In A. E. Waite's Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910), Strength upright means: Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours. Reversed: Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace.
The picture
“A woman, over whose head there broods the same symbol of life which we have seen in the card of the Magician, is closing the jaws of a lion. The only point in which this design differs from the conventional presentations is that her beneficent fortitude has already subdued the lion, which is being led by a chain of flowers. For reasons which satisfy myself, this card has been interchanged with that of justice, which is usually numbered eight. As the variation carries nothing with it which will signify to the reader, there is no cause for explanation. Fortitude, in one of its most exalted aspects, is connected with the Divine Mystery of Union; the virtue, of course, operates in all planes, and hence draws on all in its symbolism. It connects also with innocentia inviolata, and with the strength which resides in contemplation. These higher meanings are, however, matters of inference, and I do not suggest that they are transparent on the surface of the card. They are intimated in a concealed manner by the chain of flowers, which signifies, among many other things, the sweet yoke and the light burden of Divine Law, when it has been taken into the heart of hearts. The card has nothing to do with self-confidence in the ordinary sense, though this has been suggested, but it concerns the confidence of those whose strength is God, who have found their refuge in Him. There is one aspect in which the lion signifies the passions, and she who is called Strength is the higher nature in its liberation. It has walked upon the asp and the basilisk and has trodden down the lion and the dragon.” A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, 1910
Upright
Power, energy, action, courage, magnanimity; also complete success and honours.
Reversed
Despotism, abuse of power, weakness, discord, sometimes even disgrace.
In one line
Courage and gentleness: the hand that calms the lion. (Esbat's own summary of Waite's meaning and picture.)
Where it sits in the deck
Strength is card VIII of the 22 Major Arcana, the trumps. Before it comes The Chariot; after it, The Hermit.
In Esbat
Esbat deals a card of the day, face down until you turn it, and holds all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. Strength can be shared as a picture. All 78 tarot card meanings.
Sources
Meanings and picture descriptions: A. E. Waite, The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (London: Rider, 1910), public domain, checked against the Wikisource transcription. Picture: Pamela Colman Smith, 1910, public domain. Like the app, this page records what the book says; it does not promise outcomes.
Last updated October 25, 2026.
Esbat: Tarot & Book of Shadows, on Google Play
A card of the day, face down until you turn it, and all 78 cards in the 1910 pictures with Waite's meanings, upright and reversed. For Android.
The Chariot: tarot card meaning: The Chariot tarot meaning in A. E. Waite's own words (1910): upright, succour, providence; also war, triumph; reversed, riot, quarrel, dispute.
The Hermit: tarot card meaning: The Hermit tarot card meaning, upright and reversed, in A. E. Waite's own words (1910), with the original 1910 picture.
Tarot card meanings: all 78 cards: All 78 tarot card meanings, upright and reversed, in A. E. Waite's own words (1910), with Pamela Colman Smith's original pictures.