I’ve written interpretations for every card in the Wild Unknown Tarot. As the box of the deck states, there are no rights or wrongs. These are simply my perspectives on the tarot card meanings. I hope you find them useful!
Click here for a directory of all posts in my Wild Unknown series.
Deck Creator’s Keywords: patience, mastery of emotions, courage
Carrie’s Keywords: fortitude, patience, gentle power
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Strength Tarot Card Meanings in the Wild Unknown
The Strength card is quietly dominated by the presence of a lion. The lion faces straight forward. Like the Chariot, this lion is not one to shy away from life. Strength offers you a way to approaches even difficult situations with patience and conviction.
In the original version of this post, I referred to this lion using feminine pronouns (she, her). Several commenters pointed out that as this lion has a mane, it is actually a male lion. One commenter pointed out that this lion could be a “two-spirit, genderqueer or trans lioness.” For simplicity’s sake, I will use gender neutral pronouns in this updated version.
As I’ve stated a couple of times in these posts, I believe that all archetypes at their core are gender neutral. The Strength card is typically associated with “feminine energy” because it shows a strong and confident yet calm approach. But the term “yin energy” might be more appropriate as this phrasing does not have the distracting gender connotations.
The lion carries a rose in their mouth. Although their teeth are sharp enough that they could easily rip the flower in half, they do not. Instead, the flower is held carefully, showing a gentle fierceness. The lion’s mastery is achieved softly, not through brute force. Instead of exerting their will to solve a problem, they work WITH the problem.
Above the lion is a sun, emanating orange and yellow rays. This adds to the sense of pride we already associate with lions. On the lion’s forehead is a lemniscate, enhanced with orange and yellow. This shows a broad scope of infinite energy.
I tend to draw comparisons between Strength and The Chariot as they show variations on a similar theme. The Chariot shows more of a firm-hand control, Strength shows more of a patient mastery. The Wild Unknown does a magnificent job portraying the traits that we have come to associate with the Strength card.
Strength Tarot Card Meanings in General
Traditional depictions show a woman leaning down towards a lion. The woman cradles the lion’s jaw with her hands, gently persuading the creature to cooperate. Instead of exerting a copious amount of energy trying to force the lion to do something, she knows her energy will be better spend if she remains calm. The cactus in The Spacious Tarot also symbolizes energy conservation.
Strength reminds you that sometimes you must play the long game. Meaningful changes take time. You need to have the patience to hold space for others. You need to have the courage to face challenges. And you must have the fortitude to keep showing up no matter what setbacks you encounter.
Strength speaks to your ability to calmly coerce other people to agree with your approach. Tolerance and compassion go a long way when you want to show the validity of your vision. But Strength also speaks to your ability to walk side by side with your own inner demons. Instead of ignoring them or trying to beat them into submission, your best approach is to gain mastery over them by tapping into your courage, your gentle (but fierce) power.
In a reading
In a reading, this card is often a reminder of your inner courage. Just as the lion on the card radiates both patience and boldness, you hold both of these traits within yourself. It is time to step into your reserve of inner courage and do what needs to be done. Have patience with yourself, and have compassion for those you encounter.
Remember that you don’t need to force anything to happen. Instead, look at how you can conserve your energy by working WITH your challenges. When you are simultaneously calm and courageous, you are truly a force to be reckoned with.
Hi, I'm Carrie!
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Ask risk of sounding like a know-it-all… I just though I’d tell you that this is actually a male lion. The females don’t have manes.
Don’t know if that matters to you in terms of the meaning of the card but I thought I’d mention it.
Oh, wow. You are totally right. It’s funny because of course, I knew that…yet somehow I have the idea firmly planted in my brain that there’s this really feminine energy at work in this card. Thank you for pointing this out, I’ll update the post at some point. 🙂
It’s funny you say that about the feminine energy. I just got a lion tattoo with a mane and I view it as a self portrait, even though I am female. It was partly inspired by this tarot card! I saw it and thought “that is who I hope to be”. The tattoo is a reminder of my inner strength and ability to move forward.
That sounds like an incredible tattoo. <3
lol you beat me to it. remind me not to skim.
Ha, wow, that’s funny. For me this is a highly feminine card as well, so I thought of the lion as a ‘she’ as well, despite the obvious manes! Thanks for pointing that out.
Great series of posts, Carrie, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every single analyses. Great aid in getting to know the deck and acquire deeper understanding. Also LOVE your insight on the line work, would love to see more videos on those characteristics.
Thank you for all you do :). Hope you’re having a great day.
You are very welcome! I’m glad it’s been of interest 🙂
You’re welcome! 🙂 <3
Hello! I hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you know where I can buy the cards this lion came from! It is for a very important wedding! Thank you so much, Nina
Hi Nina, This is the Wild Unknown Tarot deck, http://www.thewildunknown.com
Had my first reading today, but just FYI this lion cannot be a “she”. Female lions do not grow manes. I’m still finding the reasearch fascinating tho. Love your interpretations.
I’m dumb I didn’t see this was already covered. 🙂
I still haven’t updated the post, though! Gah! I want to give all of these Wild Unknown posts a bit of updating during 2017.
I love all your posts, Carrie- thank you. I pulled strength today as I did mynee year spread. It’s the umbrella theme for my year – and it’s the only card I drew reverse. I’ve not ever stayed with a reverse card (I always just flip them) but trying to trust the intentional orientation of this card. Any insight on the reverse meaning?
Hey Melanie, I wrote a post about reading reversed cards, you can find it here: http://carriemallon.com/blog/how-to-read-reversed-tarot-cards/ Happy New Year!
It’s interesting that folks are so focused on reinforcing the gender binary here. In other decks, like the Rider-Waite, the Strength card shows a woman with a lion’s head in her hands. She tames the lion with a quiet strength. I’m thinking this card portrays that same sense of feminine energy and power embodied in one beautiful lion. Perhaps this is a two-spirit, genderqueer, or trans lioness. Whatever you call it, feminine energy is fierce and that’s definitely what I get from this lioness.
So, I had to google after I wrote this: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2012/10/09/weird-wild-rare-maned-lionesses-explained/
Turns out there are lionesses with manes after all!
Lindsay, this is fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and findings.
I like this explanation. I was also thinking about other decks and the idea of closing the lions jaws which they show. In some other depictions it is the lion possibly being moved by a greater strength (feminine energy). So, to me it reads as the flower actually embodying enough strength to be carried in the lions mouth without being harmed. Or, compelling the lion to consider its strength if it doesn’t want to damage the flower. This power of knowledge and beauty being stronger than brute force.
Is there any particular reason Strength is XI (11) in your deck when it’s traditionally VIII (8)? Strength and Justice are switched in your deck, why is that?
This is not my deck, I only wrote my personal and unofficial viewpoints on the cards. The deck was created by Kim Krans. That said, the older tradition is actually to do the numbering just as you see it here – Strength as 11, Justice as 8. It wasn’t until the Waite-Smith tarot deck came around that the numbering was switched to Strength as 8, Justice as 11. It is generally believed that Waite made this change to fit his interpretations of the astrological associations of the cards.
Did you notice that the numbers for Justice and Strength are switched? Wondering why or if just a misprint? In all decks though? Hmmm probably best to post the comment on the authors site somewhere. Lol much Love Big Heart Hugs
Hi there! As I mentioned in an older comment above, the order used in the Wild Unknown is the same as some older decks, most notably the Thoth which was very influential. However, I’ve never been sure why the artist decided to switch the order in the Wild Unknown because in general the card meanings seem more in line with the Waite-Smith tradition in which Strength is 8 and Justice is 11.
What about inverted/upside down?