Illustration Friday - Strength

In the tarot deck, the eighth card is Strength, or La Force, and is typically illustrated with a gentle woman who dominates the fierce lion. When dealt in an upright position, this card signifies the virtue of fortitude and the power of love – along with determination, generosity, energy, optimism, resolve, and reconciliation.

Although some claim that Tarot originated in ancient Egypt or with the Hebrew mystic tradition of the Kabbalah, the oldest surviving Tarot cards were made for members of the Visconti family, rulers of Milan in the mid-15th century. The typical tarot deck consists of 78 cards divided into the Major Arcana (Latin for key) and the Minor Arcana. Similar to playing cards, the Minor Arcana is divided into four suits: Swords, Batons, Coins and Cups.

Since the Medieval times, tarot cards have been used both for games and as a means for divination. Later, the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (1875 - 1961) found a certain significance in the imagery depicted in the Tarot whereby the various cards might represent the fundamental human and situational archetypes embedded in the collective subconscious. Thus, in more recent times, the Tarot has also been employed as a psychological tool.

You can read more about the Tarot at Wikipedia. This version of Strength was done with micron pen, markers, watercolor pencils, and a bit of photoshop. The sun is "on loan" from the Speechless illustration.