The Lovers



Until now all of the cards have featured single parties. The Fool (who can be perceived as sexually ambiguous) The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, and The Hierophant (whose gender varies according to decks, The Hierophant is a symbol of a spiritual leader or guide and could be male or female). Now for the first time we see a man and a woman together on a card. I believe the Woman to be the fully realized divine feminine, the combination of The High Priestess and The Empress. Just as her partner, the Man, is the full realized divine masculine, the combination of The Magician and The Emperor.

1 The thing we notice first about Man and Woman in this car is their nudity. This symbolizes innocence and the newness of their relationship. They feel no shame in their bodies or their union. They are free to share their emotions without restraint.

2 The Most prominent character we see besides The Lovers themselves is an angel surrounded by the sun in the clouds above them. We can clearly see that while the Woman is looking at the angel the Man is only looking at the Woman. It leaves us to wonder can he not see it or is he simply placing the responsibility of interacting with the divine on his partners shoulders. This symbolizes his trust in her and the trust they share in their relationship.The Man and Woman also represent the conscious (the Man) and subconscious (the Woman) mind. They are incomplete without each other. She helps to him connect to the divine and he helps her stay connected to the world around them. Together they are in perfect harmony.

3 Between the pair we see a mountain. The mountain represents challenges they will face together in their relationship.

4 Behind the Woman we see a tree that clearly represents the tree of knowledge from the bible. The tree represents a choice between the sacred and profane. It also represents the necessity of putting their new relationship to the test to see how they will come out on the other side.

5 Behind the Man is a tree adorned with twelve flames. I believe this tree is meant to represent the tree of life. In Judeo-Christian mysticism after eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden before they could also eat of the tree of life and become like God. This further suggests that Man is symbolic of the conscious while Woman is symbolic of the subconscious. She is in front of the tree that represents knowing (a nod to intuition) and he is in front of the tree that represents eternal life (perhaps a nod to the practicality of survival).

Key Words: A new relationship or romance. Freedom of emotions. Trust. Perfection. Harmony. A choice between the sacred and profane. Put to the test. Love. Beauty. Deep feelings. Optimism. A meaningful affair.

When doing inverse readings: This would be a relationship in decline, a failed relationship, or an unhealthy relationship. The test which was given has not been met and it has bred bad blood between the two. They are frustrated with their partnership and believe each others to be unreliable. If they are trying to work things out they may be experiencing interference from others or they may be unable to work out their trust issues. They make poor decisions as a couple and no longer belong together.