STRENGTH
The Daughter of the Flaming Sword
Leo
“Inner Strength”
DESCRIPTION AND SYMBOLISM
In Strength we perceive a young woman wearing a white robe that is adorned with flowers. She is standing in a pristine natural environment and closing the mouth of a powerful lion that stands beside her, a symbol of her natural self. Above her head floats the mystical figure eight, the symbol of eternity. Her head is encircled with a band of flowers which she wears as a crown. The source of her Strength lies within Nature itself – the “Holy Grail” erroneously sought by men throughout the centuries as a physical object while actually representing the realization of an inner state of spiritual consciousness whose attributes are strength, creativity, self- confidence and inner peace. This state of inner strength results from the union of the self consciousness, the creative imagination and the natural self transforming them all and is attainable by anyone who forms a relationship to the Indwelling Consciousness of Nature, which is symbolized in Strength by the lady’s relationship with the lion. Her strength is the power of love and she tames the lion through it. Strength invokes an atmosphere of inner strength through which the darker aspects of being are transformed by the power of love.
ASTROLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
The sign of Leo, the lion of the Zodiac, embodies the traits that we perceive of its counterpart in the natural world – the lion of the African plains – those traits of inner strength, courage and control of the natural environment. Leo is the externalizing energy of the Zodiac - how we command and direct our energies as they move outward from the strength of our inner self into our present life and towards our future goals.
ORACLES
When Appearing Upright in a Reading
Strength, courage and moral fortitude are necessary for your continued growth and success. You must gain greater control over yourself by exercising self discipline and coming to terms with the realities of your natural self. The self confidence and the inner strength that you will develop will allow you to triumph over all obstacles.
When Appearing Reversed in a Reading
An atmosphere of self-indulgence, selfishness and weakness surrounds your life. You exhibit a lack of self-discipline and inner strength. Constantly yielding to your selfish and self indulgent desires is creating moral weakness and placing you in grave danger. The dark side of life could swallow you up. Remember that the strong survive and the weak perish.
THE TREE OF LIFE
“The Intelligence of the Secret of Works”
The secret work of self-development leads to the transformation of the personality and the experience of Spirit: the highest and most sublime beauty attainable by human consciousness. The development and utilization of the latent spiritual powers within the psyche that comes about through the integration of the inner nature reveals our true purpose for entering this plane of being.