Strengh

Hi everyone
Could someone give me their opinion on where they would place the card no. VIII in the RW deck Strengh. Would it resemble more the Thoth Lust or maybe Adjustment..........Where would you see it?
Thank you in advance
Diwha

Strength

The strength card in the Thoth is Lust. It means the same thing. I never understood why it's called lust though i admit i only have the book that came in the deck and not an actual book book so i dont know much about the cards.

I assume changing the traditional maiden-overpowering-a-lion image of the Strength card to the Woman on the Beast was a bit of Crowleyite propaganda. The Thoth Adjustment is equivalent to Justice. Waite for some reason [undoubtedly explained somewhere at Aeclectic if you rummage about for it] reversed the generally accepted numbering of these two trumps.

PS. I think I've seen a medallion of Cybele riding a lion v. much in the manner of the Thoth Lust.

As far as I am aware, and I could be wrong, the Lust card potrays the Mother of Abominations, who was termed by Crowley as the Great Whore. The Great Whore is receptive to all, and she longs for the day when she is united with her children. I think that the Great Whore is symbolic of the Universe, and that we are her children. Crowley used rather dramatic terminology! Also, Crowley changed the names of certain of the Major Arcana to be more in line with his vision of the New Aeon. Strength was one of these names.

Interestingly, in his book Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot, Duquette states that this card is one of the reasons why the Thoth tarot deck is banned from US prisons as pornographic contraband.

The way I see it, the Strength card implies acertain amount of serenity- knowing that the power to overcome obstacles is in yourself and effortlessly using that power.
Crowley takes another, rather more sexual, take on this card. The power is the same power, except here there is no serenity, rather there is the enjoyment and rapture and fullfillment in that power. The woman is revelling in it.

Lust

I always thought that the image of the woman on top of the lion seemed much more striking than a woman posed with a lion suggesting she tamed it or something.
When I look at the Lust card it always displays the word strength to me and that's why I like it so much.

OT: I prefer the Osho deck interpretation of a flower on a wall afraid to bloom and offer it's seed. It always speaks to me and gives me hope. It also nudges me in a pleasant way because the image of the card gives advice aswell. I love just staring at them and meditating on the teachings in the images themselves.

y'all might want to peruse this thread:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20812