Who is Strength?

Cartomancer

Who is Strength?

The constellation Hercules portrays the Strength card of the Tarot.
Hercules is seen wrestling with the Nemean Lion.

There are many articles, stories, and movies about Hercules.

Ross Caldwell has written an impressive article about Hercules:
"Hercules and the Iconography of the Visconti-Sforza Triumph of Force"
http://www.trionfi.com/0/i/r/11.html

I add my quote here about Ross Caldwell's article connecting Hercules and the Strength card:
"It is evident that Ross Caldwell does indeed have a perfect match between the Strength card and and the legendary hero Hercules." - Cartomancer

"We have a perfect match." - Ross Caldwell says in conclusion about the connection between the Strength card and Hercules.
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=3996640&postcount=2

"The Visconti-Sforza tarocchi is based on certain constellations in the original design, in my opinion, and is also the basis of the Tarot trump design for many later decks. The constellation Hercules became a unique portrayal of the Strength card because this family wanted to have their likeness placed in the stars and so relatives were portrayed as constellations. Franscesco Sforza's son Galeazzo Maria was likely portrayed as Hercules. Other early decks that portray Fortitude as Strength are not based on the earliest Tarot trumps, because of the unique depiction of Hercules with a club in the Visconti-Sforza tarocchi."
- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)

This article might read differently if Hercules the constellation is described, not the general Hercules myth. The many pictures of Hercules in star maps gives support to the thesis that Strength represents the constellation Hercules. A focus on ancient astronomy and cartography would help balance the astrological considerations. - Cartomancer

There may have been a book of common constellations with pictures before the Tarot trumps were drawn since each of the trumps pictures a constellation no matter what else people see in those trump cards. There are clues that there was a list of constellations before there was this group of trump constellations that became the Tarot trump cards. - Cartomancer

"Rather it may be that the image is a visual synecdoche, a representation of all that Hercules means in general." - Ross Caldwell

Rather it may be copied from a drawing of the constellation Hercules, which is based on stricter rules than art alone, meaning that Hercules must be in a kneeling position and the labor that can be pictured in that position is the killing of the Nemean Lion by holding its neck. - Cartomancer

Additional links to stories about Hercules.

http://www.theoi.com/Text/SenecaHerculesFurens.html
http://www.theoi.com/Text/SenecaHerculesFurens2.html
http://www.theoi.com/Text/SenecaHerculesOetaeus.html
http://www.theoi.com/Text/SenecaHerculesOetaeus2.html

Hercules (constellation)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(constellation)

Hercules Constellation
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/hercules-constellation/

Hercules the Kneeling Man
http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Hercules.html

Many other illustrations of Hercules are at:
http://www.atlascoelestis.com/acquista.htm

Search for: "Hercules constellation images"

The constellation Hercules is portrayed by the Strength card in the Tarot.

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Zephyros

Um... are you using quotes by you to support your own hypotheses? I may come across as attacking you, but I'm really not. However, here too we see you posting supposed facts without any actual facts to support them. Why is this Tarot card this constellation? Because you said so, and your own quotes prove it... except that they don't.

I am, however, not contesting Hercules as Strength, although I think the more obvious source is the sign of Leo. In addition, the idea of the cards as a zodaical sequence seems to provide a connection between the cards, that is missing from your work. Why would these constellations be chosen, and not another? Why is there no Tarot card with a bear, or a dipper? What made the constellations ultimately chosen special? Do you feel the research presented above is conclusive, and if so, why?
 

re-pete-a

You may be right or maybe not...but considering the age of the Tarot itself it just may not be as you say...

Some very knowledgeable people point to the Strength card and label it HERCATE. Goddess of the cross roads and go on to explain it their own way...very convincingly.

Ref book:
METANOIA . Renovating the house of your Spirit. by Russell Sturgess...
 

Cartomancer

Um... are you using quotes by you to support your own hypotheses? I may come across as attacking you, but I'm really not. However, here too we see you posting supposed facts without any actual facts to support them. Why is this Tarot card this constellation? Because you said so, and your own quotes prove it... except that they don't.

I am, however, not contesting Hercules as Strength, although I think the more obvious source is the sign of Leo. In addition, the idea of the cards as a zodaical sequence seems to provide a connection between the cards, that is missing from your work. Why would these constellations be chosen, and not another? Why is there no Tarot card with a bear, or a dipper? What made the constellations ultimately chosen special? Do you feel the research presented above is conclusive, and if so, why?

Thanks for asking these important questions. I pointed to my quotes to simply point out that I had previously made the assertion that the constellation Hercules was portrayed in the Strength card. I also went on to agree with Ross Caldwell that Hercules was Strength.

Some researchers are looking for the signs or constellations of the zodiac in the Tarot trump sequence. Sure, there are cards that represent the zodiac constellations such as Justice (Libra), Death (Sagittarius), Moon (Cancer), Sun (Leo), World (Virgo). As you can see, this is not a complete list of zodiac constellations and it is not in the order of zodiac constellations.

So, what gives? The Tarot trumps are for the most part an arrangement of polar constellations with some southern constellations such as Sagittarius as Death.

The point about actual "facts" is well-taken, however, it would be quite difficult to convince anyone here of anything considering that most of us have a pet theory that causes bias in judgment and analysis of information. For instance, has anyone here accepted any of the constellation images I have linked to as support for my thesis that the Tarot trumps were originally based on pictures of constellations? What you accept as facts might not include information that I would consider solid support for this thesis, which would be art and star maps that predated the Tarot trumps and could have been the prototype of the trump art.

You ask, "Why would these constellations be chosen, and not another? Why is there no Tarot card with a bear, or a dipper? What made the constellations ultimately chosen special?"

These particular constellations were chosen because they existed in this order before the Tarot was created. The constellations are part of an ancient system of navigation that existed in other cultures. This will be explained in the Kabbalah and Alphabets forum, but in summary these same constellations in the same order are the basis for the ancient Hebrew/Phoenician/Greek alphabets, which can be demonstrated graphically. These "special" constellations were special because they were visual keys to the alphabets, the Mayan calendar, and were also connected to certain Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Why isn't there a bear or a dipper? Would you believe that an error in translation by Saint Jerome caused some confusion about the name of Ursa Major and the names for Bootes. This is more fully explained when examining the Hierophant or Pope card.

"Do you feel the research presented above is conclusive, and if so, why?"

Research about this subject cannot be conclusive at this point so I invite other researchers to contribute to this effort to prove or disprove this thesis. I do feel that this research by me is for the most part correct. I published this thesis almost 40 years ago and have had time to pound on it with tools that I will introduce in the Kabbalah and Alphabets section.

Much of the support for this thesis is graphical and artistic. I would like help finding a list of constellations which were the basis for the Tarot trump order.

See the Tarot trumps as constellations and a lot of the esoteric rhetoric about the Tarot trumps could be classified as too complicated when the solution is simple. What you see is what you get.

What is my confidence level about asserting that the Tarot trumps were constellations? Answer: Very high.

Why? The graphical support for this thesis is extensive. Do I expect anyone to accept it? I hope so, but with the presentation with more supporting evidence there could be more support.

But why believe me? What do I bring to this line of research? I was personally trained in decipherment of ancient symbols, letters, and icons by a world expert and Rhodes scholar. I adequately demonstrated my thesis about the alphabet and constellations to my mentor.

Here is a link to my review of Hugh Moran's alphabet book, "The Alphabet and the Ancient Calendar Signs":
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=202558&highlight=alphabet+ancient+calendar

But why believe me? I recently published my decipherment of a hidden, "lost", obsolete, or former constellations of the southern sky, which a link is provided below. So far I haven't heard any positive acceptance for that thesis on this forum. However, these are recent discoveries and I have been invited to prepare museum style documentation for that decipherment. Here is the link to that post:
http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=219989

Thanks for the questions and remember that the answers are in the stars.

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Richard

The matter of fact writing style is typical of expository texts such as PKT, BoT and Case's The Tarot. It is not as common in a forum setting, but it happens now and then, the most notable being the Cathar theory of Tarot origins, which caused an uproar apparently resulting in the creation of the Tarot Special Interest forums (formerly the Historical forums).

The Historical Research forum does seem a bit inappropriate for these posts. Personally, I think the research paper style would be more proper, in which the author openly presents his hypotheses as conjecture and proceeds to explain the reasons for his hypotheses.
 

ravenest

This forum now seems to have turned into a repository for 'matter of fact' lengthy posts - like a storage facility.
 

Cartomancer

Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi Strength card

Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi Strength card

The Strength card in the Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi deck has been conjectured to be the legendary Hercules.

"Commentators unanimously take the scene to be a depiction of the first of Hercules' Twelve Labours, the killing of the Nemean Lion." - Ross Caldwell
http://www.trionfi.com/0/i/r/11.html

So, why do commentators unanimously see Hercules and the Nemean Lion depicted in the Strength card?

Furthermore, why do commentators also see Francesco Sforza as Hercules in the Visconti-Sforza Tarocchi Strength card?

What proof is offered? Do they just look similar? Is that good enough? Is there a reference that connects the Strength card with Hercules or Francesco Sforza? Is there any reason for such a powerful man as Francesco Sforza to portray himself in a variety of roles and neglect to have himself and his family pictured in the constellations as well? There are numerous examples of Francesco Sforza in various "impossible" portrayals such as Christ, among others. Is it so difficult to understand that Francesco Sforza had an ego that reached to the heavens? If you had the means to have paintings commissioned for your every whim, would you ignore having the opportunity to have your likeness in lights in the stars? Francesco Sforza's Herculean contribution to the Tarocchi deck is reason enough to have him pictured in the Strength card. The artist, Bonifacio Bembo, knew of Francesco Sforza's reputation as a strong man who could bend metal bars with his bare hands.

"However, here too we see you posting supposed facts without any actual facts to support them." - closrapexa
http://www.tarotforum.net/showpost.php?p=4005589&postcount=2

True, but here is another author with a mythopoetic approach that connects Hercules with the Strength card. Here is a Wikipedia entry in regard to the Strength card:

Strength (Tarot card)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strength_(Tarot_card)

"Strength is a Major Arcana Tarot card, and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck. Historically it was called Fortitude, and in the Thoth Tarot deck it is called Lust. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination."
...
The design of this card is fairly constant across tarot decks. The key characters are that of a woman and a lion, with the woman looking calm and gentle, yet dominant over the lion. Many cards, including that of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, have the woman clasping the lion's jaws. Another feature of the RWS deck is a lemniscate (a kind of geometric form) hovering over the woman's head. Other decks have the woman sitting upon the lion, or merely with one hand upon it. Some decks feature just one of the characters;flowers are often presented on this card."
History of tarot[
"The Strength card was originally named Fortitude, and accompanies two of the other cardinal virtues in the Major Arcana: Temperance and Justice. The meaning of Fortitude was different from the interpretation of the card: it meant moderation in attitudes toward pain and danger, with neither being avoided at all costs, nor actively wanted.
The older decks had two competing symbolisms: one featured a woman holding or breaking a stone pillar, and the other featured a person, either male or female, subduing a lion. This Tarocchi del Mantegna card (image, left), made in Ferrara around 1470, illustrates both. The modern woman-and-lion symbolism most likely evolved from a merging of the two earlier ones."

Mythopoetic approach:
"Hercules, the son of Zeus, is an archetype of strength. He is a Solar Hero, as shown by his archetypal 12 labors – each one standing for one sign of the Zodiac.
Strength can manifest itself in unexpected ways. One of Hercules’s adventures was to clean the Augean Stables, which had been filling with horse excrement for as long as anyone could remember. Hercules diverted a river, washing the manure into the surrounding fields, renewing the land."

My question is, who thinks that Hercules is pictured in the Strength card?
Also, if Hercules is pictured in the Strength card, could that actually be an illustration of the constellation Hercules and not just a general portrayal of him with the Nemean Lion.
And, who thinks that Francesco Sforza is pictured on the Strength card?

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Cartomancer

Fortitude, Pillars, Lions, and Bears, Oh My!

Candidates for the Fortitude/Strength card:

Why isn't Samson personified in the Strength card since he is also known for forcing open a lion's mouth in the same manner that Hercules did against the Nemean Lion? For that matter, how about the Christian saint Daniel, who was pictured in the lion's den? Or how about the image of King David opening a lion's mouth from a Psalter of 1131-1143?

Two of the earliest images picture a lion's mouth being closed by a man or a woman, while two images picture a woman next to a pillar. One shows a man with a club about to strike a lion near the ground. But what are the two ribbons on the card? Those look to be the water snakes of Hydra, which are usually pictured with illustrations of Hercules, the constellation.

How did these icon sets get mixed up in the Strength/Fortitude card? If an image of a lion with a man or a woman is a representation of the constellation Hercules, what could the representation of a woman and a crumbling pillar symbolize? Does that pillar look similar to the Tower card, which also has a similar looking monument being obliterated?

Common images of Fortitude show a woman wrestling with a lion, but what religious figure did Fortitude represent if she did indeed replace Hercules in the role of Fortitude? If the image of Hercules was replaced by a Christian religious image, who would it be? Hercules was seen as a representation of Fortitude in Medieval times.

When King David was a boy and was tending his father's flock, a lion or bear came and took a lamb. David went after the lion/bear and rescued the lamb from the lion's mouth. The lion then rose to attack David, but he grabbed, struck, and killed it. Young men were often pictured effeminately by early artists, which could have caused confusion about the gender of this card and others, such as the Chariot.

The women next to the pillars in Fortitude/Strength cards appear to be wearing crowns, which is an indication of royalty, a possible a portrayal of King David with a crown. The stately clothes are also an indication of royalty. The pillar possibly connects King David with the temple he wanted to build, but had to let his son Solomon build instead. Hundreds of years later Solomon's Temple was destroyed, and its destruction has been remembered and possibly commemorated in the Strength/Fortitude card. Images of the Strength/Fortitude card may picture the young King David of Israel or his son Solomon next to a crumbling pillar representing the two main pillars of the Temple and the Temple's destruction.

But how is Hercules connected to King David? What does Hercules have in common with King David? King David is known for his six-pointed star, the Star of David, which may have a resemblance to a geometric image on a shield of Hercules.

If King David had indeed replaced Hercules in the role of Fortitude/Strength, then why is he portrayed as a woman? It must be assumed that previous decks existed with a more masculine looking King David as a youth, but in time the youth-like appearance was made into a feminine image by inexperienced artists.

If the pillars seen in the Fortitude illustrations had a connection to the Pillars of Hercules, then another close correspondence is found.

" According to some Roman sources, while on his way to the garden of the Hesperides on the island of Erytheia, Hercules had to cross the mountain that was once Atlas. Instead of climbing the great mountain, Hercules used his superhuman strength to smash through it. By doing so, he connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and formed the Strait of Gibraltar." - From Wikipedia

Remember the story of Hercules and Atlas? Hercules had to hold the pillar that supported the heavens while Atlas went on an errand for him to the garden of the Hesperides to fetch golden apples. Hercules tricked Atlas and managed to get the pillar and the heavens back onto the shoulder's of Atlas again and then went on his way with the golden apples. Could the Fortitude/Strength card picture Hercules holding the heavens or a pillar?

On the northern side of the Strait of Gibraltar is the Northern Pillar of Hercules, which was said to be the Rock of Gibraltar. The exact location of the Southern Pillar of Hercules is disputed. Plato said that Atlantis was to be found beyond the Pillars of Hercules, but that it sank. Perhaps the broken pillars in various Fortitude/Strength cards actually pictures the destruction of Atlantis.

It is my belief that Hercules was the original image on the Strength/Fortitude card and that Francesco Sforza was later personified as Hercules in the Visconti-Sforza deck. However, in an attempt to transition to a Christianized version of the images, Hercules was replaced by King David, who was pictured as an effeminate young man who later was seen as a woman in some decks.

- Cartomancer (Lance Carter)
 

Richard

......For that matter, how about the Christian saint Daniel, who was pictured in the lion's den?......
The Daniel who was in the Lions den is a character in the Hebrew Bible, not St. Daniel the Stylite.