8 - Strength

Strength is the 9th card of the Major Arcana (it is Card No.8 because the first card of the Major Arcana is card no.0). This card is primarily concerned with the balancing of emotions, and is sometimes expressed in terms of "taming the beast within".

The Strength card represents strength, courage and determination in many forms, but especially in the context of "inner strength", i.e. trusting in one's own abilities.
Strength also represents compassion. It can either indicate that the seeker is strong/ compassionate, or that he/she needs these attributes - either in him/herself, or from others.

Anyone who posseses the form of "strength" indicated by the "Strength" Tarot Card can cope with whatever life deals to him/her. This may be as simple as overcoming a particular obstacle, or as fundamental as seizing control of one's own personal destiny.

Some specific terms associated with "Strength" Tarot card include:
Strength, Energy, Courage, Conviction, Emotional Maturity, Ability to help others - especially with their personal/emotional challenges.

The cards of the Major Arcana are widely considered to be the most powerful cards in the Tarot Deck. The 22 cards of the Major Arcana tell a complete story when arranged in upright and numerical order (beginning with The Fool). This is a story of of development and enlightenment and is sometimes referred to as "The Fool's Journey".

Some texts also include meanings for "reversed cards". These are for the situation in which the cards are shuffled in both order and orientation. The theoretical advantage to this is that it effectively doubles the number of possible "cards" in the deck from 78 to 156. (However, in terms of the calculation of obtaining results according to chance alone, it is not a simple mathematical doubling because once a card has been drawn it cannot be drawn again in the opposite orientation in the same reading.)