La Force XI Triumph. Jean-Claude Flornoy's book 'Seeing the World Tarot Signposts on the Path to Perception; describes: "Force. Key to the Arcanum: Self-Making within and through the World of Matter". This is as good a description as any. I prefer the title Force, not Strength because I like the meaning "bring about by unusual effort". Etymology ~ " From c. 1400 as "compel by force, constrain (someone to do something)." Meaning "bring about by unusual effort" is from 1550s;" but if I'm "constrain"(ed) then I don't object to "fortitude (n.) late 14c., "moral strength (as a cardinal virtue); courage,". By the 18th c. the image of La Force is "stabilising" in the historic Tarot de Marseille decks, and "The emblematic Maiden and Lion is the most familiar scene" Laetitia Barbier. Earlier images of 'brute force' include Samson or Heracles killing wild beasts in Italian decks. And Samson shattering the pillars of the Temple gradually disappears. Occasionally the Maiden holds or leans on a pillar but in the end " The Maiden isn't looking for supremacy by projecting her dominion on the Lion through aggression and mortal combat. Something more subtle is at play in this image, a subduing in which the beast keeps its integrity, an encounter where the energy is derived from negotiation, not strife" Laetitia Barbier. Their relationship develops, and is brought "about by unusual effort" both physical, mental and spiritual. Her Force or Strength comes from the 'infinite source' of Fortitude. St. Thomas Aquinas describes Fortitude as "an inner strength in which we courageously go toward what we fear, what might hurt us, in order to preserve the good". In her book Tarot and Divination Cards A Visual Archive by Laetitier Barbier, she comments "the Maiden and the Lion trope prevailed over time because it revealed something more profound", and not just the brute strength or aggressive force of Samson or Heracles.
La Force XI Triumph. Jean-Claude Flornoy's book 'Seeing the World Tarot Signposts on the Path to Perception; describes: "Force. Key to the Arcanum: Self-Making within and through the World of Matter". This is as good a description as any.
I prefer the title Force, not Strength because I like the meaning "bring about by unusual effort". Etymology ~ " From c. 1400 as "compel by force, constrain (someone to do something)." Meaning "bring about by unusual effort" is from 1550s;" but if I'm "constrain"(ed) then I don't object to "fortitude (n.) late 14c., "moral strength (as a cardinal virtue); courage,".
By the 18th c. the image of La Force is "stabilising" in the historic Tarot de Marseille decks, and "The emblematic Maiden and Lion is the most familiar scene" Laetitia Barbier. Earlier images of 'brute force' include Samson or Heracles killing wild beasts in Italian decks. And Samson shattering the pillars of the Temple gradually disappears.
Occasionally the Maiden holds or leans on a pillar but in the end " The Maiden isn't looking for supremacy by projecting her dominion on the Lion through aggression and mortal combat. Something more subtle is at play in this image, a subduing in which the beast keeps its integrity, an encounter where the energy is derived from negotiation, not strife" Laetitia Barbier. Their relationship develops, and is brought "about by unusual effort" both physical, mental and spiritual.
Her Force or Strength comes from the 'infinite source' of Fortitude. St. Thomas Aquinas describes Fortitude as "an inner strength in which we courageously go toward what we fear, what might hurt us, in order to preserve the good". In her book Tarot and Divination Cards A Visual Archive by Laetitier Barbier, she comments "the Maiden and the Lion trope prevailed over time because it revealed something more profound", and not just the brute strength or aggressive force of Samson or Heracles.
Looks like I need a new book 🤔 This reminds me of an ad that just came across on YT about speaking gently with animals.