The Strength card is so lovely in it’s common depiction of a woman cuddled up to a beast with a serene look upon her face. Serene look or not, anyone could see or sense that this woman is not a shrinking violet, that this look is hard won and that this woman is not a soul to be reckoned with. She has faced her fears, and tamed them in order to become her true self, and for this reason has found her strength.

The strength card reminds one of the power to be had in facing our fears. That moving ahead in spite of fear is the only way to get what we truly want, and to be who we want to be. At times one may need to fight not only our own fears but the fears and opinions of others around us to accomplish of value, of personal power and responsibility. One can look at the fear, the adversity as overwhelming and concede defeat. Or one can look at it as a challenge to be had, to learn perseverance, to sort one’s willpower and resolve. To grow or to wither. To fight or to cower. To claim this life as your own or to accept it as a mere bystander.

There is no easy way through strength. You don’t find strength in comfort but you do find comfort in strength. Strength comes from adversity and from confrontation with all that makes one uncomfortable. It is taking full responsibility for one’s path without excuses. It helps to define what one wants and the fears one must face in order to take the path to what one wants. The strength is gained in making the desire, the goal more important than the fear. Whether the objective is achieved or not, strength and will are found.