The Lovers (VI) is the sixth

trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

Major Arcana The Major Arcana are the named cards in a cartomantic tarot pack. There are usually 22 such cards in a standard 78-card pack, typically numbered from 0 to 21 (or 1 to 21, with the Fool being left unnumbered). Although the cards correspond to the ...

card in most traditional

Tarot Tarot (, first known as ''trionfi (cards), trionfi'' and later as ''tarocchi'' or ''tarocks'') is a set of playing cards used in tarot games and in fortune-telling or divination. From at least the mid-15th century, the tarot was used to play t ...

decks. It is used in game playing as well as in

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

Interpretation

According to

A. E. Waite Arthur Edward Waite (2 October 1857 – 19 May 1942) was a British poet and scholarly mystic who wrote extensively on occult and esoteric matters, and was the co-creator of the Rider–Waite Tarot (also called the Rider–Waite–Smith or Wai ...

's 1910 book ''Pictorial Key to the Tarot'', the Lovers card carries several divinatory associations:

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 Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

of the heart, or a choice of potential partners. Often an aspect of the Querent's life will have to be sacrificed; a

bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

(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 Gemini most often refers to: * Gemini (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Gemini (astrology), an astrological sign Gemini may also refer to: Science and technology Space * Gemini in Chinese astronomy, the Gemini constellat ...

, and indeed is also known as The Twins in some decks. Other associations are with

air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

, the

classical element The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...

associated with Gemini, Mercury, the

ruling planet In astrology, a planet's domicile (less commonly home, not to be confused with the astrological house system) is the zodiacal sign over which it has rulership. This is a separate concept from the houses of the horoscope. A planetary ruler is giv ...

of Gemini, and the

Hebrew letter The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

ז (

Zayin Zayin (also spelled zain or zayn or simply zay) is the seventh letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ''zayn'' 𐤆, Hebrew ''zayīn'' , Aramaic ''zain'' 𐡆, Syriac ''zayn'' ܙ, and Arabic ''zāy'' . It represents the sound . It ...

). 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 Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

in the

Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...

, overseen by an angel, possibly

archangel Raphael Raphael ( , ; "God has healed") is an archangel first mentioned in the Book of Tobit and in 1 Enoch, both estimated to date from between the 3rd and 2nd century BCE. In later Jewish tradition, he became identified as one of the three heavenly ...

. By reducing the number of human beings depicted in the card from three to two, Waite was able to reinforce its correspondence with Gemini.

Significant combinations with other cards

*The Lovers and Three of Pentacles – indicates collaborative efforts leading to meaningful work relationships. Harmony in partnership choices enhances creative ventures. *The Lovers and

Two of Cups Two of Cups is a Minor Arcana tarot card. Divination usage The card shows a man and a woman staring into each other's eyes, sharing their emotions by way of the cups. Wings and snakes form a Caduceus, and with the lion head present, the eleme ...

- indicates a decision is needed regarding a relationship, either romantic or otherwise, apart from a potential for a deeply satisfying and fulfilling connection with someone who shares your values and desires.

Interpretation

Significant combinations with other cards

References

Works cited

External links