For this series, I am exploring the choices of animals
made by various deck creators to correspond to traditional Tarot cards. My
initial goal is to get through the Major Arcana using cards from seven
different decks:
- Animal Tarot Cards by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh
Valentine (Hay House)
- The Animal Totem Tarot by Leeza Robertson; illustrated by
Eugene Smith (Llewellyn Publications)
- The Animal Wisdom Tarot by Dawn Brunke; illustrated by
Ola Liola (CICO Books)
- The Animal-Wise Tarot by Ted Andrews (Dragonhawk
Publishing)
- The Animals Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt (Llewellyn
Worldwide)
- The Animism Tarot by Joanna Cheung (Self-Published)
- Tarot of the Animal Lords with artwork by Angelo Giannini
(Lo Scarabeo)
To read my previous posts in this series, enter “Animal
Tarot Time” in the search field on the main page of the blog or scroll down and
click on Animal Tarot Time under CATEGORIES.
As many of you know, the numbering of the Justice and
Strength cards in the Tarot varies, depending on which deck you are using. For
this post, I will be viewing Strength as Trump 8. Let’s look at how STRENGTH is
portrayed in seven different animal decks.
Animal Tarot Cards by Doreen Virtue and Radleigh
Valentine (Hay House)
STRENGTH / MASAI LION AND LAMB
“True strength is
displayed through kindness, forgiveness, and compassion.
You have tremendous
personal power and courage.”
Where many traditional Tarot decks depict a girl or woman
with a lion on the Strength card, this deck gives us a Masai lion with a lamb.
There is a sense that both creatures not only tolerate but respect or value
each other. As the creators of the deck note, “The lion represents pure courage
and power, while the lamb is symbolic of gentleness, vulnerability, and
self-acceptance.” We are called to apply “loving strength” to situations and to
the people who are involved.
The Animal Totem Tarot by Leeza Robertson; illustrated by
Eugene Smith (Llewellyn Publications)
STRENGTH / OX
What muscles do you currently need to
build?
How can your personal strengths help those around you?
Are you throwing
your weight around instead of supporting someone you love?
This interpretation of Strength does not appear to
incorporate one of the traditional interpretations, which has to do with “taming”
one’s animal instincts in order to direct gut reactions or raw emotions constructively. The focus in The Animal Totem
Tarot is on the Ox as a symbol of physical strength but also on emotional and
mental strength as well as courage. Our will and resolve may be tested. We are
being asked to consider what weighs us down or burdens us (for example, the
past), and to question whether we feel that is the best use of our strength.
The Animal Wisdom Tarot by Dawn Brunke; illustrated by
Ola Liola (CICO Books)
LION / Ruler of the Open Heart
Courage, Compassion,
Acceptance, Love
Just to reiterate what I wrote above, even though this
card is numbered VIII (Roman Numeral 8) on its face, I am including it here
because it obviously represents Strength, which is numbered 11 in some Tarot
decks.
In this deck, we see a lion and a young woman sitting together
in harmony. The lion here represents “your inner beast” as well as strength,
stability, and leadership. The focus is on feline or feminine energies,
reminding us that “true strength is not violent or controlling, but emerges
through love, appreciation, and acceptance of self and others.”
The Animal-Wise Tarot by Ted Andrews (Dragonhawk
Publishing)
STRENGTH / LION
Strength of Will from the Inner Sun
Ted Andrews gives us a male lion on this card without any
accompanying feminine figure, yet he makes sure to include in his discussion of
Strength the role female lions play in a pride of lions. The females actually
do most of the work as hunters and caretakers of the young. The qualities they
represent include “patience, gentleness, and the strength of love.” The male
lion encourages us to express our power, even as we nurture the more “feminine”
qualities within us such as creativity, intuition, and imagination. Strength of will – rather than brute force –
is the key.
The Animals Divine Tarot by Lisa Hunt (Llewellyn
Worldwide)
STRENGTH / Lion and Tara: Tibetan
(tapping into inner
resources, embracing one’s animal nature, courage)
Lisa Hunt takes us to Tibet for her interpretation of
Strength, offering us an image of a lion accompanied by Tara, “one of the most
popular deities in the Buddhist tradition.” She is viewed as a strong,
compassionate deity who is “often called upon during times of distress and
endangerment.” The lion, as in other Tarot decks, represents “the spark and
libido necessary for continued achievement.” If we try to suppress or neglect
this type of energy, it is likely to manifest into something potentially
negative. We are encouraged to utilize such internal resources in a productive,
creative manner.
The Animism Tarot by Joanna Cheung (Self-Published)
STRENGTH / The Lion and Carmine Bee-Eater
(ferocity and
gentleness, freedom and control, passion and compassion)
I love the way Joanna Cheung expresses the meaning of
this card: “There is a balance here, one that requires a delicate touch, one
without fear, but with understanding. With balance, comes peace.”
Cheung views the Lion as representing “power, protection,
courage, patience, wisdom, passion,” whereas the Bee-Eater symbolizes “unity,
family, tranquility, support, comfort, balance.” This balance is all the more
impressive given the relative size and physical strength of these two
creatures. Both of these “natures” can be found within us, and it is up to us
to combine and balance these different energies in order to demonstrate true
strength.
Tarot of the Animal Lords with artwork by Angelo Giannini
(Lo Scarabeo)
STRENGTH / Mongoose and Snake
(courage, energy, moral
strength; reversed: decisive confrontation, danger)
This quirky deck assigns the number XI (11) to Strength,
but instead of a lion, the image depicts a mongoose-man and a snake. If you
know anything about how a mongoose deals with a snake, you know it is not a
gentle or “compassionate” approach. The mongoose darts at the head of the snake
and cracks the snake’s skull with a powerful bite. The Tarot of the Animal
Lords is giving us a much more combative, adversarial representation of
Strength than many other (more traditional) decks, although it does offer “moral
strength” as a key meaning. (On a side note, I didn’t know that meerkats are
members of the mongoose family, did you?)
To summarize, we have:
Ox – 1
Lion – 5
Mongoose/Snake - 1
It’s obvious that most of the decks in this group associate
the Strength card with the Lion. For me, the ones that feature a lion with a
milder, gentler creature (woman/girl, lamb, bird) offer a clearer connection to
traditional Strength cards, which emphasize the importance of using kindness
and compassion to “tame” our baser instincts, allowing both sides of our nature
to combine their energies in a positive, constructive direction.
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