The Lovers

Last updated
The Lovers (VI) in the Rider-Waite tarot deck RWS Tarot 06 Lovers.jpg
The Lovers (VI) in the Rider–Waite tarot deck

The Lovers (VI) is the sixth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional Tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

Contents

drawing by Robert M. Place Lovers2.jpg
drawing by Robert M. Place

Interpretation

According to A.E. Waite's 1910 book Pictorial Key to the Tarot, the Lovers card carries several divinatory associations: [1]

6. THE LOVERS.—Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Reversed: Failure, foolish designs. Another account speaks of marriage frustrated and contrarieties of all kinds.

In some traditions, the Lovers represent relationships and choices. Its appearance in a spread indicates some decision about an existing relationship, a temptation of the heart, or a choice of potential partners. Often an aspect of the Querent's life will have to be sacrificed; a bachelor(ette)'s lifestyle may be sacrificed and a relationship gained (or vice versa), or one potential partner may be chosen while another is turned down. Whatever the choice, it should not be made lightly, as the ramifications will be lasting.

The Lovers is associated with the star sign Gemini, and indeed is also known as The Twins in some decks. Other associations are with Air, Mercury, and the Hebrew letter ז (Zayin).

In the Rider Waite deck, the imagery for this card is changed significantly from the traditional depiction. Instead of a couple receiving a blessing from a noble or cleric, the Rider–Waite deck depicts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. By reducing the number of human beings depicted in the card from three to two, Waite was able to reinforce its correspondence with Gemini. [2] The Rider–Waite card also includes the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil with a serpent wrapped around its trunk. The symbolism of no return from making bad decisions, and the consequences of innocence lost, would be more widely understood from this imagery. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rider–Waite Tarot</span> Tarot deck

The Rider–Waite Tarot is a widely popular deck for tarot card reading. It is also known as the Waite–Smith, Rider–Waite–Smith, or Rider Tarot. Based on the instructions of academic and mystic A. E. Waite and illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith, both members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the cards were originally published by the Rider Company in 1909. The deck has been published in numerous editions and inspired a wide array of variants and imitations. It is estimated that more than 100 million copies of the deck exist in more than 20 countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Magician (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Magician (I), also known as The Magus or The Juggler, is the first trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing and divination; in the English-speaking world, the divination meaning is much better known.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The High Priestess</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The High Priestess (II) is the second Major Arcana card in cartomantic Tarot decks. It is based on the 2nd trump of Tarot card packs. In the first Tarot pack with inscriptions, the 18th-century woodcut Tarot de Marseilles, this figure is crowned with the Papal tiara and labelled La Papesse, the Popess, a possible reference to the legend of Pope Joan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Empress (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Empress (III) is the third trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks. It is used in card games as well as divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hierophant</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Hierophant (V), alternatively depicted as The Pope or The High Priest (as a counterpart to "The High Priestess") is the fifth card of the Major Arcana in occult Tarot decks used in divination. It was identified as the Pope in early decks like Tarot of Marseilles, while modern decks like Rider–Waite Tarot may use the term hierophant (Ancient Greek: ἱεροφάντης), a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed "holy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hanged Man (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Hanged Man (XII) is the twelfth Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Emperor (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Emperor (IV) is the fourth trump or Major Arcana card in traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strength (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

Strength is a Major Arcana tarot card, and is numbered either XI or VIII, depending on the deck. Historically it was called Fortitude, and in the Thoth Tarot deck it is called Lust. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hermit (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Hermit (IX) is the ninth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheel of Fortune (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

Wheel of Fortune is one of 78 cards in a tarot deck and is the tenth trump or Major Arcana card in most tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

Justice is a Major Arcana tarot card, numbered either VIII or XI, depending on the deck. This card is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temperance (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

Temperance (XIV) is one of the 22 Major Arcana cards in Tarot decks. It is usually numbered 14. It depicts a figure which represents the virtue Temperance. Along with Justice and Strength, it is one of three Virtues which are given their own cards in traditional tarot. It is used in both game playing and in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Devil (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Devil (XV) is the fifteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Star (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Star (XVII) is the 17th ranking or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Moon (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Moon (XVIII) is the eighteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Sun (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Sun (XIX) is the nineteenth trump or Major Arcana card in most traditional tarot decks. It is used in game playing as well as in divination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The World (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The World (XXI) is the 21st trump or Major Arcana card in the tarot deck. It can be incorporated as the final card of the Major Arcana or tarot trump sequence (the first or last optioned as being "The Fool" (0). It is associated with the 22nd letter of the Hebrew alphabet, 'Tau', also spelled 'Tav' or 'Taw'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judgement (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

Judgement (XX), or in some decks spelled Judgment, is a tarot card, part of the Major Arcana suit usually comprising 22 cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suit of goblets</span> Suit of tarot cards

The suit of goblets, more often known in modern times as the Suit of Cups, is one of four suits of tarot which, collectively, make up the Minor Arcana. They are sometimes referred to as chalices. Like the other suits of the Minor Arcana, it contains fourteen cards: ace (one), two through ten, page, knight, queen and king. Historically, the suit represented the First Estate. Tarot cards were originally designed for card play and are still used throughout much of Europe to play various Tarot card games. However, in English-speaking countries, where the games are largely unknown, Tarot cards came to be utilized primarily for divinatory purposes. In modern card games, the equivalent suits are Hearts or Cups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Fool (tarot card)</span> Tarot card of the Major Arcana

The Fool is one of the 78 cards in a tarot deck. In tarot card reading, it is one of the 22 Major Arcana, sometimes numbered as 0 or XXII. However, in decks designed for playing traditional tarot card games, it is typically unnumbered, as it is not one of the 21 trump cards and instead serves a unique purpose by itself.

References

  1. Waite, Arthur Edward, 1857-1942. (2005). The pictorial key to the tarot. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications. ISBN   0-486-44255-1. OCLC   57549699.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. Jensen, K. Frank (2005). "The Early Waite–Smith Tarot Editions". The Playing-Card. 34 (1). The International Playing Card Society: 26–50.
  3. "The Lovers Tarot Card Meaning & Interpretation". phuture.me.
  4. "Lot 8 - Live and Let Die". Christie's. 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2020. A selection of ten prop tarot cards designed by Fergus Hall, used by Jane Seymour as Solitaire in Live and Let Die - [...] The cards comprising 'The Fool', 'Death', 'Justice', 'Queen of Cups', 'High Priestess'(2) and 'The Lovers' (4), the back of the cards with a red and white 007 design;
  5. Williams, David (2015-07-27). "The GQ Guide to James Bond: Live and Let Die". GQ.
  6. Tait, Amelia (8 August 2018). "Why millennials are looking for meaning in tarot cards". New Statesman. Retrieved 2020-08-14.