The Strength card meaning: should I speak up or keep quiet?

AmyTay · 2024-08-29T15:38:17+00:00

Explore Strength tarot card meaning: does its lion signal restraint or boldness? Read perspectives on speaking up vs staying quiet in forum discussion.

AmyTay

The Strength card, The Lovers, and the Ten of Cups all popped up in my spread, and now I'm kind of obsessed with Gemini. Quick question: in Strength, is the lion's jaws closed or open around the woman?

How do you read that? Should I keep quiet and hold back, or is this telling me to speak up more? I'm leaning toward being more subdued — less forcing, more patience — but I'm curious how others see it. Are we all on the same page here?

LukeAdams01

AmyTay
Interesting spread, especially with The Lovers and Strength together. I can totally see the Gemini connection.

For me, Strength is the woman and the lion as a kind of balance between control and gentleness. I see the lion as raw power, emotions, impulses, and the woman’s calm touch is about finding the inner strength to guide those wild parts without being forceful. Her gently managing the lion feels less like silencing it or letting it loose and more like finding a middle ground.

So it's not really about "speak up or stay quiet." It's about knowing when and how to speak from a calm, confident place. Maybe less volume and more timing — say what you need with power and grace.

Trust yourself. If less is more, lead with patience, but don’t be afraid to assert what matters. Do it with that same calm energy the woman has with the lion. You've got this.

AmyTay

Strength from the Rider-Waite. I always think of quiet courage and patience, like gently calming whatever's scaring you rather than fighting it head on.

WillyD

When Strength shows up with The Lovers and Ten of Cups, the message lands pretty heavy. There’s a real focus on finding balance. I always picture the woman and the lion — is his mouth a little open or closed? Go with whatever feels right to you.

That quiet nudge about your words can mean holding back and letting things unfold, because sometimes less is more. Or it can be a push to be yourself, but with gentleness and compassion, like calming a wild animal.

Trust your gut. Whether you speak up or stay silent, aim for balance — patience and gentle control are the Strength vibe. How does your intuition lead you? 🏵

Joanna13

Nice pull with The Lovers for a Gemini — that lines up perfectly with their card. 😊💝

For me Strength reads as balance. The lion’s roar shows boldness, while the woman’s calm hand reminds you strength doesn’t have to be loud. It’s that sweet spot between being pushy and being too passive. I also read it as a mix of modesty and quiet confidence. It’s tied to Leo, which gives it that steady, confident energy.

HarperHere

I think the replies that focus on the inner state of mind are spot on. I'm surprised no one's mentioned the lemniscate, the infinity symbol. Waite treated it as a representation of the Holy Spirit, which definitely adds a Christianized layer to the card.

Strength, or Fortitude, is about overcoming a challenge, whether physical or metaphysical, through steady endurance. Waite ties it to power, energy, and courage, the classical virtues that help you stand up to threats.

Around 500 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church took the four classical virtues — Strength, Justice, Prudence, Temperance — and added three theological virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity, making seven total. Early tarot decks echoed that scheme, and decks like the Florentine Minchiate even included all seven.

Fortitude, considered a gift of the Holy Spirit, is often connected with Christian martyrs — think of those stories of people facing lions in the Colosseum. The Androcles and the Lion tale fits nicely: Androcles saves a lion, and later the lion spares him in the arena. Their bond mirrors the garland of flowers linking the woman and the lion on the Strength card.

Whether the lion's mouth is open or closed doesn't really matter — the card reads as trust and affection between them, much like Androcles' lion. Waite's mystical Christianity shaped a lot of his Major Arcana choices, and Strength is no exception.

Lex

Honestly, I don't think it's either. She looks like she's got one hand resting on the lion's head and the other scratching its chin. It comes across as a comforting gesture, which makes sense since Strength is often about calming the part of you that wants to lash out when you're hurt, kind of like the story of the lion with the thorn in its paw.

I can't say how this fits with the rest of your reading since I don't know the question you asked or the spread you're using, but that's how I'd read the image on its own.

AmyTay

Thanks for your thoughts!

Lex That makes a lot of sense. I’m still pretty new to reading tarot, and when I first looked at the card my gut read was that she was trying to either open or close the lion’s mouth. So yeah, probably not the best take.