Hanson Roberts - Strength

Grizabella

I've looked and looked and I just do NOT see anything holding that necklace together!
 

willowfox

It sure doesn't look like a glove to me, it looks very much like a suntanned hand. But could it be that the lion and the women are blending together, is she not only taking the lion beasty nature and calming it but the lion's colour as well where she has touch it? I see it as they are both becoming one.
 

Disa

Solitaire* said:
I've looked and looked and I just do NOT see anything holding that necklace together!

It's wispy and white. Look at it like you do when you make shapes out of clouds :)
 

kahlana

This has always been one of my very favorite decks and was the first deck i ever got. I love the innocent beauty of all the cards. I got out my deck and looked over this card very carefully. i saw the spirit being holding the necklace together and to me this represents the pearls of wisdom being held together by the spirit of intution and the fact that the spirit is nestled in her cleavage seems to indicate that she uses her heart as much as her head. I see the red in her glove and cloak as being the things she is most passionate about. The blue of her dress and the red cloak and glove seem to indicate to me a balance of her passions and emotions while the laurel (peace) in her hair keeps her calm and collected even in the face of adversity (the mountains in the background). The lion indicates she can take care of what she needs to without getting upset or frustrated about it. Remember that in a pride of lions it is the females that hunt and basically provide for the males. The males provide what is neccessary for the continuation of the species and protection for the young and weaker lions from predators. So she is the provider, he the protector.
One other thing i see is with the roses. Roses are beautiful but they also have thorns. And the lion has claws. So to me there is the possiblity of danger in the beauty as well.
okay enough of my ramblings on this card. Its a fun card no matter how you look at it.
 

Morwenna

This is the first I've seen (or heard of) that bit of "spirit" holding her necklace together; thank you. To me it looks like cabochon gems rather than beads, and right on her skin since I can't see the chain or string either. Just a minor detail.

The mountains, though, look to me somewhat like the walls of a bowl or crater, implying shelter, and height above the daily cares, both rather appropriate to the serenity of the communion between woman and lion. And I like the image of peace for her laurel wreath, which I usually think of as victory; but the olive branches of peace and laurel leaves do tend to look a lot alike in art.
 

GryffinSong

This is one of my all-time favorite cards of any deck. It was the first Strength card I ever saw that had no inherent violence in it. Both woman and lion seem at complete peace, complete understanding and trust in each other. This card was revolutionary to me. That strength can be internal, of the spirit, and show as utter confidence in self. That a person doesn't have to overpower another to be strong. That power WITH is stronger and more beautiful than power OVER. As someone who abhors violence, I often felt weaker than violent persons. This card helped me become someone who can peacefully stand up to others, instead of backing down. :)
 

Firestarter

Flavio said:
Just after reading this I realized there was "something" in the necklace, probably my cards had lost some colour and are a little bit worn, thank you for pointing about the force holding the necklace together.
Looking at it closely (your 'something in the necklace'), I thought I saw a cross. Then I remembered that Waite translated Strength as "those whose strength is God". He said it has nothing to do with regular self-confidence.

However, in the shorter interpretations that he gives in the back of The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, he renames the card Fortitude and goes along with it meaning "courage", "success", "honors", and so forth.
 

cSpaceDiva

Shy Priestess said:
I love this lion, reminds me of Aslan. :)

Me too! I just noticed that the other day. Now I am re-reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Probably the most human-like lion I've seen. And both figures with their eyes closed, representing to me inner strength, like Aslan the strength and courage of self-sacrifice and forgiveness vs. the strength to conquer.
 

cSpaceDiva

Shy Priestess said:
Has anyone noticed her necklace? I was wondering why there seemed to be a bead missing at the front and noticed a white shimmer in the shape of a cross, almost like a spirit person - you can see two black dots that look like eyes if you look carefully. The white figure seems to hold the necklace together, arms outstretched.

I was thinking about this, and what cronesayer said about finding the meaning of the broken necklace from the 10 of Swords, and then last night I drew the Queen of Rods. That looks like our missing bead to me. It even has the white cross/spirit thing. I see some other correspondences between Strength/Queen of Rods too, like the Queen is a more down-to-earth, everyday version of the more powerful and mystical Strength. Maybe it is like a dream upon waking since her eyes are now opened. The lion becomes a house cat, but the image of the lion is still there, as a reminder of what was learned. For the woman in the Strength card, the white spirit alone is enough to hold the necklace together, but for the Queen, she has borrowed the bead as a reminder, a touchstone perhaps, of the strength of spirit she has learned from the woman and the lion.
 

Lula Jing

cSpaceDiva said:
I see some other correspondences between Strength/Queen of Rods too, like the Queen is a more down-to-earth, everyday version of the more powerful and mystical Strength.
Interesting - I'm going to have a look later. :) I still love this deck, above all others.