Majors-only question

BrightEye

I'm experimenting with Majors only decks at the moment. Today for my daly reading I asked 'What do I need to heed today?' and drew the Lovers. So I thought I need to focus on choices. I drew another card, the High Priestess, which I took to mean that I knew in which area of my life I needed to make that choice.

Could the Lovers mean anything else in a Majors only context?
 

nisaba

Depending on the deck, it could mean commitment: taking that final plunge to move wholeheartedly into the future and away from the past.

It could mean devotion or sexual attraction or marriage: a number of Lovers cards are unambiguously romantic cards.

It could indicate teamwork: even in the sense of harnessing your inner self and your conscious personality to work together instead of pulling in different directions, as they do for so many of us.

It could simply mean working better as a team at work that day, or going out to lunch with an old friend whose company you really, really enjoy, whom you "love" without being a couple.

How I'd read it is so-o-o heavily dependent on what the image looks like, and what your circumstances are.


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BRAKKAE ILLAE VIRIDES KVM SVBVKVLA ROSEA ET TVNIKA KALEDONIA QVAM ELENGANTER KONINNATVR
 

BrightEye

I guess my point was not to tease out the various meanings of the Lovers in a normal deck but what other meanings of the 56 missing cards the Lovers would need to cover. If we think of the Tarot as a language, a 78 card deck would have more precise and differentiated meanings because it has more 'words'/signs/cards, whereas a 22 card deck would need to cover a much wider range of meanings in one single card.
 

rwcarter

Moderator Note

Please limit discussion to the many meanings of the Lovers when using just the Majors and don't get into a discussion of the reading.
 

rwcarter

Well, the choice represented by the Lovers isn't a mundane "do I have fish or chicken for dinner?" but a more potentially life-changing choice. 32 years later, I can trace where I am today (in terms of physical location) to a choice I made. So the Lovers could represent being presented with a crossroads and your choice could likely have a profound effect on future events that you may not recognize until years later.
 

starrystarrynight

I never have read with only majors, so my disclaimer is that I don't know, so take this with a huge grain of salt. :D

However, I wonder if, when reading with only majors, one needs to look at the key number of the card (Lovers=6) and take into consideration the sixes of all the minor suits...perhaps reducing the majors of keys larger than nine down to a single digit.

I think I would try looking at it that way and then compare what actually goes on during the day with whatever came to me when drawing that major.

So, maybe for the Lovers, you need to heed finding the type of balance or give-and-take generosity that 6 of P signifies in a nostalgic type of situation that the 6 of C often signifies, while listening to and using the information that gets stirred up by the oar of the boatsman in the 6 of S, and all the while heed balancing your own pride or ego in dealing with the other 6 energies that are signified (6 of W.)

In other words, something may happen that will allow or prompt you to move away from some turbulence of the past while remaining mindful and "generous" to those who have helped and applauded you along the way.

But this is all off the cuff because, like I said, I don't read with all majors...especially, I would think that drawing from an all-major deck for a simple daily energy would necessitate NOT reading it as "large" you might if it came out while using a full deck for a daily draw. Not everyday can possibly have a "major" ramification, I don't think. Most of my days are pretty boring and nondescript, anyway. :D
 

rif

rwcarter said:
Well, the choice represented by the Lovers isn't a mundane "do I have fish or chicken for dinner?" but a more potentially life-changing choice. 32 years later, I can trace where I am today (in terms of physical location) to a choice I made. So the Lovers could represent being presented with a crossroads and your choice could likely have a profound effect on future events that you may not recognize until years later.

I have to disagree with this one, Rodney. :)

I believe the average daily reading is NOT going to deal with life-changing events, but more mundane things. So it very well could indicate a choice between fish or chicken for dinner in this context.

Generally speaking I would stick with choice or relationships for this card. However, it could as well indicate that you're going to spend time with a couple that you know; that you'll be hanging out with a parent; or that you should treat yourself to that massage (i.e. do something senusal for yourself). Just let intuition range a little wider on this one for a majors-only reading.
 

rwcarter

rif said:
I have to disagree with this one, Rodney. :)
You bring up an interesting point. :)

I guess for me it would depend on why one read with only the Majors. If one chose just the Majors (or a Majors-only deck) to see how they could be applied to more mundane issues, then, yes, it could be a choice between chicken and fish for dinner. But if one had an important question one wanted answered and chose the Majors (or a Majors-only deck) for that reason, then I think the larger overarching principle of the card should be used.

But if we think about
BrightEye said:
what other meanings of the 56 missing cards the Lovers would need to cover
then I think the answer would have to be either option instead of one option over the other because the Lovers would still have to cover its own meaning, but would also potentially have to cover other meanings.

Rodney
 

Amanda

Yeah, this is kind of why I don't just use the majors. I like details. LOL

I think, even for a daily draw- if you pull a Major, you're pulling a broad card for a broad answer, if some little detail doesn't immediately jump out at you.

So, the kind of thing you might need to heed for today could be "Trust"... like keep trust behind your motives for the day, or "Love" or "Healing"... etc. etc. Using Majors only would kind of turn into affirmation readings for me, if nothing in the card specifically caught my attention.
 

rwcarter

BrightEye said:
what other meanings of the 56 missing cards the Lovers would need to cover
Going just from this and off the top of my head, I can see the Lovers covering the following cards:
  • 2 Pentacles - juggling a new love with existing duties, priorities, etc
  • 3P - the work to build up a new relationship
  • 4P - the desire to hold on too tightly to a new relationship
  • 6P - the sharing that goes on in a relationship (sometimes you're the giver and sometimes you're the taker)
  • 7P - the effort it takes to build up a new relationship
  • 10P - long-term stability of the relationship
  • 2 Swords - refusing to make a choice
  • 3S - choosing to open oneself up to the potential of heartache
  • 4S - taking a break from relationships
  • 5S - an unequal relationship where one person is more dominant than the other
  • 6S - choosing to leave a troublesome relationship
  • 8S - feeling as if one is unable to make a choice
  • 9S - fear of losing a relationship or being haunted by the choice that one knows one must make
  • 10S - a painful choice that must be made before one can move on
  • 2 Cups - meeting someone new
  • 3C - the celebration of a new found love
  • 4C - the blinders that being in love can put on one
  • 5C - the potential for/fear of loss of who/what one loves
  • 7C - reviewing the choices that are available to one
  • 9C - the initial joy of being in love
  • 10C - the long-term joy of a relationship
  • 2W - comparing what one has against the choices available to one
  • 4W - taking the relationship to the next level
  • 5W - competing choices (choices that compete for one's attention)
  • 6W - celebration of the relationship (anniversary, wedding, honeymoon, special occasion, etc.)
  • 7W - defending the relationship against outside influences
  • 8W - a relationship that moves quickly
  • 9W - being on guard in the relationship
  • 10W - being burdened by a choice made or by a relationship

For some reason that I don't have time to explore, nothing comes right to mind for the Aces and Courts.

Rodney