Strength

Major Arcana

The lion prefers a soft hand.

Strength is the card of quiet power. It shows a person calming a lion, not by fighting it, but by being present with it. This is courage as patience, not as force. It's what it takes to keep your heart open when fear is asking you to close it.

Upright

Courage
Patience
Soft power
Composure

Drawing Strength often means you're being asked to handle something difficult with softness rather than aggression. Real strength isn't the absence of fear; it's the willingness to act in the presence of it.

Reversed

Self-doubt
Force
Burnout

Reversed, Strength is self-doubt, or strength turned harsh. You might be punishing yourself in the name of discipline, or shutting down because the situation feels too big. Strength reversed asks for tenderness toward yourself first.

It can also point to bottled-up anger. Something needs to be felt, not acted on, just felt, and you've been pushing it down. Strength reversed says the lion is loudest when you pretend it isn't there.