From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Lovers
The Lovers
For other uses, see The Lovers (disambiguation)
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.
drawing by Robert M. Place
choice, it should not be made lightly, as the ramifications
Lovers will be lasting.
The Lovers is associated with the star sign Gemini,
and indeed is also known as The Twins in some decks.
Interpretation Other associations are with Air, Mercury, and the Hebrew
letter ( זZayin).
In some traditions, the Lovers represent relationships
A. E. Waite was a key figure in the development of
and choices. Its appearance in a spread indicates some
modern Tarot interpretations. (Wood, 1998) However not
decision about an existing relationship, a temptation of
all interpretations follow his theology. All Tarot decks
the heart, or a choice of potential partners. Often an as-
may have slightly different meanings, and different in-
pect of the Querent’s life will have to be sacrificed; a
terpretations of cards may be presented by different
bachelor(ette)’s lifestyle may be sacrificed and a relation-
users of the cards.
ship gained (or vice versa), or one potential partner may
Some frequent keywords used by tarot readers are:
be chosen while another is turned down. Whatever the
• Love relationship ----- Union ----- Passion ----- Sexuality
• Pleasure ----- Humanism ----- Desire ----- Personal beliefs
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Lovers
• Individual values ----- Physical attraction ----- Connection right-hand side wearing a wreath of flowers on her
• Affinity ----- Bonding ----- Romance ----- Heart head) introducing Queen Helen (on the left-hand
Following the Marseilles Tradition, also there are: side wearing a gold crown) to Prince Paris (in the
• Choice ----- Doubt ----- ----- Dilemma ----- Temptation middle) while Cupid (hovering above) points his bow
and arrow at Paris. It symbolizes making a difficult
Mythopoetic approach choice.
The Lovers represent the impulse that drives us out of • Another interpretation of the Marseilles Deck
the Garden, towards adulthood. Sometimes, that impulse depicts two women holding on to each arm of a man.
manifests as curiosity (Eve, Pandora, Psyche); sometimes The laurel wreath of victory is worn by the woman
it manifests as sexual desire (the basis of much great lit- on the left, who the man gazes at, while she holds up
erature, as well as ordinary romances, most teen movies, her free hand to ward him off. The floral wreath of
and even horror films); sometimes it manifests as duty love is on the head of the woman on the right, who
(a soldier heeding the call). Whatever it is, once we have touches the heart of the man with her free hand. It
stepped past the threshold, there is no returning to the symbolizes how you want what you cannot have.
garden. • A version in which the Lovers have their hands
The Lovers is associated through its cross sum (the clasped over the altar or clasping the hands of a
sum of the digits) with The Devil, Key 15. He is often the child between them is sometimes called Marriage or
source of the impulse, or that thing inside of us that re- Unity sometimes an angel is shown in the
Unity;
sponds to it. The Devil’s energy is absolutely necessary, background. It links the card to XV.The Devil and
absolutely deadly. XX.Judgement who use similar artwork.
XX.Judgement,
The Lovers also represent raw desire. • In the Vikings Tarot, this card shows Frigg with her
Hajo Banzhaf suggests that if the Major Arcana is seen golden sandals standing between the brothers Vili
as a map of the Sun’s circuit of the Sky, The Lovers is high and Ve.
noon. Consciousness is at its fullest. Frequently, cards • In the X/1999 Tarot version made by CLAMP, The
show the Sun in the position of noon. Two trees, bearing Lovers is represented by Kotori Monou.
fruit and flame, represent the intoxication of the materi- • In the Mythic Tarot deck, the Lovers is depicted by
al world. the Judgment of Paris, who chose Aphrodite (the
When The Lovers appear in a spread, it typically goddess of Love), who in turn awarded Paris the
draws the Querent’s attention to whatever impulse drove most beautiful woman, Helen, which began the
her from home, to whatever impulse made him move out, Trojan War.
reject the faith of his fathers, made him accept the call.
That original impulse should be honored, but if it dom- In pop culture
inates the Querent’s life, it will grow tiresome. The call
must be renewed. • In The House of the Dead 4, part of Sega’s House of the
It can signal that an examination of the Querent’s re- Dead series, the second boss is named for the Lovers,
lationship with the garden is needed, be it exile or ab- a pair of Tarantulas (one small male atop a gigantic
sence. Sometimes, it can be useful to go beyond Eden and female with the weak spot fired on the male
talk about other gardens: the bittersweet Kingdom of Lo- tarantula above the female’s head). All of the bosses
gres built by Arthur to keep back the rising dark for a in the House of the Dead series are named after cards
generation, the idyllic Hobbits’ Shire in The Lord of the from the Major Arcana.
Rings, or just a happy childhood. Look for misty eyes of • In the video games Persona 3 and Persona 4, the
memory, or bitterness at the lack of a past paradise. arcana features mythological figures associated with
The Lovers are also a reminder that we need others to love and lust, such as Cybele and Ishtar. The
become fully human. Lovers, friends, adversaries - each characters Yukari Takeba and Rise Kujikawa are also
one teaches us, each one stretches us. associated with Lovers arcana.
• In the James Bond film, Live and Let Die, Bond meets
Solitaire, a beautiful virgin tarot expert who has the
Alternative decks uncanny ability to see both the future and remote
• In the "Flemish Deck" by Vandenborre (c.1750 – events in the present. Using a stacked tarot deck of
1760), the card is called L’Amour ("Love")
("Love"). only cards showing "The Lovers", Bond tricks her
• In the Marseilles Deck, the card shows Prince Paris of into thinking that seduction is in her future and then
Troy choosing between Hera (wearing a crown, on seduces her. Solitaire loses her ability to foretell the
the left-hand side) and Aphrodite (on the right-hand future when she loses her virginity to Bond and is
side wearing a wreath of flowers on her head). This forced into cooperating with Bond to bring down the
has sometimes been drawn as Aphrodite (on the antagonist.
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Lovers
• The Lovers is a monster card in the Yu-gi-oh! card • Hajo Banzhaf, Tarot and the Journey of the Hero
game, as part of a group of cards called the Arcana (2000)
Force. • Most works by Joseph Campbell
• The Lovers, an enemy stand in Jojo’s Bizarre • G. Ronald Murphy, S.J., The Owl, The Raven, and The
Adventure is used by Steely Dan. Dove: Religious Meaning of the Grimm’s Magic Fairy
• In Saint Seiya Episode G series, Pisces of Aphrodite is Tales (2000)
depicted as The Lovers in the tarot cards version of • Riane Eisler, The Chalice and the Blade (1987)
the manga. • Mary Greer, The Women of the Golden Dawn (1994)
• In the SNES video game Ogre Battle: The March of the • Merlin Stone, When God Was A Woman (1976)
Black Queen, the Lovers are depicted as two nearly • Robert Graves, Greek Mythology (1955)
nude people standing back to back holding up • Juliette Wood, Folklore 109 (1998):15-24, The Celtic
flowery plants atop their heads. On drawing the Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern
Tarot card after liberation of one of the towns, it Legend Making (1998)
increases the Reputation Meter by 2 points, and • Robert M. Place, The Tarot: History, Symbolism and
summons Cupid to make enemy units attack each Divination (Penguin, 2005)
other when used during battle.[1]
External links
References • "Lovers" cards from many decks and articles to
[1] Ogre Battle - Tarot Cards "Lovers" iconography
• A. E. Waite’s 1910 Pictorial Key to the Tarot • Collection of Tarot Card Meanings for The Lovers
Card
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Lovers&oldid=474263893"
Categories:
• Tarot cards
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