The Lovers
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Range of meanings
Light: Being in love. Showing your love to others. Expressing passion or romantic feelings. Aligning yourself with groups or like-minded others. Bringing people together. Making well-informed decisions.
Shadow: Debilitating passion. Allowing an unhealthy desire for love to motivate destructive behavior. Disrupting unity. Working against the best interests of those who care about you. Ill-informed decisions.
Questions to ask
- If you were an angel of love, whom might you bring together to resolve your challenge?
- Is there any reason to break convention and listen to the serpent's advice?
- What insight might you achieve by bringing together opposing points of view?
- What are the dynamics between the people in your situations, what brings them together?
- How might love guide my choices?
- What is my heart leading me to do?
- How might my relationships transform me as a person?
Advice
Personal Growth: Now is a good time to deal with outstanding issues related to sexuality and relationships. Rather than be overwhelmed with Hollywood-style passion, consider the extent to which your qualities might be balanced or enhanced by those of your potential partner. In other areas, find your passion and pursue it.
Work: Call group meetings, pursue mergers, and find solid business partners during this rare opportunity for successful cooperation. Pay special attention to opportunities to supply what others need. Lay a foundation for future success by watching for team members with skills you lack. Make choices based on what you truly enjoy doing.
Relationships: This is a time to celebrate unity, love, and romance in all its forms. Souls are coming together, and a unique opportunity exists for people to enjoy an unusual degree of interdependence and cooperation. Let your heart guide your choices today.
Spirituality: Open yourself to new and diverse spiritual experiences. See opportunities to love others (even romantically) as chances to be a channel for divine love. Every small blessing you receive is an expression of universal love; give thanks and embrace what life brings you.
Fortune-Telling: A new personal or professional relationship blossoms. Sexual opportunities abound. Unexpectedly, a friend becomes a lover.
Associations
Astrological: Gemini
Hebrew: Zain/Sword/ 7
Archetype: The Lover/Sexual Awakening
Religions: Obviously, Adam and Eve, who are depicted in RWS-influenced decks. Also Venus and Cupid, Aphrodite and Eros.
Fool's Journey: The main character encounters a love interest or must choose between love and doing what is right.
The Number 6: The Adjustment: cooperation, collaboration, interaction.
An Angel: Whether seen as Cupid (in the Marseilles deck) or Eros (in the RWS-influenced decks), the influence of the angel draws the lovers together.
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil: Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil but were driven out of the Garden of Eden before they could partake of the Tree of Life and become “as gods.” Choices have consequences; note how RWS-influenced deck and the Marseilles deck all drive this point home.
Tree of Flames: Behind the man on the RWS Lovers card is a tree of flames, which represent his fiery passion.
Serpent: An expert at manipulating loopholes, the Biblical serpent tempted Eve. In some versions of the Hanged Man, the figure is hanging by one foot held by a serpent, representing the traitorous crime that led him to this situation.
Nudity: Nudity communicates innocence, openness, and shamelessness. On some cards, like the Star and Lovers cards, this is a good thing. On others, like the Devil card, it's framed as a weakness.
Content generously licensed from Mark McElroy via TarotTools.com.