Tag: tarot card meaning

I. The Magician

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Keywords for the Magician

CONSCIOUSNESS POWER
ATTENTION INTENTION
FOCUSED ENERGY MASTERY
ACTION CONTROL
CREATION MANIFESTATION

It’s late afternoon, and we see an intense, mysterious looking man standing alone in a secret garden. Dressed in long, flowing robes of red and white, his ritual attire mirrors the flowers blooming here on this sacred ground. 

The red rose we see represents our heart’s desires, the power of our subconsciousness, as well as the body.  It is our primal will, our emotions, feelings, instincts and drives.

The white lily, on the other hand, symbolizes our capacity to discern the truth, the power of our consciousness, as well as our mind. Where they bloom, so do reason, logic, truth, honesty and integrity.

Turning back towards the Magician, we see that he stands before a wooden table, upon which are inscribed various symbols and astrological glyphs. Upon this altar are set the tools of his craft:

A wooden wand, for the spiritual element of fire: that which is active, inspired, fast-moving, adventurous and expansive.

A golden cup, for the emotional element of water: that which is receptive, imaginative, peaceful, gentle and quiet.

A sword of steel, for the intellectual element of air: that which is logical, rational, discerning, and concerned with truth.

A brass pentacle, for the physical element of earth: that which is mundane, grounded, patient, stable and secure.

The magician now casts his circle, calling in the powers of the four directions, asking they be here with him now. 

He thanks the elemental forces for their power and their presence. Then with deliberate intention, the Magician holds a white wand up toward the heavens in his right hand, as he points down to the ground with his left. 

Fully grounded in his power, he connects the Above with the Below. With single-pointed attention, he repeats two words alone to himself as he works his magic. 

Solve: It is the death, decay, and destruction of the current form of being. Every death, every disintegration releases a powerful surge of energy. As the old form collapses, power is made available to be used for creation of something new. 

Coagula: The energy freed in death is transformed. Freed from its imprisonment in matter, it is now available to take on a new shape, to be reborn into new ways of being. 

The task of the Magician is to channel this powerful energy into what he desires to create. In this moment, he is between worlds. He is both passive and active at once. 

He passively receives inspiration and creative power from above. He actively directs what is received through his attention into the desired object or outcome. 

Like Thoth, the God of words, language, and magic, he exists at the crossroads. Similar to Hermes, the Magician acts as a mediator and messenger, communicating the will of spirit in the world of matter. 

The Magician Interpretation

When this card comes up, it often speaks to our capacity to make decisions and manifest change in our material world. It often indicates mastery, a certain level of skill and command of both our inner and outer resources.

This card is a symbol of mastery and controlled action, utilizing the force of one’s focused intent to cause a change in conformity with will.

The Magician also means acting as a channel for divine inspiration to flow through us into material reality. 

This card asks us to turn our attention to channeling our potential (in the form of ideas and inspirations) into something tangible, concrete and manifested in the physical world. 

It is a reminder that, with proper focus and intent, we can truly create magic in the world. 

Nine of Swords

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9 of Swords

Keywords for the Nine of Swords

SHAME OPPRESSION
REGRET SORROW
GUILT SUFFERING
ANXIETY AGONY
FEAR PAINFUL MEMORIES

In the image on this card, we see someone sitting up in bed, holding their head in their hands. They appear as if they had just woken up from a nightmare, or recalled some horrible, traumatic memory.

Now, they cry bitterly, sad tears of despair in the middle of this long, dark night.

The pain and suffering evident in this card is palpable.However, it is an experience of inner suffering, of a mental or emotional pain which may sometimes come upon us unbidden in the darkness of the night.

The nine swords we see here make reference to the mental nature of this kind of pain, and their position fastened up high on the wall indicates that they are not something which can be of active use to us. 

Instead, they are heavy reminders of past limitations that only serve to keep us trapped in difficult conditions.

Also of importance here are the figures we see depicted on the bed and blanket which belong to this unfortunate soul. 

The blanket is covered in an alternating pattern of red roses and astrological symbols. The red roses symbolize, once again, the power of our emotions and our desires to create the reality of our lived experience. 

The astrological glyphs, on the other hand, are a reference to a more large-scale view of causality and creation, one which is deeply related to the concepts of karma and reincarnation. It demonstrates the idea that we are born into life conditions which are a direct result of our previous actions and behaviors.

It is this combination of personal desire and impersonal karmic forces that creates our destiny. Together, these cover the person in bed, keeping him contained within his own personal sphere of “fated” experience.

Carved into the wooden bed is a scene of a man whipping or beating another. This person lies defenseless on the ground, unable to resist or protect himself. 

This speaks of the fact that the suffering shown here is rooted in a serious issue. It is not a matter of a simple misunderstanding or having had a hard day. The shame and regret and loss re-experienced here is instead rooted in deep injustice, in true oppression and subjugation of others.

9 of Swords Interpretation

When the 9 of Swords comes up in a tarot reading, it typically speaks to an experience of great suffering and loss that has occured in our past. 

It can indicate a longer, more enduring experience of suffering and shame over a longer period of time. It tells of the things which have left their marks on our souls, which linger within us as fears and anxieties, and in some cases can even manifest as consuming pangs of guilt or  soul-crushing shame.

The 9 of Swords can at times refer to events so painful, they are not always even fully available to us in conscious awareness. These are the feelings and experiences we may have been forced to repress and deny in service of our own self-protection and well-being.

For example, we may bury our rage at an abusive parent who significantly harmed us during our childhood, and now have difficulty acknowledging or expressing our own anger in the present. 

This pattern rooted in unconscious defense mechanisms often leads to further situations where we are put in a position of powerlessness. There we may re-experience the original rage of our youth, and in so doing perpetuate the cycle of oppression and suffering.

This is a card which at times may even represent the deepest inner turmoil known to us as human beings. It shows the powerfully debilitating sense of shame known by survivors of trauma and abuse.

As a result, this card can represent the pain and rage which, when not allowed expression in the outer world, is often turned inward against oneself. 

XV. The Devil

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Keywords for The Devil 

IGNORANCE HOPELESSNESS
OBSESSION DESPAIR
DARKNESS DOUBT
LIMITATION DEBAUCHERY
BONDAGE ADDICTION

In the image on this card, we see the Devil represented not as Lucifer, bringer of light, but instead as Baphomet, part man, part goat, with the wings of a bat and feet of a bird. In this form, he is representative of the forces of darkness. 

This is further reinforced by the dark mark, perhaps a stigmata, we see etched into the palm of his right hand. It is the glyph for Saturn, planet of limitation, restriction, and boundaries. Saturn also represents incorporation into physical form, along with all the physical limitations inherent in materiality. 

This symbol, like many other elements here, is as if to say, “This is it—the physical, material world you see before your eyes is all there is—nothing more is possible.” It asks us to forget the spiritual, to tie our hopes and desires to the physical only. It encourages blind consumption, sex without soul, obsession with form and ignorance of spirit.

This is further echoed by the appearance of the man and woman standing with chains around their necks by the feet of the Devil. They are parallel figures to the pair we saw earlier, blessed by Archangel Raphael, in the Lovers card. 

Here, they appear with a set of horns on their heads, indicating their animal-like nature. There are no trees as we saw earlier in the Garden of Eden. Instead, the woman herself bears the fruit, her tail extending behind her as a ripe bunch of grapes. 

The man’s tail is made entirely of fire, likely an allusion to the libido, or sexual life force energy. He holds his right hand with palm facing up, touching the clawed feet of the Devil. 

It is interesting to note that the Devil himself lights his torch from the flames produced by the fiery energy of the man in this image. It is as if to say that the ideas represented by the Devil (bondage, ignorance, focus on the physical instead of the spiritual) springs from the sexual impulses of man when uncontrolled or unskillfully expressed.

The Devil Interpretation

When the Devil comes up in a tarot reading, it can refer to the feeling of being trapped, despondent, or hopeless. We may despair of ever finding a way out of our difficult and limiting circumstances. 

This card can also speak to themes around captivity, bondage or enslavement. We may feel like we are in chains, bound to a destructive force that is much greater than ourselves. This often takes the form of overindulgence in or addiction to various substances such as drugs and alcohol, as well as process addictions like shopping or gambling.

It also speaks to obsessions, especially those of a romantic or sexual nature, where we may feel compelled by physical drives to engage in relationships or other forms of social interaction which we know on some level are ultimately unhealthy for us.

A central theme of this card revolves around what value we attribute to the physical & material elements of our world. The upside down pentagram which we see suspended at the crown of the Devil’s head provides a key to understanding these themes more deeply. 

The pentagram, right side up, is a five pointed star meant to represent the human body and our relationship to the five elements. The top point of the star represents the head, the two sides the arms, and the lower points the legs and feet. 

Right side up, the pentagram has the head over the heart and body, in a relationship of “mind over matter,” where our desires are informed and directed by our reason and higher mind.

Inverted, the Devil’s pentagram signifies desire over reason, and matter over spirit. In this case, we let our lower animal passions drive our conscious mind. Instead of utilizing our consciousness constructively, reason is instead used solely for the purpose of rationalization, to justify wrongs done in the name of passion. 

When we allow our “lower” (or our unexamined or unmediated) desires to rule our lives, we find that our entire system can be thrown off balance. 

It often expresses itself in what we might call the “sins” of materialism. Materialism is not simply an obsession with money and the physical objects it can buy, but also a more philosophical orientation towards the world that holds that nothing exists beyond the world of the senses. This is especially common in the modern scientific outlook which holds that if it cannot be measured, then it must not exist.

Remember that the word “sin” originated as a latin term from archery meaning “to miss the mark.” With this in mind, we see how this obsession with form is not necessarily “evil” per se, but simply misses the mark. It is incomplete, and as such, fails to draw a complete picture of our reality. 

Unfortunately, this failure of perception results in grave errors that undermine our experience and even our capacity for continued existence on this living planet Earth. We can see this today, for example, in overconsumption, the drive for endless economic growth, and its relationship to climate change and environmental destruction.

This is the bad news. The good news is that we are not condemned to continue the errors of the past. Look at the chains which hold the woman and man on this card. They hang loose around their necks. It would be so easy to remove them and become free. 

First, they would need to become aware of their bondage, and recognize the falsehood of the lies which have held them chained. Liberation would then become inevitable. For those who have developed the eyes to see, it would then be a simple task to lift the chains from off one’s neck, drop the lies, and step into the future free from the limitations of ignorance.

Six of Pentacles

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6 of Pentacles

Keywords for the Six of Pentacles 

GENEROSITY INEQUALITY
MERCYIMBALANCE OF POWER
GIVING/RECEIVINGUNEQUAL RELATIONSHIP 
TO HAVE/HAVE NOTDOMINANCE/SUBMISSION
SHARING RESOURCESHIERARCHY

In the image on the card, we see a well-dressed man standing over two men who hold their hands outstretched to receive a few coins in their hands. This appears to be an act of charity, motivated by benevolence and good-will.  However, it is possible that all is not what it seems here.

Notice the position of the merchant’s right hand, from which he dispenses the few coins he is offering to the poor. It is in the same position as the hand not only of the Hierophant in Key 5, but also the Devil in Key 15. 

In both cases, this is a gesture which says: I give to you, but I retain yet another part to myself.

In the man’s left hand, he tightly grips a set of scales which are likely meant to be a symbolic allusion to his trade as a merchant, but also to an idea of which he would like for us to be convinced. With scales clenched in his hand, he seems intent on persuading us that this is, indeed, justice.

Contrast this with the way the goddess Justitia holds the scales in Key 11, Justice, of the Major Arcana. She holds her scales lightly,  balancing them gently on the tips of her fingers in an effortless, easy manner.

We may ask ourselves, “What does this say about the difference between the Justice of Man and the Justice of God?” 

The Justice of God (or cosmic justice, universal law, etc.) is effortless, in many ways simply a chain of action and reaction. It is like a karmic cycle that at its core is simply the interrelation of causes and their effects over time. 

It is enforced naturally, in much the same way the earth turns and the sun rises and we are born and must die in a natural sequence of beginnings and endings.

Human justice, however, is grasped tightly, and much effort is expended to exact retribution and maintain an order that at its best, is artificial, and in the worst cases, is highly unjust and contrary to the values of life.  

It is often maintained through the use of excessive force, with violence and suffering in order to ensure compliance to a system created by the dominant group in power. 

It is also maintained through a hegemonic system of values which idealizes the generosity of the wealthy in the form of alms and small acts of charity, which honors and preserves their right to hoard wealth, refuse to pay a living wage, and set up economic and political systems which keep the majority of the population in a state of perpetual poverty and material lack. 

However, it is not merely on a large scale, societal level in which giving to the other can be a powerful tool for control and influence. 

Often, in interpersonal relationships, we find a dynamic in which one person controls the resources (financial, emotional, physical) and dispenses them to others in order to establish a relationship of dependence. 

This manufactured state of dependence is then often used as a tool of manipulation in which the one who is seemingly the beneficiary is obligated to provide other kinds of resources (for example, emotional or domestic labor) to the more seemingly “generous” party.

6 of Pentacles Interpretation

When the 6 of Pentacles comes up in a reading, we are often being asked to look more attentively at the power dynamics in which we are engaged.

This card may point to a situation in which we are relating to others through a dynamic that is based on inequality. This is a dynamic in which one person gives and the other takes, leaving little in the way of reciprocity.

The 6 of Pentacles often asks us to question our assumptions regarding the nature of the exchange, as well as our perceptions regarding the moral value we attribute to each of the players in this game. 

Again, we usually will find that all is not as it seems. Often, the person in the role of “giver” may offer a helping hand less out of mercy than out of a desire to control and build or retain his own power in the situation. 

In the scene picture on the Six of Pentacles, the wealthy merchant controls the resources available based on an economic and political system which has been established to protect the interests of his class. 

Those lower than him on the social scale are disempowered, and often denied the opportunity to earn a living in a way that will support the fulfillment of their basic needs. 

The tokens of “mercy” are little more than an excuse, a way to ease the tension and buy the good will of those who have been marginalized by a system he has helped to create.

The bottom line here is that the Six of Pentacles often asks us to question our assumptions regarding the nature of exchange within any given relationship we may find ourselves in.

We would do well to take a step back and take a look at the relational power dynamics we are engaged in from a new vantage point. You may be surprised to find that in some ways, it may better to give than to receive.

VIII. Strength

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Strength

Keywords for Strength 

SELF-CONTROLFORTITUDE
INNER RESOURCESSOFT POWER
DISCIPLINECOURAGE
RESILIENCEVITALITY
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCEKUNDALINI

It is late afternoon, and a warm and vibrantly energizing yellow sunlight permeates the air, illuminating the landscape we see all around us. On our left, we can see the high peak of a distant gray mountaintop in shadow, the very same mountain which we first saw earlier in the Lovers card.

There is a certain peace and serenity which permeates the atmosphere. There is still much energy left of the day, but we are now at a point when the power of the Sun is under control. We are no longer burned by its heat, but gently warmed by the life energy calmly exuded by this center of solar energy.

Directly in front of us stands a woman in white, wearing a crown of flowers on her head. She also wears a garland of roses, one which ties her, in an elegant figure 8, to the lion at her feet.

Gently, tenderly, with an attitude of the utmost care, she holds the open jaws of this king of the animal kingdom, the lion. In return, he looks up at her with an attitude of loving submission. For the woman has learned how to tame the wildest and most powerful of beasts: with attention and respect, with care and with love. 

A lesser person would have responded to the ferocious strength and power of the lion with fear, with fury, with a violence meant to destroy. But the woman, who bears much in common with the Empress, knows better—she knows that strength and power is nothing to be feared. Treated with respect and love, the raw, primal energies of this red lion are instead a force to be tamed, to be controlled with disciplined attention and careful responsiveness. 

To try to suppress or kill this energy would be a tragedy; to misunderstand the lion as a threat is a grave error, for he represents a force which is ours to be harnessed. It is one which, with the right attitude, can ultimately show us greater power than we could have ever imagined possible. 

The key lies in the garland of roses which tie the woman and the lion together. Roses represent our desire nature, the forces of love and attraction which propel us forward into the future, which draw our destiny towards us. The lion represents the raw power of our uncultivated emotions, our primal, animal level of the subconscious. When we can direct the raw energy of these emotions and direct our own difficult feelings with compassion and care, we often find that we have access to a kind of power previously impossible to imagine. 

Strength Interpretation

When Strength comes up in a tarot reading, we are often being asked to act in a way that demonstrates true inner strength and courage. 

The quality of strength as demonstrated in this card has little to do with the common cultural conceptions many of us hold around this idea. Strength here is in fact the opposite of the show of force that our cultures so values. True strength is the antithesis of the violent expression of personal will that we mistakenly often take to be true power. 

Instead of dominance and coercion, we see a strength whose expression is truly much more powerful. This kind of strength relies on inner resources, and is dependent upon our cultivation of discipline and genuine self-control. 

On a more esoteric level, the lion is a representation of our primal (some would say “lower”) animal nature. It symbolizes the raw energy of kundalini that comes from our deepest inner sources. 

It is the “libido” that Carl Jung speaks of, which, in contrast to Freud, is not simply a shameful sexual impulse, but rather the vital life force energy that animates all which moves and breathes and has its being in the world. 

Our desires, our feelings, our emotions are nothing to be feared. They must not be repressed or denied through oppressive tactics.

They are instead a force to be respected, a force to be honored, a force to be gently and lovingly guided in the direction of our highest vision and most elevated ideals. 

Ace of Cups

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Ace of Wands

Keywords for the Ace of Cups

LOVEINTUITION
INTIMACYINSPIRATION
ROMANCEEMOTIONAL SENSITIVITY
COMPASSIONPSYCHIC EXPERIENCE
KINDNESSCLAIRVOYANCE

A hand reaches out from a cloud, holding out in offering a golden chalice, recognized by some to be the Holy Grail of legend. 

From this cup the waters of life spring forth. We hear the gentle stirring of the water as it springs from this golden cup, landing with a gentle splash in the calm waters below.

We also hear the sweet chime of bells softly ringing from where they hang at the bottom of the cup’s bowl. They announce, as the ringing of bells often does, the presence of the sacred, acknowledging a time of holy importance.

We see an abundance of life blooming beneath the nurturing, life-sustaining waters of this cup as green lily pads and red lotus flowers.

Finally, above this sacred chalice, we see a dove holding a wafer. The dove has been known as a symbol of innocence, gentleness and peace since the time of Ancient Egypt and beyond.

The dove was sacred to Venus, and symbolized the power of the divine feminine, in conjunction with matters related to love and the renewal of life. Indeed, it was understood that these two concepts are inextricably linked. 

Life is renewed through love. We are sustained by the care and connection we have with one another. Furthermore, love and attraction are the driving force behind the sexual impulse from which all new life is generated. 

Later, the dove was adopted as a Christian symbol of the Holy Spirit, related to the Goddess Sophia, representing divine wisdom. It is also related to the Hebrew concept of the Shekinah, which means the divine “dwelling” or “settling place” of God. 

The dove was also an important symbol of alchemy. In the representations of the Rosarium Philosophorum, the dove is often shown acting as a mediator and messenger from spirit, one which blesses the initial union of the Solar King and the Lunar Queen at the beginning of a process which will ultimately be consummated in the Alchemical Marriage. 

As such, the dove is representative of the assistance which the alchemist (or spiritual seeker) receives as a kind of divine gift, an unearned bounty which we recognize as being the Grace of God. 

Ace of Cups Interpretation

When the Ace of Cups card comes up in a tarot reading, it often signals an auspicious beginning in the realm of love or friendship. 

This card may show up when we are at the beginning of a promising new romance. It speaks to a renewed sense of intimacy between people, as well as potentially in relationship to ourselves.

It can signal a boost to our self-esteem, confidence and self-love. It can also indicate a period of emotional well-being, of being in touch with deeper feelings, and being able to process and then express these emotions in healthy and appropriate ways. 

On another level, the ace of cups can also speak to the development of our intuition. It can symbolize psychic ability, as well as getting her true inner voice. 

Above all this card symbolizes a true depth of feeling, along with the possibility for deep emotional connections. This card asks us to open our hearts and surrender to the power of love that unites all things.

Two of Cups

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2 of Cups

Keywords for the Two of Cups 

LOVEDESIRE
INTIMACYEROS
ROMANCEATTRACTION
CONNECTIONSHARING
RELATIONSHIPUNION

In the image on the card, we see a bright blue day in the countryside. The sun is shining down on green fields bursting with life. Nestled comfortably amongst a cluster of trees is a charming red roofed house which exudes the promises of comfort and simple joys.

In front of us stand a woman and a man. On our left, the woman is dressed in light blue and white robes, reminiscent of the High Priestess’s elegant attire. The man on the right wears bright yellow tunic and stockings, which clearly indicates a connection to the Fool of the Major Arcana.

The pair stand facing each other, each holding a cup out in front of them. The woman holds her cup out in offering with an earnest and sincere gesture that indicates serious intent. 

However, the man takes a different posture: with his right hand, he reaches out to grab the woman’s cup, while in his left he holds his own cup slightly back and out of reach, with more eagerness to take and reservation to give than we see in his partner.

The couple both wear wreath crowns upon their heads: a crown of laurel for the woman, and a crown of roses on the man. Interestingly, this reverses the typical attributions made of desire/the body to women, and truth/the mind with men which we normally see in the tarot. 

A strange figure hovers up above these two cups: it has the head of a lion and the wings of an eagle. The lion refers to the libido, or life-force energy, which is activated and engaged in romantic love and sexual union. The wings show us how this “lower” physical nature can be sublimated into the spiritual. 

Here, Eros is the link which binds us not only to each other, but which also can connect us with the divine. 

Vinculum quippe vinculorum amor est / Love is the bond of bonds”

Giordano Bruno

Below the winged lion we see two snakes which wind their way around a staff, known as the caduceus. This powerful symbol for healing connects both of the cups together and to the winged lion above them, as well.  

This refers to the potential for healing and transformation that occurs when we allow ourselves to connect to each other and to the sacred which lies behind all of manifestation. 

2 of Cups Interpretation

When this card appears in a reading, it can often signal the beginning of a new romance or even friendship. It may refer to our capacity for emotional connection, intimacy, and romance.

The 2 of Cups also shows the magic that can occur when we are in love, and are willing to join with another soul in a spirit of true openness and vulnerability. When this occurs what results is often more than the sum of its parts. What is created is something new beyond the original two which have come together in union. 

When the Two of Cups appears in a reading, it often indicates the promises of happiness in love, relationships, and romance. It is considered a highly auspicious indicator for anything to do with matters of the heart. 

Eros, presiding over all spiritual activities, is what ensures the collaboration of the sectors of the universe, from the stars to the humblest blade of grass. Love is the name given to the power that ensures the continuity of the uninterrupted chain of beings; pneuma is the name given to the common and unique substance that places these beings in mutual relationship. Because of Eros, and through it, all of nature is turned into a great sorceress.”

–Ioan P. Culianu, Eros and Magic in the Renaissance

VI. The Lovers

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The Lovers

Keywords for the Lovers

LOVEDESIRE
RELATIONSHIPATTRACTION
INTIMACYMAKING A CHOICE
CONNECTIONCOMMITMENT
SEXUALITYUNION

In The Lovers card of the Major Arcana, we come upon a scene that appears to be the Garden of Eden. 

To our right stands man, symbol of the conscious mind, in front of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This tree holds twelve leaves of fire (one for each astrological sign of the zodiac). The flaming leaves have charred the rest of the tree, likely indicating how reason and logic, when taken to their extreme, can burn us if we are not careful. This shows how the powers of the rational mind must be handled with discernment, lest they destroy what they are meant to protect.

To our left stands woman, symbol of the unconscious mind, in front of the Tree of Life. Four fruits are visible here, although in other decks the full five are visible, each one representing one of our five bodily senses through which we experience the physical world.

Above our pair of Lovers a brilliant sun shines, and from a cloud beneath our sun we see Archangel Raphael, angel of love and healing, who here also represents the divine, or Superconsciousness. 

“Amor est magis cognitivus quam cognitio.” –Thomas Aquinas (We know things better through love than through knowledge.)

Notice how man looks to the woman, while it is she who looks up, hand raised, to Archangel Raphael. Despite what we may have been culturally conditioned to believe, the experience of God is one which we are drawn to through our intuition, rather than through any conscious deliberation. We are often drawn to a higher awareness through what we consider our lower selves; we are tempted by the serpent, drawn by the hand of Eros toward a greater destiny we would hardly have the capacity to conceive through the rational mind.

This card tells us that following our hearts is the only way to truly meet our destiny. Following our inner calling is the only way to break free of the rigidity of the conscious, egoic mind, which has little imagination, little capacity to channel the dream that desires to be born through us. 

The Lovers Interpretation

When this card comes in a tarot reading, it clearly speaks to the possibility for love and romance. When the Lovers appears, it indicates the real potential for genuine intimacy and emotional connection. 

It refers to the transformative power of our desires to generate new life, whether that be in the form of a child conceived or a project planned. It speaks to the power of our erotic intelligence, also known as the libido or life force energy, which is the driving force connecting us with our destiny. This erotic energy is not limited to sexual expression; when channelled appropriately, it can lead us toward a higher spiritual experience and connection with the divine. 

The Lovers in a reading can also refer to our capacity to make choices for ourselves as individuals, based on our own particular needs and wants, in contrast to what is asked of us by society or the culture at large. In this sense, it can refer to turning  away from the expectations of our family or society (as represented by the Hierophant). The Lovers in a reading can speak to a need to trust ourselves enough to honor our deepest desire, and follow our hearts when making important decisions for ourselves.

On a more esoteric level, the Lovers represent all three facets of our selves: the Conscious, or mind (the masculine), the Unconscious, or body (the feminine), and the Superconscious, or God/the universe/the cosmic archetypal  (archangel Raphael).

This card shows the relationship that should rightly exist between the three. Man and woman are meant to exist in harmony, in loving relationship. The same is true for our Conscious and Unconscious selves. It was never meant to be “mind over matter,” where mind rules and dominates against the desires of the body. It is meant to be mind with matter, where mind is a guide, a gentle steward that directs and protects the interests of the unconscious or “lower” self.

References to the masculine and the feminine should not be understood as referring to “man” and “woman.” As whole human beings, the masculine and feminine represented here should be taken as facets of our whole personality, both of which we have access to if we are in a condition of health. These figures represent elements of the psyche, and both men and women have access to them in equal measure.