strength (la force)

Translation by Kitos Digiovanni from smallcabin.org

essence

The number 11 is equal to 10 + 1, which is to say, the starting principle of 1, coming after a cycle of 10 which the Wheel of Fortune had analyzed. This principle, cone'sisting of what has been acquired in the cycle, represents therefore a force which does not come from Above, but which manifests as an energy acquired.

general and abstract meaning

This card represents the powers which come from completing a cycle. It indicates, therefore, the struggle and the will to win, a state which can only be realized if Man obtains mastery over this force, rather than being controlled by it. This will of the spirit is symbolized by a woman to show that Force should be exercised without violence.

specific analogies

Her hat, blue, yellow, and white, represents the three states of cone'sciousness: spirituality, intelligence, and the higher mind. The area with the braided robe indicates the space between the spiritual and the mental. Its shape, the algebraic symbol of infinity, that which has neither beginning nor end, signifies that it encompasses the entire universe and that it ensures its strength through equilibrium. This is the will of Being over all the planes of existence.

The black line on her neck is the demarcation between the intelligent higher physical plane and the lower physical plane which remains subordinate to intelligence.

The blue robe and the yellow corselet with its tight lacing shows that the spiritual is a state in her, surrounded by intelligence, and the cloak, with its red pleats billowing and not clinging to her body, shows that its action is exercised in material activities, but she is only able to achieve fleeting victories without anything to show for them.

The arm which symbolizes the acts of force is covered by pleated yellow sleeves, with flesh-colored cuffs, indicating therefore that her acts, directed by human intelligence, operate in the plane of physical life as well as outside it, which is to say, in incarnate being as much as in disembodied being, and this is why her foot is bare and protrudes out from under her skirt, specifying that victories are bringing about advancement and that this movement forward can take place on any plane.

The yellow lion the intelligent forces of nature, against which it is necessary to struggle lest one be devoured by them. She spreads its jaws apart showing thereby that she must look into its interior in order to remove the hidden forces which reside within in order to know and make them submit. This lion is also the representation of the intelligent and immutable force of the Divine which is in the Cosmos and in Man, one which cannot be separated from them, since it sits in opposition to Force, without an aggressive attitude and half concealed, as if it were all part of the same entity. No force can deliver effective action without a close union between Man, the Cosmos, and the Divine.

arrangement

Force holds her face towards us, right sight facing us. The position of her head, inclining to her left, indicates thought and reflection; she is oriented towards an action which she must take her time in executing. Her body, not being entirely turned toward the right, signifies, finally, that she is emerging from her reflection towards an effective action.

specific and concrete meaning

The name of the card, LA FORCE, specifies that this is in the sense of personal power over matter.

meanings as they relate to the three planes

MENTAL. It gives tremendous power to distinguish the truth from what is false, the useful from the useless, and a precise clarity in judgement.

ANIMISTIC. Dominance over one's passione's, the power of conquering. Example: a woman getting married will draw strength from affection. Affectionate protection.

PHYSICAL. The will to overcome calamities and to master the situation when one is one the side of right. The power to lead in any material matter.

INVERTED. The person is no longer the master of his own strength; he is brutal, unruly, or else has let go of it and is not using it. Calamities or people will knock him down, his strength will be annihilated and he will be the victim of higher powers.

---

In sum, in its elementary meaning, STRENGTH represents among the powers of Man, that which is the fruit of his efforts and which he is able to exercise fully over all the planes, when it keeps it in accordance with divine laws.