11-The Matriarch – Upright Salem Deck

Your Chosen Card – The Matriarch Upright Salem Deck

When upright, the Lust or Strength/Lust card suggests a need to face a situation with courage, determination, and fortitude, much as Hercules did when he confronted the Nemean Lion. Your animal passions are stirring and may conflict with your ‘civilized’ self. You are feeling lustily powerful and thoroughly enjoy the use of your body. Health improves, and your energy increases. Issues related to sexuality come up for review. The connection of the Lust or Strength card with the sign Leo and with the Sun suggests that this may be a time of compassionate self-examination, which can lead to enlightenment. Leo is known for its warmth, generosity, and lusty enjoyment of life.

Keywords Upright: Courage, bravery, passion, heroism, self-esteem, fortitude, mettle, true grit, vitality, moral fiber, strength in the face of adversity, wildness, lust, libido, burning desire, sexual instincts, powerful emotions, kundalini, taming the beast within, suppression of inordinate fear, the curbing of recklessness.

Key VIII: Lust or Strength (Fortitude, Lust). This card is numbered XI in traditional Marseille decks.
Myths/Archetypes: The Hero. Joan of Arc. The Dragon Slayer. The Satyr. Hercules and the Nemean Lion. David and Goliath. Samson and Delilah. Kundalini.
Dates of Leo: 23 July–23 August; 18 August–16 September (sidereal)
Astrology: Leo, the Lion (a Fire sign ruled by the Sun)
Numerology: 8 (Lust or Strength, or Justice) = 1 + 7 (The Star)

Hebrew letter: Lamed (an ox goad, or a shepherd’s staff that guides the herd; a Hebrew word meaning to teach, learn, yoke, bind, control, defend, protect; to/toward; also a scholar, an authority, or a leader of the flock). The virtue of Lust or Strength is like a shepherd’s staff that directs the human race toward just and lawful behavior.

When The Matriarch is upright you can pretty much take it that life is going well but that’s when life takes us by surprise.  If The Matriarch is unclear it may help to choose a card from the Major Arcana to provide more insight into what it is The Matriarch is trying to tell you.  If you had a particular issue in  mind, or want to seek clarification on something else, you can also choose again to get more guidance.

This chosen card is part of your upright card reading for The Matriarch using cards from the Salem Tarot Deck. You will find many more tarot pages that will be of great help if you need tarot card meanings. Use the search at the bottom of the page. We have some amazing tarot books for you to browse. Please see below.


Here are some snippets from a few of my favorite books

Portable Magic
Book Details
Portable Magic: Each suit contains ten tarot cards numbered from One to Ten. The Ones are often known as Aces. Each suit also holds four noble or court tarot cards generally known as the King, Queen, Knight, and Page. In some esoteric decks these names are altered, but the system of Golden Dawn correspondences used throughout this book is based on the order of the court tarot cards, and remain unchanged regardless of how the tarot cards may be titled, or what specific details of symbolism appear on the tarot cards. The Page has the same associations whether it is called the Knave or the Princess because it is the fourth of the four court tarot cards of its suit. For the sake of familiarity I have used the names for the court tarot cards employed in the popular Rider Waite Tarot King, Queen, Knight, and Page.

Tarot Books

Complete Book of Tarot: In the case of Bill Clinton, his birthday August 19, 1946 reduces as follows: 8 + 1 + 9 + 1 + 9 + 4 + 6 = 38, which reduces to 3 + 8 = 11 (Strength or Justice, his personality card). The number 11 then reduces to 1 + 1 = 2, the High Priestess (his soul card). Note that in the traditional tarot of Marseille, card XI was Strength (which Crowley renamed Lust). In the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, card XI became Justice. One could argue that themes of strength, lust, and justice have characterized the life and personality of President Clinton.

Development for Beginners: Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the zodiac. Ruled by the planet Venus, Libra kicks off the autumnal equinox with its commencement on September 23rd. The constellation for which it is named is depicted as the scales, which, according to Greek mythology, was held by Astraea, the Goddess of Justice. Libra occurs between the 180th and 209th degrees of ecliptic longitude.

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Development for Beginners: Libra is the seventh astrological sign in the zodiac. Ruled by the planet Venus, Libra kicks off the autumnal equinox with its commencement on September 23rd. The constellation for which it is named is depicted as the scales, which, according to Greek mythology, was held by Astraea, the Goddess of Justice. Libra occurs between the 180th and 209th degrees of ecliptic longitude.