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Strength and The Sun: Radiant Confidence

Quick Answer: Yes — but only if you've been quietly wondering whether you're allowed to feel this good. This combination appears when someone has done real inner work and is now seeing it pay off, not just internally but visibly. If you've been handling difficult things with grace lately, or if others have started noticing a change in you that you can feel but haven't fully claimed, Strength and The Sun together say: this isn't temporary. The question isn't whether you deserve to thrive — it's whether you'll let yourself.

At a Glance

Aspect Meaning
Core Theme Courageous vitality, empowered authenticity
Energy Dynamic Harmonious amplification
Love Relationships grounded in both vulnerability and joy; authentic connection that strengthens both partners
Career Success through genuine confidence rather than force; leadership that inspires rather than dominates
Yes or No Strong yes; conditions favor bold, heartfelt action

The Core Dynamic

When Strength and The Sun appear together, they create one of tarot's most fundamentally positive dialogues—not because they promise ease, but because they reveal how genuine power and authentic joy reinforce each other. This isn't the forced positivity of denial; it's the earned radiance that comes from meeting life directly and finding yourself equal to it.

Strength shows a woman gently closing a lion's mouth—not through force but through calm, confident presence. She represents the kind of courage that doesn't need to prove itself through aggression, the inner fortitude that remains steady regardless of external circumstances. The Sun blazes overhead, a child riding joyfully on a white horse, sunflowers turning toward the light. It represents clarity, vitality, success, and the simple but profound experience of being fully alive.

Together, these cards reveal something essential: true strength makes joy possible, and true joy makes strength sustainable.

"This combination often appears when you're ready to stop surviving and start thriving—when the work you've done on yourself begins to pay dividends in genuine happiness."

Consider what happens when inner fortitude lacks joy—it becomes grim endurance, white-knuckled persistence that eventually exhausts itself. And consider what happens when joy lacks inner strength—it becomes fragile, dependent on circumstances, easily shattered by life's inevitable challenges. The Strength-Sun combination transcends both limitations. Here is someone who has developed genuine inner resources AND who experiences genuine happiness, each quality feeding the other.

The lion in Strength represents our instinctual nature—our fears, desires, and raw emotional power. The woman doesn't kill the lion or chain it; she befriends it, integrating rather than suppressing. When The Sun joins this image, it illuminates what that integration makes possible: a life where you're not at war with yourself, where your full vitality can flow unobstructed. The child on the horse in The Sun rides confidently because they have nothing to fear from themselves.

This pairing also speaks to visibility and authenticity. The Sun brings everything into the light—there's no hiding under its rays. Combined with Strength, this suggests a moment where you can be fully seen, including your vulnerabilities and your power, and where that visibility feels safe rather than threatening. You're not performing strength; you're embodying it. You're not chasing happiness; you're expressing it.

The key question this combination asks: What becomes possible when you stop merely coping with life and start genuinely celebrating it?

When This Combination Commonly Appears

You might see these cards together when:

  • You completed something difficult recently — a healing process, a project, a conversation you had been avoiding — and now feel lighter than you have in months
  • Others are commenting on a change in you that you can sense but have not fully named
  • A situation that used to overwhelm you now feels manageable, and you are not sure when that shifted
  • You are being offered recognition, opportunity, or affection and your first instinct is to question whether you deserve it
  • You feel genuinely good and are waiting for something to go wrong

The pattern looks like this: The inner work is done — or at least, enough of it is done. You have developed real capacity to handle your own intensity, and now life is starting to reflect that back. Strength says "you've befriended your lion." The Sun says "now let yourself enjoy the warmth."

This pairing tends to surface during periods of breakthrough—moments when difficult inner work suddenly yields tangible external results, or when circumstances finally align with the person you've been becoming.

You may encounter Strength and The Sun together after completing a significant healing process. Perhaps you've worked through old trauma, developed new capacities for self-regulation, or built emotional resilience that you once lacked. The combination often marks the moment when that work begins to show—not just in feeling better privately, but in living better publicly. Others notice the change in you. Opportunities that match your new level of development begin appearing.

This combination frequently appears during creative breakthroughs or periods of confident self-expression. Artists who have struggled with self-doubt may find their voice. Performers who have held back may discover new freedom on stage. Anyone who has been hiding their gifts from the world may feel ready to share them. The lion has been befriended; the sun can shine.

In relationship contexts, Strength and The Sun often mark moments of authentic intimacy—when vulnerability becomes possible because you trust both yourself and another person, when connection deepens because neither partner is wearing a mask. This might appear at the beginning of a relationship that feels unusually real, or in an established relationship that's reaching new levels of honesty and joy.

Professionally, this pairing commonly appears when someone steps into authority that genuinely fits them. Not the kind of leadership that requires suppressing your true self, but the kind that expresses it. You may be offered a role that aligns with your actual gifts, or you may find new confidence in a role you already hold.

Emotionally, this combination typically corresponds to a state of grounded optimism. Not naive cheerfulness that ignores problems, but a fundamental sense that you can handle what life brings AND that life has genuine goodness to offer. There's energy available—not manic energy, but steady vitality. There's hope present—not wishful thinking, but earned confidence.

Both Upright

When both Strength and The Sun appear upright, the combination expresses its fullest positive potential: authentic power and authentic joy working together. This is a genuinely favorable configuration suggesting that conditions support bold, wholehearted engagement with whatever you're facing.

This configuration indicates not just that good things are possible, but that you have the inner resources to receive and sustain them. Sometimes opportunities arise but we're not ready for them; we self-sabotage, or we can't maintain what we've gained. Strength upright suggests you have developed the inner fortitude to handle success. The Sun upright suggests that success is genuinely available.

Love & Relationships

Single: This combination suggests a period of genuine romantic possibility rooted in authentic self-confidence. You're not dating from desperation or loneliness but from genuine desire for connection. The Strength component indicates you've done enough inner work to show up as your real self—vulnerabilities included—without collapsing into insecurity. The Sun component suggests this authenticity is attractive to others and that potential partners can sense your groundedness. You may attract partners who are similarly integrated, creating possibilities for relationships that enhance rather than diminish both people. This is an excellent time to put yourself out there, not by performing confidence but by simply being who you've become. The right people will respond to that.

In a relationship: Existing partnerships may experience a period of renewed joy and deepened intimacy. The combination suggests that any difficult work you've done together—or individually—is beginning to yield visible results. Communication may flow more easily. Physical intimacy may feel more natural and fulfilling. The relationship can support both partners' growth rather than limiting it. If there have been challenges, this configuration suggests the capacity to meet them from strength rather than fear, and the possibility of emerging from difficulty with a relationship that's more genuine than before. This is a time when the relationship can actually be fun—not superficial entertainment, but the deep enjoyment of genuine partnership.

Career & Work

Job seekers: Opportunities may arise that genuinely match your capabilities and desires. Unlike situations where you have to perform or pretend, these opportunities allow you to succeed by being authentically yourself. The combination favors interviews where you can be genuine rather than strategic, roles where your real gifts will be valued, and work environments that will support your continued growth. Your confidence is likely to be visible to potential employers—not arrogant confidence, but the grounded self-assurance that comes from knowing what you offer. Trust your instincts about which opportunities feel right; The Sun's clarity helps you distinguish between positions that would genuinely fulfill you and those that only look good on paper.

Employed/Business: This is a favorable period for professional advancement and creative expression. If you've been working toward recognition, it may come now. If you've been developing new skills or approaches, you may find opportunities to implement them. Leadership feels natural rather than forced; people are drawn to your combination of competence and warmth. Business owners may find that their ventures gain traction, not through manipulation or aggressive tactics, but through genuinely offering value that others want. This combination supports taking visible risks—launching projects, making presentations, asking for what you deserve—because your inner confidence can support external exposure.

Finances

Financial matters benefit from the same combination of groundedness and optimism that characterizes this pairing overall. You're likely able to make sound financial decisions because you're neither acting from fear (hoarding, refusing reasonable risks) nor from manic optimism (overextending, ignoring practical realities). The Sun suggests that genuine prosperity is available, while Strength suggests you have the discipline and self-control to build and maintain it.

This is a favorable time for financial initiatives that align with your actual values and capabilities. Investments in your own development—education, health, tools that support your work—are likely to pay off. Starting a business or taking on new professional responsibilities with financial upside is supported, provided the opportunity genuinely fits who you are. Avoid getting swept up in get-rich-quick schemes; The Sun illuminates reality, and Strength gives you the fortitude to pursue sustainable success rather than shortcuts.

What to Do

Act from your center. Whatever you've been hesitating about—starting, asking, creating, revealing—this combination supports moving forward. The key is ensuring that your action expresses genuine authenticity rather than what you think you "should" do or what others expect. The Sun wants you to shine; Strength ensures that shine is sustainable. Take the risk that feels aligned with who you actually are. Show up fully in situations that matter. Let others see you—your gifts and your humanity. The combination suggests that authenticity will be rewarded and that you have the inner resources to handle whatever response you receive.

In short, this combination isn't asking for more self-improvement. It's asking you to receive what your self-improvement has already made possible.

One Card Reversed

When one card is reversed in this pairing, the otherwise harmonious energy becomes imbalanced. Either inner strength is compromised while outward circumstances remain favorable, or inner strength is present but external conditions or self-expression are blocked.

Strength Reversed + The Sun Upright

Here, positive circumstances exist, but your capacity to meet them from groundedness is compromised. The Sun shines, but you struggle to stand in its light. This often manifests as self-doubt undermining real opportunities—the job offer you're too scared to accept, the relationship that could flourish if you weren't sabotaging it, the success you've earned but can't receive.

You may be experiencing a gap between your external circumstances and your internal state. Things look good from the outside, but privately you feel like a fraud, or you're waiting for everything to fall apart, or you can't access the joy that logically should be available. The lion has slipped from your grasp—old fears, insecurities, or self-destructive patterns are reasserting themselves at exactly the moment when you could be thriving.

This configuration can also indicate that you're depleted. Perhaps you've been strong for so long that your reserves are exhausted, and even genuine good news can't penetrate your fatigue. The Sun offers energy, but you're too worn out to absorb it.

Strength Upright + The Sun Reversed

In this configuration, you have genuine inner resources, but something blocks their full expression or dims the joy that should accompany them. You're strong, but circumstances aren't allowing that strength to shine. Or you're strong, but you can't feel the happiness your strength should enable.

The Sun reversed can indicate dimmed vitality—things that should feel good don't, or success feels hollow despite being real. With Strength upright, you have the capacity to handle this situation, but you're handling difficulty rather than celebrating triumph. Perhaps external circumstances genuinely are challenging, and your strength is being tested rather than rewarded. Perhaps something internal—depression, disconnection, old grief—prevents you from experiencing the brightness that could be available.

This configuration also appears when authentic self-expression is blocked. You have gifts to share, but something—a restrictive environment, fear of visibility, others' expectations—keeps you from fully showing them. The lion is tamed, but there's no sun to bask in.

Love & Relationships

With Strength reversed, you may be entering or maintaining relationships from insecurity rather than groundedness. A good partner may be available, but you can't trust it, or you're so busy managing your own anxiety that you can't actually show up for connection. Self-doubt may cause you to push away precisely the intimacy you want. The work is developing your inner foundation; until that's solid, even ideal circumstances can't produce satisfying relationships.

With The Sun reversed, you may have the inner resources for good relationship, but circumstances aren't cooperating—or you can't access the joy that connection should bring. Perhaps you're in a relationship that's strong but not happy, stable but not vibrant. Perhaps the capacity for deep intimacy is present, but opportunities to express it are lacking. The work is either changing circumstances that genuinely aren't serving you, or examining what internal blocks prevent you from experiencing the brightness available in your current situation.

Career & Work

With Strength reversed, professional opportunities may exist but you lack the confidence to seize them or the groundedness to handle them. You might turn down positions you're qualified for, sabotage interviews through visible anxiety, or succeed externally while privately falling apart. The work is building genuine internal capacity before expecting external conditions to transform your experience.

With The Sun reversed, you may have real professional capability that isn't being recognized, or success that doesn't feel satisfying. Perhaps you're in the wrong environment—one that can't appreciate what you offer. Perhaps you're achieving but not thriving, winning but not enjoying. The work is either finding contexts that allow your strength to shine, or examining why success feels empty when it arrives.

What to Do

If Strength is reversed: Focus on your inner state before trying to change external circumstances. What has destabilized your groundedness? What old fears have resurfaced? The Sun upright suggests that genuine opportunity exists; your work is developing the internal foundation to receive it. This might mean rest, therapy, reconnection with practices that center you, or honest acknowledgment of vulnerabilities you've been ignoring. Don't force yourself to perform strength you don't currently feel; that performance will exhaust you further. Build real fortitude, then act.

If The Sun is reversed: Examine both external circumstances and internal blocks. Are you in an environment that genuinely suppresses your expression, or are you dimming your own light? Sometimes the answer is changing circumstances—leaving the job, ending the relationship, finding contexts that support your flourishing. Sometimes the answer is internal work—addressing depression, healing old wounds that prevent joy, learning to let good things in. Strength upright means you have resources to handle this inquiry honestly. Use them.

Both Reversed

When both Strength and The Sun appear reversed, the combination expresses its most challenged form: diminished inner resources meeting blocked external expression. Neither the steady fortitude nor the radiant vitality is fully accessible. This typically corresponds to periods of depletion, discouragement, or disconnection.

This configuration often appears when someone is running on empty—when the reserves that once sustained them have been exhausted, when joy feels distant or inaccessible, when even getting through the day requires effort that doesn't seem matched by results.

"Both cards reversed often signals that replenishment must precede achievement—you cannot give what you haven't restored."

The shadow expression of this combination includes self-doubt spiraling into paralysis, isolation that cuts you off from sources of both strength and joy, and a kind of gray persistence that neither builds anything nor falls apart completely. Life continues, but vitality has drained away.

However, both reversals can also indicate a necessary fallow period. Sometimes strength needs to rest to rebuild itself. Sometimes the sun sets so it can rise again. This configuration doesn't mean permanent diminishment; it may mean recognizing that you need recovery before you can return to full engagement.

Love & Relationships

Romantic life under both reversals typically feels effortful rather than nourishing. If single, you may lack both the confidence to put yourself out there (Strength reversed) and the vitality that attracts others (Sun reversed). Dating feels exhausting rather than exciting; genuine connection seems distant.

If partnered, the relationship may have entered a depleted phase—neither partner has energy to give, neither is receiving what they need, and the joy that once characterized the connection has faded. This doesn't necessarily mean the relationship should end, but it does mean something needs to shift. Both partners may need individual restoration before the relationship can thrive again.

Career & Work

Professional life under both reversals often feels like going through the motions. You may lack both the confidence to pursue what you want (Strength reversed) and the visibility or recognition that would reward your efforts (Sun reversed). Work provides neither meaning nor joy—it's simply something you endure.

This configuration can appear during burnout, when you've given so much that nothing remains. It can also appear when you're in the wrong professional context—one that systematically undermines your confidence while offering no satisfaction in return. The combination suggests that minor adjustments won't help; something more fundamental needs to change, beginning with your own restoration.

Finances

Financial matters under both reversals require careful attention without panic. You may lack the groundedness to make sound decisions (Strength reversed) while also facing circumstances that don't support prosperity (Sun reversed). This isn't the time for financial risks or major initiatives. Focus on stability and sustainability—managing what you have, avoiding decisions you might regret, maintaining basic function while you work on deeper restoration.

Be cautious of financial solutions that promise quick fixes. The depleted state both reversals represent can make you vulnerable to unrealistic promises. Nothing will truly improve until the underlying energy shifts; meanwhile, focus on not making things worse.

What to Do

Prioritize restoration over achievement. Both reversals indicate that your resources are depleted; trying to accomplish things from this state will deplete them further. You need rest, nourishment, and reconnection with sources of genuine vitality before you can expect to function at full capacity.

This might mean: reducing obligations where possible; asking for help with things you've been handling alone; returning to practices that once centered you but that you've abandoned; spending time in nature, with loved ones, or in activities that replenish rather than drain you; and being honest with yourself about how depleted you actually are.

The path back to both Strength and The Sun typically begins with acknowledging where you actually are, rather than forcing yourself to perform wellness you don't feel. From honest acknowledgment, genuine recovery becomes possible. And from genuine recovery, both inner fortitude and outer radiance can return.

Yes or No Reading

Configuration Answer Reason
Both Upright Strong yes Inner resources and outer conditions align to support success
One Reversed Likely yes, but address the imbalance Either build inner strength or work on external expression before expecting full flourishing
Both Reversed Wait and restore Conditions don't currently support confident action; focus on recovery first

Frequently Asked Questions

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

In love readings, this combination points to relationships characterized by both vulnerability and joy—connections where you can show your full self, lion and all, and be met with warmth and acceptance. The pairing suggests that authentic confidence attracts authentic connection; when you're not performing or hiding, you become magnetic to partners who can meet you at that level. For singles, this often indicates a favorable period for meeting someone significant, particularly if you engage from genuine self-acceptance rather than desperation. For those in relationships, it suggests the potential for deepened intimacy and renewed vitality. The combination asks couples whether they're still showing each other their real selves, and whether they still experience genuine joy together—not despite their challenges, but integrated with them.

Is Strength and The Sun a positive combination?

This is one of tarot's most fundamentally positive combinations. Unlike pairings that promise growth through difficulty, Strength and The Sun together suggest that growth and joy can occur simultaneously—that you don't have to suffer to develop, and that genuine happiness doesn't require denying life's challenges. The combination represents integration: the parts of yourself that might seem opposed (courage and playfulness, seriousness and lightness, power and gentleness) working together rather than conflicting. When both cards appear upright, this is among the most favorable configurations in tarot, suggesting both inner capacity and outer opportunity. Even when one or both cards are reversed, the underlying message remains hopeful: these energies are available to you, and the work is removing what blocks them rather than creating something from nothing.

How does this combination relate to confidence and self-esteem?

Strength and The Sun together speak directly to what genuine confidence looks like—not arrogance or bravado, but grounded self-acceptance that naturally expresses itself as warmth and capability. Strength represents the inner work of befriending your own nature, including the parts you might fear or judge. The Sun represents what becomes possible when that work is done: radiance that doesn't need external validation, success that feels deserved rather than stolen, joy that isn't fragile. For someone struggling with self-esteem, this combination indicates both the path and the destination. The path involves honest self-acceptance—not pretending to be confident, but actually developing the relationship with yourself that makes confidence natural. The destination is the kind of presence that others experience as both strong and warm, capable and approachable.

Strength with other cards:

The Sun with other cards:

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