Animal Tarot Time: STRENGTH

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 11. 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.