If this year has taught many of us anything, it’s how to draw on our inner strength.
2020 has brought intense challenges on multiple levels, requiring us to navigate uncertain circumstances and call upon reserves we didn’t know we had. For many, that pressure has pushed them to the edge and asked them to find new ways to persevere.
Tarot can be a helpful guide during times like these. While it may not offer precise predictions, Tarot provides symbolic insight and direction that can clarify choices and point toward constructive action.
One Major Arcana card that feels particularly relevant right now is Strength, card number 8. This card symbolizes courage, resilience, and the quiet power of the human spirit.
What Does the Strength Card Mean?
The Strength card offers guidance across three core life areas: career, health, and relationships. It highlights the ability to focus on what you want to create rather than what you fear, and it affirms that inner resolve can overcome many obstacles.
In traditional imagery, Strength often shows a calm figure with a lion, suggesting controlled power and compassionate leadership. The figure’s relationship with the lion reflects mastery over instinct and emotion — not through force, but through patience and courage.
What Does Strength Mean in Love & Relationships?
When Strength appears in a love or relationship reading, it usually signals the need for fortitude to face current issues. In the feelings position, it can show that someone holds deep, steady affection for you or sees you as a source of inspiration.
Strength is generally a favorable sign in relationship spreads: it indicates a stable foundation or the potential to repair and strengthen the bond, provided both people are willing to draw on patience and compassion.
What Does Strength Mean in a Career Reading?
In career readings, Strength in an advice position often points to a workplace challenge that requires perseverance. It can also indicate that your path calls for inner resilience — careers in caregiving, emergency services, or roles requiring emotional stamina — or physical strength, such as certain protective or military roles.
What About Strength as an Obstacle?
When Strength appears as an obstacle, it suggests that either your own lack of confidence is blocking progress or that someone with a forceful personality is creating resistance. Like the lion in the card, this person or situation needs careful, steady handling rather than confrontation.
What About Strength in Reverse?
Reversed, Strength can reveal where courage has turned to doubt or avoidance. It may indicate low energy, self-doubt, or fear that prevents you from acting. This position is a prompt to examine what undermines your confidence and to work intentionally to reclaim your power.
Although unsettling at first, Strength reversed can be a valuable wake-up call: it points out where you are not living fully and invites you to reconnect with your innate bravery.
How To Make the Strength Card Work For You
You can consciously adopt the Strength card’s energy to support your progress through the rest of the year. Here are practical ways to work with this archetype.
Study the Meaning of the Card
Learn the symbolism and nuances of Strength. Different decks emphasize different details, and exploring those variations can deepen your understanding. The more familiar you are with the card, the easier it becomes to let its message influence your mindset.
Meditate on the Card
Meditation can help you embody the card’s qualities. Clear your mind of doubts, focus on the image and its meaning, and visualize strength flowing through you. If you own the card, hold it while you meditate to create a stronger link between the symbol and your intention.
Place the Card on Your Altar
Keeping the Strength card visible on a personal altar or a small dedicated space can maintain that energy in your daily life. If you don’t have an altar, a simple table with a candle and a meaningful object will do.
Use Affirmations with the Card
Combine the card with clear affirmations to direct your will. Speak intentions aloud or silently each day while holding or looking at the card: “Give me strength to ask for the promotion I deserve,” “Give me strength to heal,” or “Give me strength to make the right relationship choice.” Stating your aims helps align your focus and attract supportive energy.
Use the Power of Strength in 2020
Strength can be hard to access, especially after a difficult year, but it’s often closest when things feel the darkest. Let the challenges of 2020 reveal how much resilience you possess. You likely have more courage and resolve than you imagine — now is the time to call it forward and use it to meet the opportunities and tests ahead.
What will you use your strength to overcome this year?