Here we see a fiery lion rendered docile through the gentle offices of a maiden whose white dress gives her, like the priests of Jupiter who also wore white, a Jovial quality of quiet authoritative strength which mollifies and moderates the potential ferocity of the lion, or Leo and the solar heat, or element of fire which is associated with the arcana of (8) Strength, causing sweetness to come forth from the strong. It should also be noted that with reference to Jupiter that,
The Sun clarifies the truths and characteristics of the other planets it touches, so Strength, therefore, strengthens the other Major Arcana cards in the spread, and magnifies their significance, especially Wheel of Fortune and Temperance due to their Jupiter connection. The Sun and Jupiter communicate in a special configuration, so the benefits are intensified.
Source: https://www.tarotingie.com/tarot-card-meanings/major-arcana/strength-tarot-card-meanings/
Personal Application
Today I stumbled across an excellent website by Athen Chimenti on the topic of sidereal astrology, that is, astrology that is based on the actual constellations in the sky as opposed to the seasonal-based tropical astrology that is practised by most western astrologers.
I used the site to create my natal chart and learnt that my “star sign” was not “Capricorn” as it is in tropical astrology, but that I was actually born under the sign of the centaur, Sagittarius, and also that my ruling sign is Leo. Now that was a moving discovery for me because I have long felt an affinity with the centaur (and through the centaur, for the works of Machiavelli) and the gamesome spirit of Leo.
The combination of man and beast in Sagittarius, and the leonine quality of my natal chart are nicely hinted at in the eighth arcana, (8) Strength. It is quite remarkable that I should make these discoveries on the fourth Sunday after Trinity, that is in the liturgical season of the (19) Sun during the week of the (4) Emperor, whose ruling planet is Mars, which is prominent and in Retrograde in my Ascendant which in turn, as Leo, is ruled by the Sun.
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