wears white and a chain of flowers, and the infinity sign floats over her head the way it does over the Magician, the same steady loop. The lion is not defeated here, it is accompanied. Whatever in your life has teeth right now will answer to patience and a soft hand far sooner than to force.
Strength reversed meaning
Reversed, the woman grips the lion's jaws instead of resting on them, trying to clamp shut something that only quiets when it is met gently. Or she has backed away and left the animal to pace, doubting a strength that is still entirely hers. The flowers do not wilt; the infinity sign keeps looping. Be gentle with yourself first, and the lion tends to settle from there.
AffirmationI rest my hand on the lion's jaw instead of forcing it shut.
What am I trying to muzzle by force that would quiet if I stayed gentle?
Common questions about Strength
What does Strength mean in tarot?
Strength represents inner strength, compassion, and patience. In Strength a woman rests both hands on a lion's open jaws, not prying them apart and not fleeing, just present with the animal until it lets her. She wears white and a chain of flowers, and the infinity sign floats over her head the way it does over the Magician, the same steady loop.
What does Strength reversed mean?
Reversed, Strength points to self-doubt, forcing control, and impatience. Reversed, the woman grips the lion's jaws instead of resting on them, trying to clamp shut something that only quiets when it is met gently.
Is Strength a yes or no card?
Leaning yes. Strength upright leans toward yes: it carries inner strength, compassion, and patience. Read it as encouragement with nuance, not a guarantee.
Want to actually learn the cards?
Auspice teaches you tarot one card at a time with spaced-repetition coaching, until you can read for yourself and for friends. Reading is reflection here, never fortune-telling.