[Sulis]

Against a yellow-green background we see a woman in a long green dress with a white unicorn.
Around her neck are flowers which look like daisies.
She holds the unicorn's front hoof with her left hand whilst her right hand strokes his mane.
Above her head is a golden lemniscate and above the whole scene is a golden lion.
Flowers which look to me like buttercups grow up the sides of the image and frame it.

I love this Strength card and I love the idea of a unicorn instead of a lion.
In mythology only one who is pure of heart can tame a unicorn so that goes well with the notion of strength from within and inner calm. Her intentions are pure.
Daisies and buttercups are both spring flowers so once again have the theme of newness and purity.

[Enchanted]

I think this might be my favourite card.

I always like a good Strength card, being a Leo. But I just love this one! I have loved unicorns for as long as I can remember and daisies are one of my favourite flowers. I just love everything about this card.

I like what you said about the unicorn and her intentions being pure. At her best, this woman loves and gives unconditionally, from a place of peace and calm, she gives without thought of what she might gain or outcome, simply because she can. If this isn't courageous and strong, I don't know what is!

This card is just so serene! Kind of reminds me of the serenity prayer. Peaceful acceptance and wisdom.

[Debra]

What do you make of the lion over their heads?

[Enchanted]

Originally Posted by Debra

What do you make of the lion over their heads?

It did seem strange to me at first, like it was unnecessary and in some ways I think that it still is.

The book says that the lion, links this card to Leo, so if that is all that it is there for, hmmm still coming up with unnecessary.

I like that his mane is shaped like the sun, linking it to Leo's ruler. But also it looked like the Sun up in the sky. With the flowers, it kind of gives it that summer's day type feeling. Warmth.

This lion would make more sense to me, if it was just the head of the lion as the sun.

Still love the card though!

Anyone else get some sense or meaning with the Lion?

[Debra]

Hm. Although I like the unicorn image I'm also a bit hesitant because the "innocence" of the "pure virgin" that tames the unicorn is not what I associate with strength. An innocent doesn't even know when to be afraid, but strength requires facing your fears. In that sense, the lion sailing boldly overhead--maybe a little brashly--is the "warrior/hunter" side of strength that we don't see in the Rider-Waite-Smith style decks and I don't see in the girl with unicorn. Sometimes you've got to be like a lion!

[Sulis]

Oh it's lovely to post study group threads and actually get replies

I don't like the lion being there either. If you're going to replace the main lion with a unicorn then why bother with a lion at all? I agree with Enchanted that a lion's face (as in the Sun card) would have been better but I still love this card.
Debra I like what you have to say about the lion though and it makes it seem less redundant - it offers the other side of Strength..

I see the unicorn (and the lion in most Strength cards) to represent the beast within.
Strength to me, is a card about taming that beast and learning to love it.
It's a card about self control, persistence, compassion for yourself and those around you.
Once you have come to terms with and tamed your inner beast you no longer will be at it's mercy, you will exercise control and be able to get things done not through force but through kindness.
It's a card about being kind to yourself and in turn being kind to others.

The green dress also links to spring and new growth and also makes me think of luck and prosperity although I'm not really sure how that would tie in with the meaning of Strength, it is something that could come up in a reading.

[Debra]

A very "courtly" card, as that lion comes right from heraldry and I can practically hear the maids singing "tra la la" as they wander afield in search of unicorns.

Good points all around--I'd say we should pat ourselves on the back, and as it's long after midnight here I'll say good-night.

[Papageno]

Originally Posted by Sulis

I see the unicorn (and the lion in most Strength cards) to represent the beast within.
Strength to me, is a card about taming that beast and learning to love it.
It's a card about self control, persistence, compassion for yourself and those around you.
Once you have come to terms with and tamed your inner beast you no longer will be at it's mercy, you will exercise control and be able to get things done not through force but through kindness.
It's a card about being kind to yourself and in turn being kind to others.

on this one I see it very differently.
I see the Unicorn, not as the beast within but as the embodiment of the noble qualities one should prefer to employ to tame the beast.

in my minds eye, she is making a choice here to embrace the more honorable path (the Unicorn) to achieve her goals.

in the usual depiction of Strength, I always have a difficult time recognizing the idealism of this virtue because we see the action of confronting the inner beast but it doesn't clearly define the path you choose.......and that's important because for me, it almost redefines the card.
I no longer acknowledge the ideal that the path you take to tame the beast (in whatever form that takes) must necessarily be the noble path.

I did a 3 card reading (not past present future) for myself last night using the Endora Fortune cards and the results came up:
Unicorn - Air - Medusa.........the Air card "seek a union of mind and spirit"

I don't mean to get sidetracked into a OT discussion about the Endora cards but I think the results are fairly obvious, even to people who don't use the Endora pack. the results underscored for me, what I see in this particular Strength card.

manybe I need to elaborate on Endora breifly. central message of Air, seek balance and union. flanked by Unicorn (nobility) Medusa (mercenary)

this is generally how I see the usual Strength card which conveys (to me) more latttude in how one achieves victory over a difficult situation.

[Enchanted]

Well it's been bugging me all night... the lion and the unicorn, the lion and the unicorn.... where have I heard this before???

Of course... three things, it is a children's nursery rhyme (had to drag out a very old copy of Mother Goose)

The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn all around the town.
Some gave them white bread, and some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town.

Based on this bit of history:

King James VI took over the crown from a childless Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, uniting Scotland and England and the royal coat of arms was changed to represent a unicorn for Scotland and a lion for England.

"This was a potent bit of symbolism, for both the lion and the unicorn had long been thought to be deadly enemies: both regarded as king of the beasts, the unicorn rules through harmony while the lion rules through might, It came to symbolise a reconciliation between the Scottish unicorn and the English lion that the two should share the rule."

And also a chapter in Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass"

Now that makes some sense to me!

I don't necessarily see Strength as innocent but pure, yes, I don't think you have to be innocent in a virtuous way to be pure of intent. The shadow, or beast within, is no longer a shadow if you've confronted it and are no longer afraid of it.

I think that lion and the unicorn in this card could actually represent that fight.

[Papageno]

well done Enchanted!!
that was wonderful. so eloquent.
exactly what I was trying to say only in a very clumsy way.
it mirrors the Endora experience, seeking a reconciliation between harmony and might.