From: ceci@lysator.liu.se
Date: Early January 1994
Subject: Tarot card Strength.

It seems that the Tarot cards thread died during transport to
alt.magick. I think it's a pity, so I'll start again. There's no need
whatsoever for it to be in any kind of order, so I'm taking a card
that I've recently reinterpreted -- Strength, which is card number 8,
or sometimes 11.

I have two decks, none of which I'm particularly happy with: The
Servants of the Light, and the Jungian Tarot. I also have access to a
Thoth deck. Bibliography at the end of the article.

STRENGTH
========

Physical descriptions:
In the SoL deck Strenght is a fairly simply designed card. Against a
background of a yellow sky a woman dressed in a long white dress opens
the jaws of a completely red lion. The woman and thee lion are
connected with a garland of roses, forming an eternity symbol or the
figure eight. Above the head of the woman another eternity symbol
hovers. The background contains a snowy top that is meant to suggest a
phallus and some hills, one of which is meant to suggest a breast.

The Jungian card is much more complex but basically just elaborates
the theme of the SoL card: A woman dressed in white touches the head
of a lion. For some reason that I don't quite understand, she holds
what looks to me like a sunsymbol in the other hand. The ground where
she and the lion stand is covered by vegetation, and there is a
crescent disc. Behind her there is an entrance into the underworld by
means of a stair. Further back there is water in which 3 lit candles
mysteriously hover. Across the water there is a bridge, and we can see
through one of its arches, where there is darkness. On top of the
bridge stands a man holding out his hands. Behind him is a dark sky
with some stars and some clouds or fog. As in all Major Arcana cards
in this deck there is a mandala that is hard to describe. I find it
somehow "right" for the card, though. *shrug*

The Thoth card also has a woman and a creature that resembles a lion,
but it is totally different in mood. A rapturous woman lies on an
animal that vaguely resembles a lion. It's head is composed of the
heads of an angel, a saint, a poet, an adulterous woman, a man of
valour, of a satyr and of Lion-Serpent. In her left hand the woman
holds the reins that bind her and her object of passion together. In
her right hand is the Holy Grail. The tail of the lion looks like a
snake with a lion's head. From the Grail ten rays with extend. They
end in discs, which represent the sephiroth. The tails of snakes can
be seen, as they haste to destroy and re-create the world. Crowley
calls the card Lust, and puts it at place 11 in the deck.

Correspondences:
According to SoL: Rulership -- Leo, Hebrew letter -- Teth, the
serpent, numerical value -- 12.
According to the Jungian tarot: The daughter as collector of
experience.
According to Thoth: The original marriage.

Interpretations:
According to SoL this card has to do with sexuality. The woman is
meant to be a young bride who holds the lion's jaws apart to show that
she is in control. The maiden is the soul beginning to understand and
trust its spiritual strength. "The girl holds in check the lower
aspect of herself, her virginity is not to be given lightly, but as a
gift of love, neither may it be taken by force. She is pure in heart
and spiritually invincible."

A quote from the Jungian tarot: "Indeed, innoncence holding enormous
sexual power under control is a very appropriate explanation for this
card." 

In The Book of Thoth some famous passages from the Book of Law are
quoted: Come forth, o children of the stars & take your fill of love!
I am above you and in you. My ecstacy is in yours. My joy is to see
your joy." and "To worship me take wine and strange drugs..." Crowley
also goes into some detail about his theory of magickal aeons. He
seems to mean that interpretations like that of SoL belong to a
previous aeon.

Personal view: 
Obviously the authors of the SoL and Jungian interpretations don't
think that sexuality is something sacred to be enjoyed. I've been
looking for a Tarot set (with interpreting book) that I actually feel
comfortable with for some time now, and so far only Thoth has stood
the Strength test.  All the others have connected sexuality with
something dirty in the interpretation of the Strength card. I know
that the interpretations in the book that belongs to a deck aren't
necessarily the "right" ones, but obviously the artist's intentions
show in the picture. 

Comments and additions are appreciated.

The Servants of the Light Tarot, artwork by Jo Gill and Anthony Clark,
booklet by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki. Published by Aquarian Press in
1991. ISBN 0-85030-717-1.

Inner Landscapes (pathworkings for the Major Arcana of the SoL deck)
by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki. Published by Aquarian Press 1989. 
ISBN 0-85030-623-X

Jungian Taror (Tarot psychology) by Robert Wang. Published by Urania
Verlags AG in 1988. ISBN 3-908647-01-0.

The Book of Thoth, by The Master Therion (Aleister Crowley), artwork
by Frieda Harris. Published by Weiser 1974. (First published 1944)
ISBN 0-87728-268-4.

Strength blessings,
--Ceci