Read Tarot78 Cards, Your Message← Back to Home
📖 Table of Contents

Strength and The Hermit: Inner Courage Found

Quick Answer: Yes — but only if you've recently felt that external action alone isn't solving the problem. This combination appears when someone has the courage to face challenges but keeps hitting the same walls, suggesting the real work is internal. If you've been pushing hard without results, or if a situation keeps recurring despite your best efforts, Strength and The Hermit together indicate the next step isn't more action — it's stepping back to understand what's actually happening within yourself before moving forward again.

At a Glance

Aspect Meaning
Core Theme Inner mastery through patient self-discovery
Energy Dynamic Complementary integration
Love Relationships requiring emotional maturity and space for individual growth
Career Success through expertise, patience, and self-directed work
Yes or No Yes, but through inner work first

The Core Dynamic

When Strength and The Hermit appear together, they form one of tarot's most introspective and mature pairings. This isn't about external achievement or dramatic transformation—it's about the quieter, more profound work of cultivating genuine inner resources.

Strength shows a figure gently closing the mouth of a lion—not through force but through calm, patient courage. The infinity symbol above her head suggests that this isn't a single act but an ongoing relationship, a continuous practice of meeting one's animal nature with compassion rather than domination. The Hermit stands alone on a mountain peak, holding a lantern to light the way through darkness. His journey is solitary, his wisdom hard-won through experience and reflection.

Together, these cards reveal a fundamental truth: the deepest courage is the courage to face yourself, and the most profound wisdom comes from that facing.

"This combination often appears when the path forward requires you to go inward—when external action must wait until internal clarity has been achieved."

Consider what it means to truly master something within yourself. Not to suppress it, not to defeat it, but to understand it so thoroughly that it becomes an ally rather than an obstacle. This is what Strength offers: the patient, compassionate approach to our own wild nature. The Hermit adds the essential element of solitude and introspection—the space required for such deep self-understanding to develop.

The lion in Strength represents our instincts, passions, fears, and raw emotional energy. The Hermit's lantern represents the light of consciousness, the ability to see clearly even in psychological darkness. When these energies combine, you're being called to bring conscious awareness to your own depths, to illuminate what has remained hidden, and to develop a wise, compassionate relationship with what you find there.

This isn't quick work. Both cards carry the energy of patience, of processes that cannot be rushed. The Hermit walks alone because some journeys cannot be shared; Strength holds the lion because mastery requires ongoing attention, not a single decisive moment. Together, they suggest that whatever you're facing requires this kind of sustained, patient, inward focus.

The key question this combination asks: What within yourself are you being called to understand, and are you willing to do the solitary work required?

When This Combination Commonly Appears

You might see these cards together when:

  • You've been trying to fix something external, but the same problem keeps returning
  • A period of solitude — chosen or forced — has created unexpected space for reflection
  • You're developing expertise in a field that requires patience and self-directed work
  • A relationship or career situation demands emotional maturity you're still cultivating
  • You sense that the answer isn't "do more" but "understand yourself better first"

The pattern looks like this: You're not lacking courage or capability — you have both. But something keeps not working despite your efforts. Strength says "you can handle this." The Hermit asks "but do you understand what you're actually handling?" The combination suggests that insight must precede action, and that the solitary work of self-understanding is the missing piece.

This pairing tends to surface during periods of necessary introspection—times when external circumstances either require or create space for deeper self-examination.

You may encounter Strength and The Hermit together when you're facing a personal challenge that cannot be solved through action alone. Perhaps a relationship issue that keeps recurring despite your best efforts to fix it, suggesting that the real work is internal. Perhaps a career plateau where additional effort isn't helping, indicating that wisdom and patience must replace striving. Perhaps a health or emotional challenge that demands you develop a different relationship with your own body, mind, or feelings.

This combination frequently appears during transitions that require solitude—whether chosen or circumstantial. A period of being single after a relationship's end. A sabbatical or career break. Recovery from illness or burnout. Times when life has removed you from your usual external engagements and turned you toward your interior landscape. The cards suggest this isn't punishment but opportunity: you're being given the conditions for important inner work.

People often see Strength and The Hermit when they're developing expertise or mastery in some domain. The combination honors the long, often solitary process of becoming genuinely skilled—the countless hours of practice, study, and refinement that real competence requires. It suggests that you're on such a path, or need to commit to one.

Emotionally, this combination corresponds to a state of contemplative courage. There may be fear about what you'll discover within yourself, alongside the strength to look anyway. There may be loneliness in the solitary nature of the work, alongside recognition that some growth simply cannot happen in company. The mood is serious but not heavy—purposeful rather than dramatic.

Both Upright

When both Strength and The Hermit appear upright, the combination expresses its clearest message: conscious, empowered inner work leading to genuine wisdom and self-mastery. This is an auspicious configuration for anyone engaged in serious personal development, therapeutic work, or any endeavor requiring patience and self-understanding.

This configuration suggests that you have both the courage to face what needs to be faced and the wisdom to approach it thoughtfully. The Hermit's lantern illuminates the path; Strength's calm presence allows you to walk it without being overwhelmed by what you encounter.

Love & Relationships

Single: This combination may indicate a period of chosen or necessary solitude that ultimately strengthens your capacity for partnership. You may be doing important healing work—examining past relationship patterns, understanding your attachment style, developing emotional regulation skills. This isn't avoidance of relationship but preparation for healthier ones. The cards suggest that the inner work you're doing now will directly benefit future partnerships. You're cultivating the self-knowledge and emotional maturity that genuine intimacy requires. Trust the process, even when loneliness arises; what you're building within yourself will attract partners capable of meeting you at this deeper level.

In a relationship: Existing partnerships may benefit from periods of individual reflection. Perhaps both partners need space for personal growth that happens alongside the relationship rather than through it. This isn't about growing apart but about each person doing their own inner work, then bringing what they've learned back to the partnership. The combination can also indicate couples working through challenges that require patience and emotional courage—issues that won't resolve through discussion alone but need each person to examine their own contributions. If you've been trying to fix relationship problems through external means, consider what internal shifts might create the change you're seeking.

Career & Work

Job seekers: Opportunities may favor those who have developed deep expertise through patient, often solitary work. This isn't the energy of networking and self-promotion but of genuine competence that speaks for itself. Consider roles that value thoughtfulness over flash, wisdom over quick action. The combination may also suggest that a period of reflection before job searching could clarify what you actually want—not what you think you should want or what would impress others, but what genuinely fits your nature and values. Career choices made from this kind of self-knowledge tend to lead to more sustainable satisfaction.

Employed/Business: Success may come through patient expertise and emotional intelligence rather than aggressive action. This is an excellent configuration for those whose work involves research, counseling, teaching, or any field requiring deep knowledge and the ability to handle emotionally complex situations with composure. If you've been pushing hard without results, consider whether a more patient, inwardly-focused approach might serve better. Leadership under this combination works through wisdom and calm presence rather than dominance—the leader who doesn't need to prove their strength because genuine competence is evident.

Finances

Financial matters under this combination favor patient, wisdom-based approaches over quick gains. This might mean developing genuine understanding of investments rather than following trends, building financial skills through study and reflection, or taking time to understand your own psychological relationship with money—your fears, patterns, and inherited beliefs about wealth.

The combination doesn't suggest dramatic financial action but rather the kind of careful, thoughtful approach that compounds over time. Long-term investing, gradual debt reduction, building skills that increase earning capacity—these align with the energy of both cards. Quick schemes or decisions made under emotional pressure work against this combination's wisdom.

If you've been stressed about finances, the cards suggest that cultivating inner calm (Strength) and taking time to truly understand your situation (Hermit) will serve you better than anxious action.

What to Do

Create conditions for meaningful inner work. This might mean literal solitude—time alone without distraction—or psychological solitude, turning attention inward even amid external demands. Identify what within yourself most needs your patient, compassionate attention. What patterns keep recurring? What emotions do you tend to avoid? What parts of yourself have you exiled or suppressed?

Approach these areas with Strength's energy: not trying to defeat or fix what you find, but developing a relationship with it. Bring The Hermit's lamp of awareness without judgment. The goal isn't to emerge from this work as a different person but as someone who knows themselves more deeply and can work with their own nature rather than against it.

Consider practices that support this kind of inner work: meditation, journaling, therapy, contemplative reading, time in nature. The specific practice matters less than the consistent, patient attention it cultivates.

In short, this combination isn't asking for dramatic action or quick fixes. It's asking you to sit with yourself long enough to understand what actually needs to change.

One Card Reversed

When one card is reversed, the dynamic shifts. Either the courage for inner work is compromised, or the reflective wisdom is blocked. Understanding which card is reversed points to where attention is needed.

Strength Reversed + The Hermit Upright

Here, The Hermit's wisdom and introspection operate clearly, but Strength's capacity for courage and emotional mastery is compromised. You may have insight into what needs to be addressed but lack the inner resources to actually address it.

This often manifests as self-awareness without self-compassion. You see your patterns, your shadows, your limitations—The Hermit's lantern illuminates them—but instead of meeting them with Strength's gentle courage, you meet them with harsh judgment or overwhelming anxiety. The knowledge becomes a burden rather than a tool for growth.

Alternatively, this configuration can indicate fear overwhelming courage. You know the inner work that needs doing (Hermit upright) but feel too fragile, too exhausted, or too frightened to do it (Strength reversed). The psychological wilderness feels too dangerous to enter, even with the lantern's light.

The shadow of Strength reversed includes both excessive force and complete collapse. Either you're trying to dominate your inner life through willpower—which never works with the kind of material The Hermit uncovers—or you've given up entirely, letting fear or instinct drive rather than integrating them.

Strength Upright + The Hermit Reversed

In this configuration, courage and emotional capacity are present, but wisdom's light is obscured. You have the resources for inner work but may be using them unwisely—or avoiding the solitary reflection that would make them effective.

This often looks like spiritual bypassing or premature action. You're ready to meet your shadow (Strength upright) but haven't done the careful introspection to understand what you're actually dealing with (Hermit reversed). The result might be superficial self-work that never reaches the depths, or courage applied to the wrong internal challenges because you haven't taken time to identify the real ones.

The Hermit reversed can also indicate isolation that has become unhealthy—not the productive solitude of wisdom-seeking but withdrawal from life, loneliness, or depression masquerading as introspection. Combined with Strength upright, this suggests you have the capacity to engage with life more fully but something is blocking the reconnection.

Love & Relationships

With Strength reversed, relationship challenges may overwhelm your emotional resources. You might understand what needs to change (your patterns, your contributions to problems) but feel unable to actually make those changes. Self-criticism might replace self-compassion, making growth harder rather than easier. Patience may have worn thin, leaving you reactive rather than responsive.

With The Hermit reversed, you might be avoiding the solitary self-examination that relationship health requires. Perhaps you're focusing entirely on your partner's issues rather than your own. Perhaps you're staying constantly busy to avoid reflection. Or perhaps enforced isolation (being single, a partner's absence) feels like punishment rather than opportunity for growth. The relationship wisdom available through introspection remains inaccessible.

Career & Work

With Strength reversed, professional challenges may be depleting you. You might understand what's needed intellectually but lack the emotional stamina to implement it. Difficult colleagues or demanding situations might be overwhelming rather than manageable. The courage required for career growth—taking risks, handling rejection, persisting through difficulty—may feel depleted.

With The Hermit reversed, professional life might be missing the wisdom that comes from reflection. Perhaps you're acting without thinking, busy without being productive. Perhaps you're avoiding the solitary work that expertise requires—the study, practice, and reflection that build genuine competence. Or perhaps you're isolated in unhealthy ways, cut off from colleagues and mentors who could provide valuable perspective.

What to Do

If Strength is reversed: Focus on rebuilding emotional resources before attempting deep inner work. This isn't weakness but wisdom—you cannot explore psychological territory if you lack the strength to handle what you find. Consider whether you're exhausted, whether you've been too hard on yourself, whether you need support before continuing alone. Therapy, rest, community, physical health—these build the capacity that Strength represents. Be gentle with yourself; harsh self-criticism is the opposite of Strength's energy.

If The Hermit is reversed: Create conditions for genuine reflection. This might mean literally carving out solitude in a busy life. It might mean addressing isolation that has become depression rather than contemplation. It might mean being willing to do the slow, unglamorous work of self-understanding rather than seeking quick insights. Consider whether you're avoiding something within yourself, and if so, what conditions might make it safer to approach.

Both Reversed

When both Strength and The Hermit appear reversed, the combination expresses its most challenging form: neither the courage for inner work nor the wisdom to guide it is functioning properly. This often corresponds to periods of confusion, depletion, and blocked growth.

"Both cards reversed can feel like wandering in darkness without a lantern and without the courage to face what the darkness contains."

This configuration frequently appears during burnout, depression, or periods of profound disorientation. The inner resources that allow for meaningful self-work have been depleted or blocked. Fear and confusion dominate, while the clarity and courage needed to address them remain inaccessible.

However, both reversals can also mark the crisis point before breakthrough. Sometimes we must fully experience our lack of wisdom and courage before we become willing to seek them genuinely. The reversal of both cards might indicate hitting bottom in a way that becomes the foundation for recovery.

Love & Relationships

Romantic situations with both cards reversed often involve profound confusion about self and other. You may not know what you actually want or need in relationships, lacking both the courage to examine honestly (Strength reversed) and the clarity that reflection provides (Hermit reversed). Past wounds may be driving current patterns, but you can't see clearly enough to understand how.

Singles might feel stuck between wanting connection and being unable to achieve it—too frightened to open up, too confused to know who would actually suit them. The inner work that would prepare you for relationship feels inaccessible.

Those in partnerships may be struggling with issues neither person can see clearly or address courageously. Conversations go in circles; patterns repeat despite awareness that something needs to change. Both people may feel isolated within the relationship, unable to bridge the gap.

Career & Work

Professional life under both reversals typically feels lost and depleted. You may not know what you want from your career (Hermit reversed) and lack the courage to make changes even if you did (Strength reversed). Work might feel meaningless, but the inner work to discover what would feel meaningful isn't happening.

This configuration sometimes appears during career crises—job loss, burnout, profound disillusionment with a chosen path. The old way isn't working, but neither inner clarity nor inner courage is available to find a new way. There may be a quality of going through the motions without purpose or direction.

Finances

Financial matters with both cards reversed require careful attention to basics. Neither the emotional steadiness to handle financial stress (Strength reversed) nor the wisdom to make good financial decisions (Hermit reversed) is fully available. This is not the time for major financial moves.

Focus on stability and avoiding harm rather than growth. Make no significant decisions if they can be delayed. Seek guidance from trusted others whose judgment you have reason to trust, since your own may be compromised.

What to Do

When both cards reverse, the priority is stabilization rather than growth. You cannot do deep inner work when the basic capacity for such work is depleted. Focus on physical health—sleep, nutrition, movement. Reduce demands where possible. Accept support from others, even if it feels uncomfortable; some situations cannot be navigated alone.

Professional support is often essential here. Therapy, coaching, spiritual direction—someone who can hold space for your process while you rebuild capacity. The reversed Hermit suggests that solitary work isn't functioning; the reversed Strength suggests you need borrowed courage until your own returns.

Be patient with yourself. Both cards in their upright forms carry the energy of patience, and that remains true even in reversal. This is a difficult configuration, but it's not permanent. Capacity can be rebuilt, clarity can return. Your task right now is not transformation but survival and gradual recovery.

Yes or No Reading

Configuration Answer Reason
Both Upright Yes, through inner work Success is likely, but it comes through patience, self-understanding, and emotional mastery rather than external action
One Reversed Maybe Either courage or wisdom is compromised—address the imbalance before major decisions
Both Reversed Not yet Inner resources are depleted; focus on restoration before seeking progress

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Strength and The Hermit mean in a love reading?

In love readings, this combination emphasizes the role of individual inner work in creating healthy relationships. It suggests that relationship quality depends significantly on each person's self-knowledge and emotional maturity. For singles, it often indicates a valuable period of self-development before or between relationships—time to understand your patterns, heal old wounds, and cultivate the inner resources that genuine intimacy requires. For those in partnerships, it may point to the importance of individual growth alongside couple dynamics, or to issues that require personal reflection rather than just communication with your partner. This isn't a combination about passion or romance in the conventional sense; it's about the deeper foundations that allow love to sustain over time.

Is Strength and The Hermit a positive combination?

This combination is deeply positive for those ready to engage with its energy—the energy of patient inner work, self-understanding, and emotional maturation. It favors introspection over action, wisdom over speed, and depth over breadth. If you're looking for quick results or external changes, it may feel frustrating. But if you're willing to do the kind of sustained self-work these cards suggest, the rewards are substantial: genuine self-knowledge, emotional resilience, wisdom that serves you across all life domains. The combination is less about getting what you want immediately and more about becoming someone capable of creating lasting fulfillment.

How does this combination relate to spiritual development?

Strength and The Hermit together form one of tarot's most explicitly spiritual pairings. The Hermit is traditionally associated with spiritual seeking—the solitary journey toward wisdom, the light of higher consciousness illuminating the path. Strength adds the dimension of working with one's own nature rather than trying to transcend it, integrating instinct and spirit rather than splitting them. Together, they suggest a spiritual path that doesn't reject the human but embraces it fully while seeking to understand its deepest dimensions. This combination often appears for those engaged in meditation, contemplative practice, psychological-spiritual work, or any path that involves bringing conscious awareness to one's inner life. It suggests that such work is timely and well-supported.

Strength with other cards:

The Hermit with other cards:

Disclaimer: Tarot is a tool for self-reflection and personal insight. It does not predict the future or replace professional advice.