EP 17 : The Lovers Card

The 6th card of the high arcana’s meaning is more nuanced than it seems at first glance. The Lovers card isn’t about fated love. In today’s episode, we look at the symbols of this card and how the artwork changed over time.

But before we get into this tarot card… I ran a contest at Vancouver Pagan Pride Days. If you filled out my survey I entered you into a draw for a Doreen Virtue oracle deck. I had been gifted this deck some time ago and felt it need a better home than I could give it.

The Winner is……….. Caffeinated Moose !!!!

I will be reaching out to you via email and arranging to get you new deck to you.

The decks that I chose for our dive into the symbols and meaning within the Loves Card are:

the Tarot Box – Juliet Sharman-Burke (this is a cute little novelty deck)
Mythic Tarot – Liz Greene and Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Tricia Newell
Legacy of the Devine Tarot – by Ciro Marchetti
Tarot of the Secret Forest – Lucia Mattioli
The Llewelyn Tarot – by Anna-Marie Ferguson

When we look at the lovers card, there are mainly 2 styles of art you will see. One is based on the Tarot de Marseille and the others have evolved out of the Rider deck. I feel that both paintings highlight the idea of choice, and how our desires flavour our path in life.

Decks that build off the illustrations from the Tarot de Marseille show a man choosing between 2 women. One lady is garbed as a queen to depict the idea of virtue and the other maiden depicts beauty; cupid hovers above with his arrow nocked. The woman he chooses will change the young man’s path forever.
Pamala Coleman-Smithe, who illustrated the Rider deck, depicted the idea of choosing your path with a painting of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. In choosing to eat the fruit of knowledge they leave innocence behind them. In the Christian myths, choosing knowledge over obedience had consequences. This take on the 6th card of the tarot warns you to choose wisely and consider how your choice will affect your path in life.

Both of the traditional decks highlight choice and ask us to look into the desires of our hearts. The lesson that the fool is to learn from the Lovers card is to understand the desires of the heart. It examines the push and pull we feel at a crossroads. Do we choose the path of virtue and service to others or do we choose the path of personal pleasure?

I feel that the secret to this card is that it shows the moment before we choose. Cupid is ready to unleash an arrow notched in the bow. The lovers card is the 6th card of the tarot. The number 6 represents balance. We can see this if we examine the occult symbol of the 6 pointed star. It is created by layering the esoteric symbols of water and fire.

The element of fire represents: passion, will, activation. Water represents: emotion, creativity, healing.

Our choices need to be made from a place of balance, it is through examining what we want that we are able to deepen our understandings of ourselves. You can see that the Lovers card is not really about love at all. It shows up in a spread when we need to examine our desires and choose wisely.

Many modern decks will show enraptured love. Two souls intertwined in a passionate embrace. I feel that these decks oversimplify this card. Once you know the esoteric meanings within the card you can apply them to any deck that you work with.

Please find the link to my YouTube video on the Lovers card below.