Raphael in The Lovers

Samweiss

Then there's the alchemical view of uniting the pair of opposites, Adam and Eve, Sun and Moon, under the influence of Mercury (Raphael) in order for soul to get back into the primordial state of Paradise. :)
 

Charlie Brown

Which is all to say: I totally agree that I was wrong to imply that if Waite didn't call his figure an angel that it's not an angel. But I do think relying on first impressions or what's obvious can equally box us in.

Maybe? Yes?

That was my hope in starting all this in the first place.
 

Charlie Brown

Then there's the alchemical view of uniting the pair of opposites, Adam and Eve, Sun and Moon, under the influence of Mercury (Raphael) in order for soul to get back into the primordial state of Paradise. :)

Isn't the uniting of opposites like that more of a Temperance thing? Once we're "under" planets and the like I'm totally out of my limited depth.
 

parsival

I agree with Abrac that the winged figure is Shekinah for at least three reasons :

1. In the Zohar , and as quoted by Waite in many places in his writings , Shekinah presides over marriages including that depicted in the Lovers .
2. In the PKT , Waite describes the male and female figures " as if Adam and Eve "; so we are looking at a depiction of Eden . But in Waite's book " The Holy Kabbalah ", he mentions ( again based on the Zohar ) that " it was Shekinah who walked with Adam in Paradise ( i.e. Eden ) under the title of Lord God, that is to say , of Jehovah Elohim , the union above communicating to the union below and prescribing the first law of life " ( Chapter on " The Mystery of Shekinah " ).
3. One of the meanings of the Lovers card , is the union of the male and female sides of the ToL , and again in " The Holy Kabbalah " Waite says, quoting from the Zohar : " goodness and mercy are on the male side of the Sephirotic Tree , while evil and severity are on the female side ; these two must be united by the Middle Pillar : this is entering under the wings of Shekinah ."
 

Abrac

parsival, those are some good references. Not to contradict any of your points but just to add some of my own. Re. no. 2, the lines just above it in the book identify the garden itself with Shekinah:

"I have mentioned in another connection the work of Shekinah in creation. In her office as architect of the world, the Word was uttered to her, was by her conceived and brought or begotten into execution. We have seen that Shekinah below concurred with the architect above and was also its builder—in what sense does not signify, nor is it explained by the Zohar. In so far, however, as creation is the history of the elect symbolised, it is obvious that the work remains unfinished till the great day of restitution, and coincident therewith is the history of Shekinah herself. On the manifest side it begins in the Garden of Eden—in that Garden which is she, according to another symbolism. . ."​

In the paragraph below it there's another very interesting reference which identifies the "covenant" with Shekinah:

" 'When Israel is in exile the Shekinah is also in exile. It is for this reason that the Holy One will remember Israel,' meaning that He remembers His covenant, 'which is Shekinah.' "​

Recall Waite's words in the PKT, "In a very high sense, the card is a mystery of the Covenant and Sabbath."

Elsewhere in The Holy Kabbalah (pg. 344, a few pages before your quote no. 2), Shekinah is also compared to the Sabbath:

"So also Metatron, who is an aspect of Shekinah, is indifferently male and female, changing incessantly according to the vibrations of the union. Now, it is said that Shekinah is to Metatron what the Sabbath is to the weekdays. In other words, she is rest and the rapture of rest, yet it is that rest in which there is the intercourse of spiritual union. The same vibrations which are mentioned in the case of Metatron constitute the beatitude of the soul in heaven."​

And also in The Holy Kabbalah (in a footnote on pg. 400, Book VIII, Section 2, "The Mystery of Sex"), referring to Metatron:

"(t) As noted also, he is to Shekinah that which are the week days to the Sabbath—as if he were activity and she rest."​

When Waite says it's a "mystery of the Covenant and Sabbath" he might be saying it's a mystery of Shekinah. :)
 

foolMoon

Then there's the alchemical view of uniting the pair of opposites, Adam and Eve, Sun and Moon, under the influence of Mercury (Raphael) in order for soul to get back into the primordial state of Paradise. :)

Read somewhere that the Angels were not too happy that Adam and Eve were being created.
 

EmpyreanKnight

Found another early thread arguing which Angel is which in the RWS:

http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=48583

Just to add more fuel to the fiery winged figure :joke: Which, by the way, I'm beginning to think is Uriel.
From Wiki:

To be honest, the point you made does make sense too, Thirteen. And your Uriel connection is quite compelling.

And by the way, thanks for that thread link! It's very informative, and I would suggest the other guys here to read it too.
 

EmpyreanKnight

After reading the entries here, personally Raphael still resonates the most for me, altho I'm warming to Uriel too since I really can't agree with Pollack associating him with The Devil card. The points Thirteen made about the fiery wings and the Gate of Eden make a lot of sense, really.

The Shekinah angle also intrigues me a lot, and I know I shall encounter it again once I delve deeper into Waite. The wedding aspect in the FRC tome reminds me of the Chymical Marriage in Duquette's exposition on the Lovers card, tho that was for the Thoth. I will surely explore this.
 

Barleywine

Angelic names aside, in strictly visual terms it always struck me that the Woman (Eve) has a rapport with the "great winged figure" that the Man (Adam) doesn't share. Waite did say "only by her can he complete himself." This alone makes me think "Shekinah." Eden Gray, back in 1960, named the angel as Raphael; unfortunately, she didn't include a bibliography to identify her sources, but the main one was probably Case. She elaborated on Waite's implications about Eve's "attraction towards the sensitive life" (assuming he meant "sensuality" since he coupled that with "the idea of the Fall of Man") by casting it in psychological terms:

"The self-conscious intellect represented by the man does not establish direct contact with superconsciousness (the Angel) except through Eve (the subconscious)."

Rather than a true marriage, it suggest more a "working arrangement" that gives Adam, the archetypal Man, access to Waite's "great mystery of womanhood." Waite didn't use the word "Shekinah," but it all seems to bend that way if we read between the lines. But as I said earlier, I'm no expert here, so this is all conjecture.
 

smw

"There is an obscure suggestion that he may be the Angel of the Sun, and it is said also that he draws milk for his purification from his mother, as if she were the Matrona [Shekinah] in Binah and he were the Begotten Son or Vau.​

This is of interest for a couple of reasons. First, the reference to Metatron as the Angel of the Sun; and secondly it suggests Metatron is the Son, or Zein Anpin, the Lesser Countenance

In a book about Enoch3 this is mentioned similarly, The reason given is that the Holy one loved him more than all the children of heaven and he is called the Lesser YHWH "For my name is in him". That would make God in him - as the son.

That is kind of interesting as the Angel Metatron was formerly a human being Enoch, who was taken by God as Witness against the wicked deeds of men destroyed by the flood. So there might be a link to the covenant mentioned for the Lovers. He is said to have been taken up on the Wings of Shekinah who is described variously as "understanding", to indwell, Glory and manifestation of the presence of God.

Eta... I wonder why Shekinah is shown as an Angel on the Trinick, with the Lovers holding hands together, unlike as Barleywine mentioned on the RSW the rapport being with the woman and the winged figure. The man looks oblivious. It's almost like one card is before the temptation and the choice to be made, the Shekinah Glory still present. Speculating even more... If the Fall is the forerunner of the wrong choices, leading to the Flood, at the same time this brings about humankind (represented by Enoch & fiery Glory) ascending to heaven.