Rose
Hi!
I think Kiama may have gotten the essence of this card with her post about all the opposites in the card.
According to Crowley:
The Hebrew letter corresponding to this card is Zain, which means a Sword. The Sword is primarily an engine of division. However, in the intellectual world-which is the world of the Sword suit-it represents analysis. The sword cuts, divides, and separates the whole into individual distinct forms-and distributes polarity through the universe. (symbolized by all those opposites on the card) It separates female from male, black from white, negative from positive, etc. But besides being the instrument that separates and divides, it symbolizes the mental ability to recognize those differences.
One meaning of the Lovers card is the need for individuals not only to unite with each other but to unify and reconcile the opposites within themselves.
Crowley pairs the Lovers card with the Temperance Card. The subject of the Lovers + Temperance is Analysis, followed by Synthesis. He states: The first question asked by science is: "Of what are things composed?" This having been answered, the next question is: "How shall we recombine them to our greater advantage?"
According to Crowley the framework of this card is an Arch of Swords (behind the Hermit), beneath which the Royal Marriage takes place. The Arch of Swords represents division and analysis. The royal or exalted marriage (?synthesis?) is the marriage of ying and yang, Earth mother and Earth father. Their love conveys the balance of equally-weighted opposites. I guess he is saying that we need intellectual understanding and knowledge to achieve union.
The Hermit is presiding over this marriage. (Kiama, Crowley says that the cloth around his arms is a scroll, ?a message?) Does he represent a guide-who leads us to wholeness? Does he stand as a reminder that each one of us is an individual-that even if we join with someone else we are still separate and need personal space? Does he stand as a symbol that we must sacrifice some of our separateness in order to be with others? Why is he hooded? Any thoughts on this?
Some others things of interest, quoted directly from Arrien's The Tarot Handbook:
"In the background of the card are iron gates, symbolizing the Lovers' need not to be limited."
"All relationships are a transformative experience, represented by the Orphic Egg, the egg wrapped with the snake, so that physically in relationships, we change like the egg, and spiritually, we transform and let go of old identities, like the snake shedding an old skin. Each relationship has an internal or spiritual connection, which is represented by the wings that are attached to the egg."
Rose
I think Kiama may have gotten the essence of this card with her post about all the opposites in the card.
According to Crowley:
The Hebrew letter corresponding to this card is Zain, which means a Sword. The Sword is primarily an engine of division. However, in the intellectual world-which is the world of the Sword suit-it represents analysis. The sword cuts, divides, and separates the whole into individual distinct forms-and distributes polarity through the universe. (symbolized by all those opposites on the card) It separates female from male, black from white, negative from positive, etc. But besides being the instrument that separates and divides, it symbolizes the mental ability to recognize those differences.
One meaning of the Lovers card is the need for individuals not only to unite with each other but to unify and reconcile the opposites within themselves.
Crowley pairs the Lovers card with the Temperance Card. The subject of the Lovers + Temperance is Analysis, followed by Synthesis. He states: The first question asked by science is: "Of what are things composed?" This having been answered, the next question is: "How shall we recombine them to our greater advantage?"
According to Crowley the framework of this card is an Arch of Swords (behind the Hermit), beneath which the Royal Marriage takes place. The Arch of Swords represents division and analysis. The royal or exalted marriage (?synthesis?) is the marriage of ying and yang, Earth mother and Earth father. Their love conveys the balance of equally-weighted opposites. I guess he is saying that we need intellectual understanding and knowledge to achieve union.
The Hermit is presiding over this marriage. (Kiama, Crowley says that the cloth around his arms is a scroll, ?a message?) Does he represent a guide-who leads us to wholeness? Does he stand as a reminder that each one of us is an individual-that even if we join with someone else we are still separate and need personal space? Does he stand as a symbol that we must sacrifice some of our separateness in order to be with others? Why is he hooded? Any thoughts on this?
Some others things of interest, quoted directly from Arrien's The Tarot Handbook:
"In the background of the card are iron gates, symbolizing the Lovers' need not to be limited."
"All relationships are a transformative experience, represented by the Orphic Egg, the egg wrapped with the snake, so that physically in relationships, we change like the egg, and spiritually, we transform and let go of old identities, like the snake shedding an old skin. Each relationship has an internal or spiritual connection, which is represented by the wings that are attached to the egg."
Rose