The Lovers
It seems fitting that around Valentine’s Day we look at the Lovers card. This one is from the Steampunk Tarot. I remember when we were working on this and I kept pushing Aly to add more passion. Then I stopped pushing…because steampunk is usually situated in the Victorian era and consequently, emotions were contained and now always expressed very dramatically.
Image from The Steampunk Tarot. You can find out more HERE.
From the Steampunk Tarot Manuel:
6, The Lovers
“I could not have made a better choice.”
Core meaning: Making a decision that makes your heart glad.
Love is an interesting phenomenon, and this is an interesting card. In our everyday lives and in most readings about relationships, if the Lovers comes up, we cannot help but get a little giddy and excited about the possibilities. This card conjures up romantic hopes and dreams of, as Sally Owens said in Practical Magic, “a love that even time will lie down and be still for.” There is something about the power of love that lets us believe that anything is possible, if only we were with the right person.
Why do we feel that way? Because when the right two things (or people) are mixed together, the newly created whole is worth more (or is better) than the sum of its parts. Put the right two people together and they both become their very best selves. In this image, a man, representing fire and air (the active elements) and a woman, representing water and earth (the passive elements) join hands. Their union creates something more astonishing and more powerful than they would ever be as individuals.
The experience of romantic love, while a very real force in our lives, is also symbolic of a deeper truth. It reminds us that whenever the two right things come together, something transformative and magical happens. These two things can be you plus any other thing you choose—a relationship, a career, a passion, anything—that is the perfect match for your heart. Really, this is the crux of this card: the importance of making the right choice. Make the right decision and the experience is full of the same potent power of love.
When the Lovers come a’calling, pay attention to your heart. You have the opportunity to make a choice, to commit to something that could change your life. This partnership has the potential for real magic. You’ve heard the saying, “my heart just isn’t in it”? If you are considering something (or someone!) and your heart doesn’t leap at the thought, you might want to move on to the next thought.
Reading tip: If the 2 or 10 of Cups or the 4 of Wands is present with this card, it is a good signal that romance or romantic love is playing a role in situation.
Very nice write up on your rendition of the Lovers and the card design was fantastic.
As a Gemini myself and a wanna be astrologist, I found it interesting that 3 + 3 = 6 representing the 3rd house in astrology and home of the twin/lovers.
Gemini also represents the house of communications in symbolic terms. Then I one day while looking in a mirror, I discovered my twin image when I pointed my finger at myself and ask a question. Why don’t I like that guy, in thought of someone I really didn’t like.
And bingh, that finger was pointing at ME!
The connection is also true between a man & a woman, as it relates to such a fate of a lasting union. Every relationship goes through finger pointing even as Lovers.
It then became crystal clear to me that when I am mad at somebody for any reason – all I had to do, was find a mirror and quicky point my finger at the image in that Mirror and I instantly knew, that it was ME that I didn’t like.
In reading your description of the “Lovers” I was thinking about the bigger picture on why, this card is such an important card in the Tarot. Everyone wants a lifetime Lover, but few rarely susceed with true success of honesty.
But the answer is always in the mirror, when its time to resolve the riddle of true LOVERS. The proof is also reinforced in the reversal of the M in ME to the W as in WE.
The power of the Golden Rule is also hidden in plane sight as evidenced by numerology that is within us all. The Mirror Image is the key to Life, as it also represents the perfect circle of the LOVERS while the double 0 in the form of 8, represents balance with secret doors to the number 11 representing strength and the number 2 representing words like Cooperation, Partnership, Duality etc.
Just wanted to share my thoughts about this wonderful card.