[thorhammer]

These two cards offer a way to see both sides of a mirror . . . at the same time. They show how to divide and combine, and the implications of individualism and integration. They are complex and beautiful cards, and complement each other wonderfully.

\m/ Kat

[thorhammer]

If The Magician represented the undivided Self as both centre and boundary of the universe, the Lovers shows the consciousness in the first moments of wonder as it realises its separateness from “other”, from that which is outside its control. The loving gaze between the man and woman expresses the wonder and love one person can feel for the world around them; it also suggests the trust that each o us exhibits in every tiny interaction with the wider world.
The card is, of course, full of opposites – day and night, sun and moon, masculine and feminine, black and white. This shows the duality inherent in Self-Other. This imagery, of course, links The Lovers to The Sun and The Moon. In this way, the card speaks of the symbolism of the mirror, that tool by which we are able to see our own face and eyes. The Moon is the mirror to The Sun, and Other is the mirror to The Self. We are only able to effectively examine and understand ourselves in context, in contrast to that which is Other and outside our Self. The Lovers shows us how interaction with and closeness to the rest of the world allows us to deepen our knowledge of our own nature and experience.

The rainbow that emanates from the star above – a spectrum of visible light - gives a more subtle feel to the hard lines of this-and-that – it shows that there are degrees of separateness and closeness, and all of us are linked through something. Hence are the two Lovers able to bridge the gap represented by their apparent contrasts – through understanding of the gradations of difference between them.

\m/ Kat

[thorhammer]

The Lovers showed us the effect of separation and distinction; now here we are shown integration and alchemy. Temperance is the understanding of seeming opposites, with the ultimate goal being to join them into something greater than merely the sum of two separate things. The Magician held great power, but without understanding the nature of his integrity, he could not apply it or grasp its enormity or context. Temperance depicts the moment of combination, which is the culmination of an unimaginable journey towards innate understanding of vastly different things.

Sometimes it’s easy to see that two things or people or situations are different. Sometimes it’s easy to definitively state what makes them different. But when one tries to follow the reasoning back to its origins, to pin down the reason for the differences, it becomes difficult. Understanding the workings of the incredibly complex world of which we are a part is a difficult thing, and is something done less and less. Citizens of this world and time take their understanding of things for granted, and seldom realise that it is a fiction, am imposed set of rules to facilitate interaction. But it is ultimately meaningless if there is no basic truth to it.

\m/ Kat