The Lover's Path: Balance - Venus and Vulcan

Sophie-David

Balance, the fourteenth Major of The Lover's Path Tarot, depicts the match of Venus and Vulcan, comparable to the traditional card Temperance. Venus is imaged separately as the Queen of Arrows, the tester of Psyche in her journey through the suit of Arrows (Swords). The theme of balance is well depicted in the card, which uses two classic arches to frame each of the partners and their respective worlds.

On the left, Vulcan is dressed in dark intense colours which we remind me of both earth and fire. He wears a short practical tunic which would help him to shed the heat, and a long brown cloak with golden trim which evokes his practical divinity. He has red hair, a short red beard, and with a look of intensity focuses on the beautiful Venus with whom he grasps hands as they dance. Vulcan's backdrop, suggestive of his unconscious, is the fire of his furnaces.

On the right, Venus is dressed in the golden white gown with green trim which she seductively modeled as Queen of Swords. Her golden hair dances about her shoulders, but instead of returning Vulcan's look, she focuses on the observer. Is she self-conscious of her match, trying to elicit sympathy, begin a new conquest or simply showing off? The doves of her inspiration flutter near her feet and behind her, and beyond the arch the green sea crashes against the marble temple. In the distance a seagull is hunting in the air above. The birds and the wind in her hair evoke the air, and the sea is of water.

Thus the four elements come together in poetic balance. Between the two partners the hand clasp is superimposed exactly over the centre pillar, and they are also joined by a red ribbon which twines about them. Above the two arches a garland of roses is another harmonizing element which draws them together. In its position above them, perhaps it represents the work of the gods who brought about their arranged marriage.

But much as I admire the expression of balance in the art of the card, the backstory of these two partners - I will not call them lovers - gives me trouble. While I can understand the aspect of balance between these two opposites, my personal understanding of Temperance implies much more of a reconciliation, a blending of two spirits which is often imaged in the pouring of a liquid between two vessels. To me, this Major goes beyond balance into intimate relationship, a fusion of souls, in short the sacred marriage of feminine and masculine. This myth seems to speak of a relationship which is much more tenuous, a marriage in name only without true engagement. While any healthy relationship must strike a balance between intimacy and separation, this marriage seems a little too impersonal.

Vulcan does not look unattractive in the picture, but clearly Venus found him so. Nothing can create a chemistry which is not there. There seems to be some disrespect of Vulcan in the myths, perhaps reflective of a culture which valued the noble and the warrior above the artisan. I admire Venus for following her heart, but on the other hand the apparent contempt with which she treated her husband in the stories is difficult to accept. But I think this quotation is key to Kris's intent, from page 43 of the text:
Each was necessary to the other as opposites often are. Their relationship serves to symbolize the dance between craftsmanship and beauty, ultilitarianism and inspiration - elements needed to yield art, the supreme act of balance
This characterization is deeply resonant to me - my personal journey is a result of the balancing effect of the practice of art. As art requires the balance between inspiration and form, technique and spirit, the expression of art balances and heals both the world outside and the world inside.

Here are further details on Vulcan, as the Greek Hephaestus and Venus as Aphrodite.
 

Cerulean

Here's multi-version links and ideas...

It's true, I would not have thought of Vulcan in Temperance, but there's one or two episodes where there is reconciliation...allegory being what it is, one shakes their head at learning Venus' preference was for a...brother(!)

http://www.webwinds.com/myth/hephaestus.htm

In some legendary versions, Venus is very pleased with Vulcan's ability to make beautiful things. She is said to have been willing to be his spouse.

Vulcan as a peacemaker between his mother and father is a surprising one to me, and also his choice of Venus as a wife, when I read more details. B

ut the idea of making opposites unite into a more peaceable flow, even for a short time, might underline the small space of temperance, it's delicate and fluctuating flow?

Very interesting ideas to study!

Regards,

Cerulean
 

Sophie-David

Thank you for the more detailed link, Cerulean. When the traditions are so diverse its difficult to come up with an interpretation. In particular, the link's reference to Hephaestus as being "Gentle and introverted, he was sensitive to conflict, and often took the role of peacemaker, seeking to reconcile his parents" seems inconsistent with binding his mother to a chair or bringing his wife and lover before the Olympians in a net!

But on the whole I have more sympathies for Hephaestus than for the Aphrodite of this context. It was particularly interesting to read of his adoption by Thetis and Eurynome, that these feminine forces awakened his creativity. This reads more like the action of Temperance that what he appears to have gained from his quasi-relationship with Aphrodite. Hephaestus seems more balanced and integrated without her.

The description of Venus seducing Vulcan to persuade him to make armor for Aeneas puts her in the light of a prostitute rather than a lover. I would associate the archetype of feminine love with something more profound and transforming, but this Venus almost seems to be the female counterpart of Zeus with her amoral conquests and manipulations.

On the whole, I think I will prefer to concentrate on the imagery of the card when I use it for reading, rather than on the underlying story.
 

irisa

I think they are interesting pair...

Vulcan was a rejected son brought up by two surrogate mothers he must have had problems with women... It's easy to see why he would like strong women and be attracted to Venus. His problem was she was always out of his league.

Venus just acted... without ever considering consequences. I think Vulcan spent a lot of time thinking about consequences. He came up with intricate and detailed plans to humiliate.

In using seduction to persuade... Venus was doing what came naturally for women way back then and even dare I say today! [I'm not above fluttering my eyelashes on occasion :) ]

In fact, it seems, that was the price Vulcan expected for his co-operation when Athena sought armour from him. Athena fought him off but the result was the earth-born Erichthonius who was half-man and half-serpent.

All Vulcan really wanted was love and harmony in his life, an unreliable and fragile combination anytime and in a life with Venus impossible.

irisa
 

irisa

Whoops I meant to add...

If you think of Temperance/Balance on a simple level as related to the union and harmonisation of opposites then Venus and Vulcan fit very well don't they?

irisa
 

Sophie-David

irisa said:
I think they are interesting pair...

Vulcan was a rejected son brought up by two surrogate mothers he must have had problems with women... It's easy to see why he would like strong women and be attracted to Venus. His problem was she was always out of his league.
Yes, I think you make a very good point there Irisa. The alienation from his mother would make his path a difficult one. Marriage to a beautiful, charming but unobtainable woman like Venus would be a typical reaction for one who was not able to relate to a partner on the soul level. She would continue to mirror his experience of a mother who was distant.

Venus becomes a not much more than symbol of womanhood for him, a possession by which he can deceive himself that he is successful in that universal quest that we each have: soul union through erotic and transcendent love. Or to put it another way, that by having a wife, even if in name only, he would hope to somehow satisfy his yearning for the experience of the psychological other which he misses in himself. Of course this is still very common in the world, a man offering wealth, stability and security in return for a female adornment, sexual and domestic service.

On the other hand, the mention in Cerulean's link that Thetis and Eurynome awakened Hephaestus' creativity puts a different interpretation on things, that he was fairly well balanced in himself, able to create fine pieces of art with or without having Venus in his life.

irisa said:
Venus just acted... without ever considering consequences. I think Vulcan spent a lot of time thinking about consequences. He came up with intricate and detailed plans to humiliate.
This seems rather pathological doesn't it?

irisa said:
In using seduction to persuade... Venus was doing what came naturally for women way back then and even dare I say today! [I'm not above fluttering my eyelashes on occasion :)]
Both sexes automatically flirt to some extent, but its quite another thing to sleep with someone to buy a favour. I lose respect for both these partners equally for engaging in this transaction.

irisa said:
In fact, it seems, that was the price Vulcan expected for his co-operation when Athena sought armour from him. Athena fought him off but the result was the earth-born Erichthonius who was half-man and half-serpent.
That was a pretty yucky episode also!

irisa said:
All Vulcan really wanted was love and harmony in his life, an unreliable and fragile combination anytime and in a life with Venus impossible.
It may have been a match made in Olympus, but not a match made in heaven! :)

irisa said:
If you think of Temperance/Balance on a simple level as related to the union and harmonisation of opposites then Venus and Vulcan fit very well don't they?
Well Kris has done so very admirably in the art of the card, but I wonder if Venus and Mars would have been a more equal duality?
 

irisa

Sophie-David said:
Well Kris has done so very admirably in the art of the card, but I wonder if Venus and Mars would have been a more equal duality?

Yes probably... but maybe they would have been too comfortable?

I think Vulcan's talent and intense personality add to the meaning here. He was introverted as well as creative... his work gave him purpose. Yet he was motivated by his emotions just like Venus.

Vulcan is further linked to the card by the alchemical concepts of tempering and wholeness.

The thing about this deck is that as well as stunning artwork I'm finding the combinations fascinating :)


irisa