Strength
An octopus forces open the jaws of a moray eels as the two crash through a coral reef. A frightened frogfish flees in fear in the foreground.
Symbolism of Strength
This card is pretty straightforward. It represents Strength in the archetypal sense. Traditionally a feminine person is opening the jaws of a lion, who appears docile and maybe even pliant to her touch. power. This evokes the power of the lion itself, but also reminds the reader that power can be derived through means more graceful than physical force. By forcing the lion’s jaws open, the human is literally and symbolically dominating/adopting the strength of the lion.
La Force, Marseilles deck.
Strength, Smith-Waite deck.
Strength in Octopolis
For the Octopolis depiction of strength, I chose to show an octopus demonstrating their power over the moray eel: traditional predator of the octopus. Morays are not ‘alpha’ predators of the ocean, but they are the dominant predators in the particular biome where octopuses also make their home: rocky crevices. The octopuses of Octopolis retain a strong ancestral memory of the risk posed by moray eels and their ilk.
I wanted this depiction to be fundamental and raw, and consciously did not put any ‘clothing’ or trappings of civilization on this octopus. This could very well be a scene out of prehistoric Octopolis, when octopuses didn’t have anything but a piece of coral to wield as a club.
Giant Frogfish. Photo by David R.
The frogfish is added for dramatic detail, but was intentionally chosen. Frogfish are camouflage, ambush hunters that do not rely on their strength but rather their camouflage to survive. While octopuses possess such abilities, this card dismisses them in favor of the raw muscular strength of the octopus's arms. The avatar of Strength takes no notice of such subtleties, when overwhelming power is at hand all must defer to its barreling force.
Strength and Conflict
My interpretation of the card is significantly more violent than past interpretations. Traditionally it’s a peaceful lion that pliantly submits to the will of the feminine, demonstrating a subversion of strength. I chose another path for a couple reasons.
Octopolis is a matriarchal society, and the female is not perceived to be the weaker sex in any way. I suppose I could have drawn a male, but I don't want to fall into a trap of just reflecting the same gender dichotomies of our present culture.
Secondly, Strength is not a static quality. The Ocean is the most obvious demonstration of that fact. In an ecosystem without the boundaries of gravity, there’s ‘always a bigger fish’. Everyone will eat anyone, it’s just a matter of relative size. Dominance is a conflict that's in constant flux, and to show anything else is hubris.
The peaceful quality of other Strength illustrations reflects the folly of humankind's perceived exceptionalism, belief that humans are somehow divinely ordained to a dominion over brutality of nature. This notion is antithetical to the philosophy of Octopolis, a world where humans have fallen victim to their own delusions of grandeur and been subsumed by the tectonic plates of time. The octopuses, though the current masters of the universe, do not yet suffer under such delusions as we do now.
