78 Weeks: Lover(s)

[Richard]

Recolouring[/B]
The backdrop of this card never struck me as very much like Eden itself, despite the two trees. Rather, it seems like a mix between Eden itself (the trees, the serpent, the nakedness) and just outside the gates where they glance backward at the fiery defensive angel/cherubim watching them leave, look at each other and say “now what?” So I tried to make the ground between them a little barren, almost post-apocalyptic. But above the cloud, I tried to make it bright, fiery to suit the angel.

A great deal is illogical about the Forbidden Fruit story. If God says that you may eat anything but that, then either God knows nothing about the psychological structure of the people he created, or else he knew darn well that they would eat it. There is another theory in Gnosticism, that the Snake and Eve were the good guys. In Waite's PKT there are strong indications that he accepted this interpretation, but this is not the place for a discussion of that.

 

[jackdaw*]

All part of that big old divine plan? I came across that too. Either that, or God is like those parents who sets it up for their kids to make mistakes or errors in judgement so they'll learn

 

[gregory]

Card name: Lovers (aka Brothers !)

First impressions
OMG. Confusion reigns and stuff. Two of everything; and so many things that there are two of. Women at the top; hands in blessing over two royal people; children, creatures. I am surprised at the amount of red. It’s a wedding, with a priest doing the blessing over the heads of the couple – who I think is the Hermit from because it LOOKS like a Hermit – and if it isn’t in a hood, it is headless, and I really don’t think… he wears a purple cloak too – hermitty and als priestly. He has a Moebius strip of – ribbon ? - floating around his arms.

The couple – one black and one white; the children are “reversed”, but linking with the “matching” adult – the white queen holds a cup, and the white child also holds it; likewise the black child holds a lance and so does the black king. The two women at the top are very different – the one on the left looks very comfortable in her femininity, and powerful; the one on the right is sort of subservient and looks like she is praying. Behind it all a forest of swords like the arch of swords seen at a military wedding.
The two woman stand on black pillars. (I suddenly thing of putting people on a pedestal…)
The king wears a gold crown; the queen a silver one – sun and moon perhaps ? he also has a gold robe; hers is red.
Below are the two children. The white child holds the cup and some roses; the black a phallic lance and a club. Almost the four suits, but not quite !
At the base of the lance a winged egg with a snake coiled around it. Beside the king is a red lion with a very phallic upright tail; behind the queen, a white eagle.
The egg rests on a bow – actually that which I thought was a lance could be an arrow. Over the whole is Cupid (OK it’s probably Eros !) with his blindfold and bow and arrow aimed at no-one in particular.

From the Book of Thoth – its entirely as I am having BIG issues with understanding this card and I may want to come back !:

This card and its twin, XIV, Art, are the most obscure and difficult of the Atu. Each of these symbols is in itself double, so that the meanings form a divergent series, and the integration of the Card can only be regained by repeated marriages, identifications, and some form of Hermaphroditism.

Yet the attribution is the essence of simplicity. Atu VI refers to Gemini, ruled by Mercury. It means The Twins. The Hebrew letter corresponding is Zain, which means a Sword, and the framework of the card is therefore the Arch of Swords, beneath which the Royal Marriage takes place.

The Sword is primarily an engine of division. In the intellectual world-which is the world of the Sword suit-it represents analysis. This card and Atu XIV together compose the comprehensive alchemical maxim: Solve et coagula.

This card is consequently one of the most fundamental cards in the Tarot. It is the first card in which more than one figure appears. [The Ape of Thoth in Atu I is only a shadow.] In its original form, it was the story of Creation.

Here is appended, for its historical interest, the description of this card in its primitive form from Liber 418.
“There is an Assyrian legend of a woman with a fish, and also there is a legend of Eve and the Serpent, for Cain was the child of Eve and the Serpent, and not of Eve and Adam; and therefore when he had slain his brother, who was the first murderer, having sacrificed living things to his demon, had Cain the mark upon his brow, which is the mark of the Beast spoken of in the Apocalypse, and is the sign of Initiation.

“The shedding of blood is necessary, for God did not hear the children of Eve until blood was shed. And that is external religion; but Cain spake not with God, nor had the mark of initiation upon his brow, so that he was shunned of all men, until he had shed blood. And this blood was the blood of his brother. This is a mystery of the sixth key of the Tarot, which ought not to be called The Lovers, but The Brothers.

“In the middle of the card stands Cain; in his right hand is the Hammer of Thor with which he hath slain his brother, and it is all wet with his blood. And his left hand he holdeth open as a sign of innocence. On his right hand is his mother Eve, around whom the serpent is entwined with his hood spread behind her head; and on his left hand is a figure somewhat like the Hindoo Kali, but much more seductive. Yet I know it to be Lilith. And above him is the Great Sigil of the Arrow, downward, but it is struck through the heart of the child. This child also is Abel. And the meaning of this part of the card is obscure, but that is the correct drawing of the Tarot card; and that is the correct magical fable from which the Hebrew scribes, who were not complete Initiates, stole their legend of the Fall and the subsequent events.”
It is very significant that almost every sentence in this passage seems to reverse the meaning of the previous one. This is because reaction is always equal and opposite to action. This equation is, or should be, simultaneous in the intellectual world, where there is no great time lag; the formulation of any idea creates its contradictory at almost the same moment. The contradictory of any proposition is implicit in itself. This is necessary to preserve the equilibrium of the Universe. The theory has been explained in the essay on Atu I, the Juggler, but must now be again emphasized in order to interpret this card.

The key is that the Card represents the Creation of the World. The Hierarchs held this secret as of transcendant importance. Consequently, the Initiates who issued the Tarot, for use during the Aeon of Osiris, superseded the original card above described in “The Vision and the Voice”. They were concerned to create a new Universe of their own; they were the fathers of Science. Their methods of working, grouped under the generic term Alchemy, have never been made public. The interesting point is that all developments of modern science in the last fifty years have given intelligent and instructed people the opportunity of reflecting that the whole trend of science has been to return to alchemical aims and (mutatis mutandis) methods. The secrecy observed by the alchemists was made necessary by the power of persecuting Churches. Bitterly as bigots fought among themselves, they were all equally concerned to destroy the infant Science, which, as they instinctively recognized, would put an end to the ignorance and faith on which their power and wealth depended.

The subject of this card is Analysis, followed by Synthesis. 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?” This resumes the whole policy of the Tarot.

The hooded figure which occupies the centre of the Card is another form of The Hermit, who is further explained in Atu IX. He is himself a form of the god Mercury, described in Atu I; he is closely shrouded, as if to signify that the ultimate reason of things lies in a realm beyond manifestation and intellect. (As elsewhere explained, only two operations are ultimately possible---analysis and synthesis). He is standing in the Sign of the Enterer, as if projecting the mysterious forces of creation. About his arms is a scroll, indicative of the Word which is alike his essence and his message.

But the Sign of the Enterer is also the Sign of Benediction and of Consecration; thus his action in this card is the Celebration of the Hermetic Marriage. Behind him are the figures of Eve, Lilith and Cupid. This symbolism has been incorporated in order to preserve in some measure the original form of the card, and to show its derivation, its heirship, its continuity with the past. On the quiver of Cupid is inscribed the word Thelema, which is the Word of the Law. (See Liber AL, chap. I, verse 39.) His shafts are quanta of Will. It is thus shown that this fundamental formula of magical working, analysis and synthesis, persists through the Aeons.

One may now consider the Hermetic Marriage itself.

This part of the Card has been simplified from “the Chymical Marriage of Christian Rosenkreutz”, a masterpiece too lengthy and diffuse to quote usefully in this place. But the essence of the analysis is the continuous see-saw of contradictory ideas. It is a glyph of duality. The Royal persons concerned are the Black or Moorish King with a golden crown, and the White Queen with a silver crown. He is accompanied by the Red Lion, and she by the White Eagle. These are symbols of the male and female principles in Nature; they are therefore equally, in various stages of manifestation, Sun and Moon, Fire and Water, Air and Earth. In chemistry they appear as acid and alkali, or (more deeply) metals and non-metals, taking those words in their widest philosophical sense to include hydrogen on the one hand and oxygen on the other. In this aspect, the hooded figure represents the Protean element of carbon, the seed of all organic life.

The symbolism of male and female is carried on still further by the weapons of the King and Queen; he bears the Sacred Lance, and she the Holy Grail; their other hands are joined, as consenting to the Marriage. Their weapons are supported by twin children, whose positions are counterchanged; for the white child not only holds the Cup, but carries roses, while the black child, holding his father’s Lance, carries also the club, an equivalent symbol. At the bottom of the whole is the result of the Marriage in primitive and pantomorphic form; it is the winged Orphic egg. This egg represents the essence of all that life which comes under this formula of male and female.

It carries on the symbolism of the Serpents with which the King’s robe is embroidered, and of the Bees which adorn the mantle of the Queen. The egg is grey, mingling white and black; thus it signifies the co-operation of the three Supernals of the Tree of Life. The colour of the Serpent is purple, Mercury in the scale of the Queen. It is the influence of that God manifested in Nature, whereas the wings are tinged with crimson, the colour (in the King scale) of Binah the great Mother. In this symbol is therefore a complete glyph of the equilibrium necessary to begin the Great Work. But, as to the final mystery, that is left unsolved. Perfect is the plan to produce life, but the nature of this life is concealed. It is capable of taking any possible form; but what form? That is dependent upon the influences attendant on gestation.

The figure in the air presents some difficulty. The traditional interpretation of the figure is that he is Cupid; and it is not at first clear what Cupid has to do with Gemini. No light is thrown upon this point by consideration of the position of the path upon the Tree of Life, for Gemini leads from Binah to Tiphareth. There accordingly arises the whole question of Cupid. Roman gods usually represent a more material aspect of the Greek gods from whom they are derived; in this case, Eros. Eros is the son of Aphrodite, and tradition varies as to whether his father was Ares, Zeus or Hermes---that is, Mars, Jupiter or Mercury.

His appearance in this card suggests that Hermes is the true sire; and this view is confirmed by the fact that it is not altogether easy to distinguish him from the child Mercury, for they have in common wantonness) irresponsibility, and the love of playing tricks. But in this image are peculiar characteristics. He carries a bow and arrows in a golden quiver. (He is sometimes represented with a torch.) He has golden wings, and is blindfolded. From this, it may appear that he represents the intelligent (and, at the same time, unconscious) will of the soul to unite itself with all and sundry, as has been explained in the general formula with regard to the agony of separateness.

No very special importance is attached to Cupid in alchemical figures. Yet, in one sense, he is the source of all action; the libido to express Zero as Two. From another point of view, he may be regarded as the intellectual aspect of the influence of Binah upon Tiphareth, for (in one tradition) the title of the card is “The Children of the Voice, the Oracle of the Mighty Gods”. From this point of view, he is a symbol of inspiration, descending upon the hooded figure, who is, in this instance, a prophet operating the conjunction of the King and Queen. His arrow represents the spiritual intelligence necessary in alchemical operations, rather than the mere hunger to perform them. On the other hand, the arrow is peculiarly a symbol of direction, and it is, therefore, proper to put the word “Thelema” in Greek letters on the quiver. It is also to be observed that the opposite card, Sagittarius, means the Bearer of the Arrow, or Archer, a figure who does not appear in any form in Atu XIV. These two cards are so complementary that they cannot be studied separately, for full interpretation.

Images and Symbolism
Frieda Harris says in her essays:

VI. The Lovers. This specifically alchemical card is a symbol of procreation, the swords drawing attention to the process of division which actually takes place. Cain and Abel represent the refusal of God to hear the children of Eve until blood is shed. This seems to be the symbolisation of external religion. It was by means of the shedding of blood and of external religions that Cain was able to have contact with his fellow men. In that sense the meaning of the card is the giving of science to mankind, since the murder symbolises analysis and the subsequent contact, synthesis.

Also:

This is an alchemical card illustrating the marriage or union of two opposites, thus we have the prince and princess holding the wand and the cup. Cain and Abel, Lilith and Eve. the swords at the back suggest the intellectual process in the uniting of two elements. the figure of the Creator blesses this deliberate synthesis. the alchemical white eagle of salt and the red eagle of sulphur, the Egg of Wisdom and the winged wand of Osiris are at the bottom of the card.

I am troubled by the red eagle – that is clearly a lion. But - so the wings are attached to the lance, not to the egg ? BoT says otherwise….
This would seem to be the Orphic egg, the seesnce of all life – and Wikipedia actually backs me up, saying it is featured in this card. So the marriage will bring forth the primordial hermaphroditic deity.
I think the drak king and the white queen suggest the attraction of opposites. This fits in a way with Lilith and Eve at the top – I see Lilith as the woman on the left; she was Adam’s first wife, and she said she was his equal – he didn’t like that so she left him. She is often considered the Night Demoness in the Hebrew tradition – and is apparently also held responsible for wet dreams Adam then got himself the perhaps more subservient Eve – made from his rib. She would be the dark side of the female and Eve the light. More duality in this card. The twins – Cain and Abel – Cain would presumably be the dark twin, as he later slew Abel.

Oh well. To the books:
The lovers represent the overcoming of the separation of the sexes and the split in duality – they will regain the lost paradise by restoring the original unity. Plato dealt with this in the Symposium as the unity of opposites, the fundamental ontological principle – Good is identified with the One (the Unity) and the first principles of everything … are One and Indefinite Duality.
OK – I shall have to come back to that later But the Symposium is all about the Unity of Opposites. I might have to read it.
Banzhaf says that the winged egg (see above – is it winged or is it not ?) carries with it the secret of life.
He also points out the fact that the black child holds the male spear – very phallic – while the white child holds the chalice, which symbolises the female genitalia. This makes sense in terms of the black king and the white queen. The fact that the children are mirrored expands the theme of duality and the separation between the parents.
The Chymical Marriage of the Rosucrucians is partly about recognising one’s own opposite sexuality within oneself. That ties in very well here, with all the linking of gender and symbols, I think. Also with the union of slat and sulphur – opposing sexual elements. It leads to the ultimate – the hermaphrodite. the polarities of both sexes combine into one single figure, like the dancing Shiva – who symbolises the creation of the world.
This card combines sexuality and love with all their contradictions. The power f love ios clear – but love can also destroy..
Snuffin points out the link with the Hermit. His cabalistic letter is Yod – Mercury – the agent of transformation that unites sulphur and salt, King and Queen, Emperor and Empress (there tow REA the figures for those cards), sun and moon, (the two crowns are interesting here – the king has one with 5 points – Geburah; the Queen has the orb and cross – Chesed.)
The King’s robe has serpents coiled into lemniscates – symbolising the eternal circle of life, death and rebirth; the queen has bees again, for fertility. The two robes cross at the base, and from that crossing (union) comes the egg (winged or otherwise…)
The lance and grail (the chalice) are the instruments of the priest and priestess in the Gnostic mass – the enactment of the Hermetic marriage.
The twins represent Gemini (how come I missed that ?) – they have evolved from the infants in the fool card and will be emancipated when we get to the Sun.
The Orphic Egg contains the universe. It rests on a bow (I’m glad someone else has seen this !) and the lance above it doubles as its arrow (that will be why I wasn’t sure which it was - maybe !)
Eros above represents love – his arrow is directed at will – presumably why he is blindfolded ? – reflecting the essential principle of hermetic marriage: Love is the law; love under will..
Eve and Lilith are on two black pillars – these represent Binah – the gate of life and death.
DuQuette sees the card as the continuous seesaw of contradictory ideas, a glyph f duality,. I can see that !
He also says that the child of the union – the Orphic egg – has wings – as though it had just flown in. Um – has it ?
DuQuette also notes the Moebius strip; he says the priest HOLDS it – and refers to it as a parchment.

Traditional meanings –
Cribbed shamelessly from Wasserman
VI THE LOVERS. Openness to inspiration. Intuition. Intelligence. Childishness. Attraction. Beauty. Love. Ill-dignified: Self-contradiction. Instability. Indecision. Union in a shallow degree with others. Superficiality.

My impressions (appearance of the card):
It screams duality at me, and also clashing colours – orange and purple sort of emphasise a degree of friction, to me. And reversal, in an odd sort of way.

My take (what I make of it/what I might see in a reading where I drew it)
There is a choice to be made, and it is one between two extremes. Analyse the situation; look at all possible aspects of it before making a choice or taking any decision. Careful planning, mediation (the Hermit as Relate !!!) between the opposite sides in a dispute; reconciliation between two people who disagree – probably with the help of a third party.
If I did reversals, it would signify uninformed, impulsive decisions, quarrels and arguments.

 

[linnie]

OMG indeed, grgeory!.... The Hierophant was positively easy by comparison... LOTS to take in, yes, but it actually seemed to relate to the card...

I'm going to fall WAY behind trying to make sense of this one... nothing fits... except ambiguity and division and duality.... It's a bit like meeting up with a Gemini person... To me, they are always the ones I cannot even venture a guess about. No "hmm... perhaps a Cancer", "maybe and Aries"... nope... absolutely NO idea... and so it is with this one... I will come back when I feel more brave!

 

[linnie]

The Lovers - ATU VI (THOTH)

ATU VI – The Lovers

Aarrggh! … There is SO much to take in, but, once taken in, there was no coagulation, no comprehension - Nothing very much - so it is essentially undigested, regurgitated brain fodder that I present here. I apologise to Crowley, Harris, Wasserman and DuQuette for what is essentially a verbatim report on this card.

Attributes –

The Children of the Voice.
The Oracle of the Mighty Gods
Zodiacal Trump - Gemini
Mercury Rules - Dragon’s Head Exalted

Original Design: a prophet, young, and in the sign of Osiris Risen. He is inspired by Apollo to prophesy covering things Sacred and Profane: represented by a boy with his bow and two women, a priestess and a harlot.

Hebrew letter: Zain (Sword)
Tree of Life: Path 17, joining Binah (3 - Understanding), to Tiphareth (6 – Beauty)
Colours: Orange, pale mauve, new yellow leather, reddish grey, inclined to mauve.

The immediate visual appearance of this card:
Two giant hands of a giant being hover above a be-robed couple, Black Knight and White Queen, under a canopy of arched swords. Her robe bears the symbol of bee, whilst his bears the serpent. A Cupid hovers above, aiming its bow somewhere other than at the couple.

In the top left and right corners hover Lilith and Eve. To the lower left and right corners are placed a red eagle and a white lion. At the feet of the couple stand Abel and Cain, between them holding a lance or staff, a golden chalice bearing the Dove of Spirit insignia, a club, and a bouquet of flowers. In the lower middle area is the Orphic Egg, around which is entwined a serpent’s body. Everywhere is duality and opposites.

Symbols used:

Red Lion/White Eagle respectively denote Masculine/feminine
Orphic Egg = latent seed of Life
Dove on Queen’s robe = descending Dove of Spirit
Scroll (Marriage certificate) = eternal moebius strip
Image also includes an archway of swords, Cain and Abel, Lilith and Eve, bees and serpents, staff or lance and cup, club and bouquet of flowers, Cupid’s bow and arrow.

Colours include orange, new leather yellow, red, white, black, chocolate, mid grey, warm charcoal, cream and beige, and yet the overall feel is of the puce highlighted in the Hermit’s cape.

Crowley’s LWB: “The Oracle of the Gods is the Child-Voice of Love in Thine Own Soul; hear thou it. Heed not the Siren – Voice of Sense, or the Phantom – Voice of Reason, rest in Simplicity and listen to the Silence”…. “Openness to inspiration, intuition, intelligence, second sight, childishness, frivolity, thoughtfulness divorced from practical considerations, indecision, self-contradiction, union in a shallow degree with others, instability, contradiction, triviality.”

From DuQuette: ATU VI, The Lovers, is the fourth of the alchemical trumps. “Solve et coagula” (an alchemical maxim), meaning “Solution and coagulation”. ‘Solve et coagulation’ is a story of marriage and pregnancy. The main character here is not the bride nor the groom, but their offspring, the child of their union. In the Thoth deck, the child is symbolised by the Orphic Egg. The Lovers card represents the wedding, Art, the honeymoon, Hermit, the process of fertilisation, and Death, the final incubation prior to hatching… a new life.

From Frieda Harris’s notes: “This specifically alchemical card is symbolic of procreation, the swords drawing attention to the process of division which actually takes place. Cain and Abel represent the refusal of God to hear the Children of Eve until blood is shed. This seems to be the symbolisation of external religion… It was by means of shedding of blood and external religions that Cain was able to have contact with his fellow men. In that sense, the meaning of the card is the giving of science to mankind, since the murder symbolises analysis (cutting something to pieces by way of analysing its workings???) and the subsequent contact, synthesis”.

From Wasserman: “Openness to inspiration. Intuition. Intelligence. Childishness. Attraction. Beauty. Love. Ill-dignity. Self-contradiction. Instability. Indecision. Union in a shallow degree with others. Superficiality.”

My initial observations/thoughts:

A giant, hooded, being holds his hands over the couple as though casting a spell, Magick-ing them. Cupid aims his bow beyond the Queen… Perhaps she is already ‘fallen’? A ceremony is taking place under a vaulted roof of arched swords… something sharp, metallic, not overly comforting, and not what I’d associate with wedded bliss. Apparently, this Union was ‘forged’ through the Intent of a higher power than these two.

The ceremony is witnessed by two women, one a hermaphrodite, perhaps. In front of the couple stand two children, one fair, one dark, one holding the staff to the Knight with one hand, a a club with the other. The other child holds the cup to the Queen, and grasps a bouquet of flowers in the other hand. There is a red lion to their lower left, and a white eagle to their lower right. In the lower, central position is the Orphic or Cosmic, winged, Egg, completely encircled, repeatedly, by a Serpent. The colours are bright in some instances, but all tend to morph towards an overriding puce.

My take on this card:

Through this predetermined bond, the Creation of a 'New' awaits. This isn’t the usual loving couple bonding, though. There feels to be an Intention, set into place through a Universal Blueprint, which is informing this situation. This is a Universal, rather than a domestic, contract. Duality, twinning, Gemini’s unreadable aspect… It is as though this card represents an alchemical bonding of extremes and contrasts… As though the one, without the other, can never be whole… Just one Cherub, though, aiming just one arrow from his bow, as though there is one purpose, only, to this Union. More like “Thou will take this partner”, rather than, “Do you take…?” One is a question, the other, unambiguously, a statement; the royal couple looking distinctly like puppets, under the control of a masterful puppeteer!

Much of my interpretation is based on the ‘salve et coagula’ tenet… The huge hands, belonging to the Alchemist, control the couple as a puppeteer controls his charges. Under the swirling, whirling, energies of his workmanship, the 2 unite to produce a new, ‘complete’, entity, made up of various aspects of each, being the sum of the conception, the thought - ‘solve’, with the process - ‘coagulate’. Even the colour of the card hints at this process… despite there being red and white, black, cream, new leather yellow and etc present, the overall energy becomes the puce of the Alchemist’s robe, but the process has just begun, and isn’t actually happening just yet… The plan has been put into place, but timing is not yet right. The serpent surrounding the Orphic Egg so emphatically suggests projects to be nurtured, built upon… Nothing yet made manifest.

So… all of that, and I still am left wondering what on Earth this card means, and how the various interpretations have been arrived at, considering that it all began with Crowley’s : “The Oracle of the Gods is the Child-Voice of Love in Thine Own Soul; hear thou it. Heed not the Siren – Voice of Sense, or the Phantom – Voice of Reason, rest in Simplicity and listen to the Silence”… Yes, what?????? IS there a link?

I just read gregory's mention of the bow, and hence the upward pointing 'arrow', that can be seen beneath the children's feet and the Orphic Egg's wings. Thank you, gregory!

Perhaps it is just a counter-balance, the downward pointing Cupid arrow finding its match in the upward pointing bow... Perhaps it may indicate mankind's regained control over Life.. A quiet, "Well... you can bring your Spiritual powers down to Earth, indeed you may... But now, behold, as the denizons of the Earth see you and raise you one..." Perhaps there is a chance that we actually do select partners based on real affection and love felt towards one another... This is the only way I can make sense of the above quote used in Crowley's LWB.

 

[Anna]

THOTH

Card name ~ The Lovers

Keyword ~ The Children of the Voice / The Oracle of the Mighty Gods
Element ~ Air
Tree of Life attributions ~ Path 17, joining 3 Binah (understanding) to 6 Tiphareth (beauty)
Astrological / other attributions ~ Hebrew letter Zain, meaning Sword, Mercury Rules, Gemini

First impressions
This is one of my favourite cards from the Thoth deck. I’ve always understood it to mean marriage, or sometimes as a union of some sort (not necessarily romantic). The tall headless figure in the pink robes seems to be blessing the couple. As I look at the card, I notice that the Cupid from the Marseille decks is present, but his arrow is not aiming at the couple… it’s sort of aiming into whatever is beyond the tall figure in pink, and he is blindfold.

From the Book of Thoth
This card and it’s twin, Art, are the most obscure and difficult of the Atu.
Atu VI refers to Gemini. It means the Twins. The Hebrew letter is Xain, which means sword, and the framework of the card is therefore the Arch of Swords, beneath which the royal marriage takes place.
The sword is primarily an engine of division. In the intellectual world it represents analysis. This card and Art together compose the alchemical maxim: Solve et coagula.
In it’s original form it was the story of creation.
- Crowley quotes from Liber 418: the story of Cain, the first child of Eve and the Serpent not Adam and Eve. When Cain murdered his brother, he became marked (the mark of the beast – symbol of Initiation). The shedding of blood was necessary because it made God listen to the children of Eve. The Lovers should really be called The Brothers.
The Key is that this card represents the Creation of the World. The subject of this card is Analysis, followed by Synthesis. The first question asked by science is: how are things composed? This having been answered, the next question is: how shall we recombine them to our greater advantage? This resumes the whole policy of the Tarot.

From Duquette: The 4th of the Alchemical Trumps. The formula, solve et coagula, means “solution and coagulation”. The process of “solve” is represented by the Lovers; the process of “coagula” by the Art card.
Solve et coagular is a story of a marriage and pregnancy. The main character in this alchemical love story is not the bride nor the groom, but the child of their union.
The Orphic egg: In this beginning phase it is just the latent seed of life. It sits between a white eagle and red lion symbolic of the male and female components of our formula – the white and red tinctures of the Empress and Emperor.
The children attending the bride and groom are Cain and Abel. The officiating priest is the Hermit. He makes the magical sign of the Enterer by thrusting his hands forward over the couple.
Cupid/Eros’ arrow: this is the downward arrow, said to be shot from the topmost point of the Yod of YHVH. The Yod has it’s topmost point in Kether, but resides mostly in Chokmah. In the Lovers, Cupid is pointing his arrow directly from Kether to Chokmah.

Images and Symbolism
The hooded figure who occupies the centre of the card is another form of the Hermit. He is himself a form of the God Mercury; he is closely shrouded as if to signify that the ultimate reason of things lies in a realm beyond manifestation and intellect. About his arms is a scroll, indicative of the Word. His action in this card is the Celebration of the Hermetic Marriage.
Behind him are the figures of Eve, Lilith and Cupid
The Hermetic Marriage: The royal persons concerned are the Black King with a golden crown and the White Queen with a silver crown. His accompanied by the Red Lion and she by the White Eagle. These are the symbols of the male and female principles in Nature.
At the bottom is the result of the marriage: the winged Orphic egg. The egg represents the essence of all life which comes under this formula of male and female. The egg is grey, mingling black and white, this it signifies the cooperation of the three Supernals of the Tree of Life. The colour of the serpent is purple, Mercury is the scale of the Queen. It is the influence of that God manifested in Nature, whereas the wings are tinged with crimson, the colour of Binah the great Mother. In this symbol is therefore a complete glyph of the equilibrium necessary to begin the Great Work. But, as to the final mystery, that is left unsolved. Perfect is the plan to produce life, but the nature of this life is concealed. It is capable of taking any possible form, but what form? That is dependant upon the influences attendant on gestation.
Cupid / Eros figure: it may appear that he represents the intelligent (and at the same time unconscious) will of the soul to unite itself with all and sundry, as has been explained in the general formula with regard to the agony of separateness. He is a symbol of inspiration, descending upon the hooded figure.

Crowley’s divinatory meaning
Not given.
Traditional meanings (Marseille/RWS)
In the Marseille decks, the name L’Amoureaux translates as “The Lover”, and not as “The Lovers”. There are 3 figures on the card; a young couple and an older woman. Cupid’s arrow seems to be aimed almost directly at the young man’s groin, and he is stood between the two women as if he is either choosing between them, or perhaps explaining his choice of the young woman to an older maternal figure.

From Tarotpedia: [/i] “In the earliest known list of the Trumps (Sermones de Ludo Cum Aliis), this card is called L’Amore (Love). In the Tarot de Marseille, this card was titled L’Amoureux (The Lover) and deviates from previous representations by the addition of a second female figure: a young man now stands between two woman and seems to be confused and unsure about what to do next. The image can be interpreted as the choice between vice and virtue - the stern woman on the right is crowned with laurel leaves and symbolises the road that leads to victory, while the attractive woman on the left is crowned with flowers to symbolise the road of sensuality. A Cupid hovers above the scene in front of a radiant sun and prepares to shoot his arrow. The Lover(s) obviously stands for love and romance, fulfilment and peace, and a harmonious meeting of opposites. However, especially in the tradition of the Tarot de Marseille, the card is often interpreted as denoting choices and a need for guidance; it might indicate that you have to get your priorities straight and have to re-evaluate what you believe in, in order to move forward with renewed confidence.”[/i]

The RWS image is far more biblical. Adam and Eve stand in the garden of Eden. Adam stands before the tree of Life and Eve stands before the Tree of Knowledge. Overhead is an angel.

From Thirteen’s tarot card meanings: ”The oldest decks call it "The amorous one," The Lovers being a mistranslation. So really, it's about one person being "in love" with someone or something. Many books, however, define the card not as "Love" but as a "choice." This connection to Gemini means that the Lovers card is NOT about "romance" or passion. Romantic emotions are typically related to water. And blazing passion is associated with fire. Gemini, an air sign, is about messages and making contact. It's about the psyche. In addition, at #6 the Lover's card is about "harmony." Thus, it is about something that speaks to you, that you "know" and recognize as your other or mirror self (twin), and which makes you feel harmonically balanced or complete. In interpretation, the card indicates that the querent has come across, or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing (a puppy, a car, a house) that they will fall in love with. They will know instinctively that it was meant for them, even if it means diverging from their chosen path (that is the "Love" part). On the other hand, their common sense must also make a decision on whether or not to go along with this psychic "choice." There is often a measure of hardship or cost that comes with giving into this spiritual attraction. Coming after the Emperor with his imperial rules, and after the Hierophant with his communal faith, The Lovers acknowledges a spiritual power that often defies earthly laws and religious traditions. Obeying this urge can be foolish, dangerous, selfish, thoughtless, earth-shattering.”

My take on the card
I don’t find this card easy to understand… yes, on a simple level it represents marriage, love and falling in love, attraction and choosing to follow passions, be they for another person or an idea or thing.

But there is so much more to this card, and I feel like I am only just barely grasping it.

I expected this card’s element to be Fire or even Water. It’s not – it’s Air. And air isn’t very passionate. But; the Fool was also air, and he (and this element) turned out to be all about the conditions needed to create life. Marriage (or union between male and female) is also like that; bringing together male and female allows for something to be “born”, as symbolised by the egg. Duquette talks about how this card is the first stage in a journey of sorts, and that other cards are important too; particularly Art. He said that if The Lovers represents the egg, then Art would represent the fertilisation of the egg.

So this card represents the conditions needed to create life being present. Everything is in place and ready. In this card, the marriage is happening and there is the promise that something will be created. At this stage, the thing that will be created is unknown. It could turn out to be anything, but that is to be discovered in later cards. At this stage the thing about to be created is still perfect, because it has yet to be made tangible.

So, in more mundane terms, it could be read as the start of a new project or relationship when everything is full of hope and high ideals. Whether it will work out well or not is unknown.

But this card was originally “the amorous one”, and although it isn’t something Crowley particularly focuses on, I do feel this card is about the state of being “in love”, whether it is with a person, or an idea, etc. And whilst that does affect us physically and emotionally, it is also a mental state, or as Thirteen writes, it is about the psyche. The state of being in love has a profound impact on us as individuals; people will base major, life changing decisions upon it. They will move across the world, decide to have a child, give up a stable career, etc. because of it. (I think it’s important to differentiate here between “love” and “in love”; I think this card is very much about the later.)

I saw a cartoon thing on facebook yesterday. It had 2 circles; on the left was a small circle with the words “your comfort zone” written inside it, and on the right was a large circle with the words “where the magic happens” written inside it. I was thinking of that picture all the time as I wrote about this card. Being in love takes us outside of our comfort zones, it takes us outside of traditions and expectations etc. (The Heirophant) and it is from that state that the most amazing, wonderful things can come about…. or; awful, traumatic, difficult things can come about. We don’t know, but that is the choice and the chance we take when we step away from the safety of The Empress, The Emperor and The Heirophant, and allow our psyche to be directed by this intense feeling of being in love.