Tarot is an excellent tool for meditation to enhance spiritual growth. With Tarot, in our readings we each have subtly different meanings for the different cards, meanings which work well for ourselves better than anyone else’s. Spiritual Tarot works the same way. We each have our own path and we each see subtly different things in the Major Arcana cards to help us along that path.

With this series I’m sharing my journey, in hopes that it might help to shine a little light on yours.

The Strength card pictures a woman dressed in a white gown, representing purity of thought and action. Above her head is the cosmic leminscate, a figure eight lying on its side, which is a symbol of eternal life and dominion. She wears a crown of roses on her head and a girdle of roses at her waist. Roses symbolize desire and, since she is dressed in white, her desire is a pure and spiritual one. She is bent over gently closing the mouth of a lion, standing beside her. He seems to be looking up at her in an adoring manner. No strain appears on her face; she seems to be gently and lovingly taking control of this beast.

The lady indicates our higher spiritual self, while the lion is a symbol of our lower, animal nature. In other words she, our spiritual self, is gently controlling our basic animal nature. Which, of course, is what we are here to learn. Growing spiritually, controlling our animal nature, while emphasizing our higher, “God-Self,” is our purpose for entering this physical plane of existence.

This is where our true “strength” lies. If we live our lives from the lower nature we spend our time “roaring and roaring” about all the things that are wrong in our life. And – nothing changes. As the old saying goes, “If nothing changes, nothing changes.” We have to make that spiritual change in our life to see things start to become better for us.

Remember – you make your own reality, day by day, with your thoughts and expectations. When we begin to look at our life from a spiritual, positive perspective, life itself begins to look better to us. When we remember that we are here to learn and grow, we can see the real purpose behind our “problems” in life – they are lessons!

Now, we have to feed the lion, exercise him and give him some shelter. We have to take care of him in every way, because he is our vehicle in this world. We just can’t ignore him; he definitely serves a purpose in our life, and deserves our care. But – we don’t have to look at life from his point of view. The lion is our vehicle, but our real identity is the higher God-Self. We need to keep that in mind; that is the pathway to happiness and real comfort in this world.

When I meditate on Strength, I remember that my true strength lies in remembering who I really am, and that life’s “cares and woes” only affect my lower self, the lion.

And that is what Strength means to me.