Welcome to my August series about Strength, and let’s start with, You Gotta Have Heart. Strength is the eighth card in tarot’s major arcana, which correlates with the astrological sign of Leo.
đź’« Fun Fact: Leo represents courage and heart (core means heart in Latin). Leo, ruled by the Sun, happens during the dog days of summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. It also symbolizes creativity (including children, our finest creations), romance, recreation, sports, and risk-taking.
Let Your Light Shine
Strength is about courage, self-control, and compassion. Strength and Leo work together and help you develop the courage needed to let your unique, creative, individual light shine. Let’s explore.Â
As we enter the scene, we see a woman dressed in white—symbolizing the purity of her actions—with an infinity symbol above her head. This symbol, known as a lemniscate, or a figure-eight-shaped curve, suggests unlimited potential. It represents vitality and constant movement that ultimately results in equilibrium. Next to her stands a ferocious red lion representing power, passion, fire, and true will—all that’s necessary to lead with your heart! Their backs arch—the woman’s concave and the lion’s convex—and form the yin and yang symbol. The lion’s passion balances her intellect.  Â
The card’s yellow background suggests communication, power, clarity, enlightenment, wisdom, and the calm necessary for the woman to run her right hand through the lion’s mane with no fear. At the same time, her left hand rests upon its jaw. The lion symbolizes your more primitive animal instincts and desires, while the woman stands for your ability to tame those instincts and desires to bring balance.
That’s why strength stands for inner strength. It’s necessary strength to balance your powerful animal instincts—such as anger, fear, jealousy, rage, or lust—with your gentler, more intuitive, and loving side. This card is a reminder that true strength isn’t always about bulging muscles or fighting to the death. It’s not hiding from your anger. True strength is more about having the courage to be vulnerable enough to understand the truth about who you are and to love yourself no matter what.
Your True Strengths
An excellent guide to better understanding the Strength card is to think about or meditate on what you believe are your true strengths. As you look at this card, imagine yourself as both the woman and the lion, and then ask yourself:
- What are my biggest strengths?
- Where in my life do I feel out of control & less than powerful?
- How can I better express my gifts, talents, and special skills without hiding my light?
These are the issues the Strength card is calling on you to consider right now. Reflect on these questions this week, and I’ll be back next week to discuss why the Strength card is coming up for you now!
Here’s a short video on this month’s card.
Ever upward!
