Tarot - The Open Reading by Ben-Dov Yoav

Author:Ben-Dov, Yoav [Ben-Dov, Yoav]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2014-01-24T16:00:00+00:00

Card 11 – The Force

Fighting a lion is a common symbol of force and courage. The Bible mentions Samson and David fighting lions, and the Greek mythical hero Hercules kills a lion as one of his twelve tasks. The female figure may come from another Greek tale about the nymph Cyrene, the daughter of a mortal king. One day, when tending her father’s sheep, Cyrene fought and killed a lion who threatened to devour them. The god Apollo, who was passing by, watched the fight and fell in love with her. He took her to the Libyan coast, where he made her a queen of the area known to this day as Cyrenaica. A female goddess riding a lion or a tiger is also known in India, where she appears as the mighty fighting goddess Durga, or Kali in a darker aspect.

The Force acts gently

The Force card clearly represents strength and domination. But it is not the tough masculine domination that we see in The Emperor, with his hard grip on the scepter. The Force figure is a woman, her posture and her hold on the animal’s mouth seems soft and gentle, and the lion’s docile gaze upward may suggest a pet rather than a wild beast. Perhaps it is a situation of taming and mastery through collaboration, rather than a fierce struggle against a cruel adversary.

The card expresses self-confidence and personal strength, without the need for violence or forceful oppression. Still, the hierarchy of control is unambiguous: it is the woman taming the lion and not the other way round. If the querent is in a strong or dominant position, the card may indicate that others respect his authority and there is no need for excessive use of force. Rather, things can be organized and moved in a gentle and friendly way. Alternatively, if the querent is in the lion’s position and is subject to a superior force, the card may indicate a choice to cooperate rather than to rebel and fight.

The Force displays self-control

In traditional pictures of a man fighting a lion, the man and the lion often face each other as opponents. But in The Force card the woman and the lion are facing the same direction. The lion even seems to be growing from the lower part of her body, as if he is an extended part of her. Perhaps it represents not an external agent, but her own wild animal impulses. One can see it as an image of self-control, where a person dominates and tames his own natural wild impulses. For example, he may be controlling his anger or restraining himself from acting on impulse.

The head topped with a wide hat and what looks like a crown represents the intellect, guiding the hands and taming animal desires. A line on the neck separates the head from the rest of the body, and the tightly-laced bodice covering her chest indicates blocked emotions. In a positive sense, this can signify the detachment necessary to control emotions and desires.

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