VIII · Major Arcana
Strength
Twrch Trwyth
The unconquerable thing is not defeated but wearied, followed and finally reached.
Upright
Force will not work here. What will work is endurance, patience and a refusal to be frightened off. The strength being asked of you is the kind that shows as gentleness from the outside.
Reversed
Not used in Raynebow readings - reversals are off in the product. Shown here for reference.
Trying to overpower what should be outlasted, or giving up one pursuit short of the end. Raw appetite in charge of the person rather than the reverse.
Keywords
fortitude · patience · inner strength · the untamed · compassionate mastery
The Welsh story
Twrch Trwyth was a king transformed into a monstrous boar for his sins, carrying a comb, razor and shears between his ears. Culhwch had to take them to win Olwen, and the hunt ran the length of Ireland and Wales with Arthur's whole warband, costing many lives, until the boar was driven into the sea at Cornwall. The Llewellyn deck sets a Welsh boar where the traditional card sets a lion.
On the card
Strength that does not need to be shown.