Welcome to the Street Prophets Coffee Hour.
This week I'll discuss the Lovers card of the tarot major arcana.
Most people are pleased when this card appears in a reading and it's easy to see why. A beautiful, peaceful scene of two people in love with each other and at peace within a happy world. Each have found their "other half", romantic love makes everything a little brighter. There's even an angel or brilliant sun beaming down a benediction. Having found that "other half" a person may feel stronger and more motivated to be the best version of themselves. Knowing that we are loved and accepted by our cherished Other, we are better able to love and accept ourselves.
In the upright position this card can indeed indicate a longed-for, enduring love relationship. It can also indicate attaining peace and a degree of contentment following the hard inner work of acknowledging and accepting oneself. That hard work can take a long time and be very painful. But perseverance is rewarded by the peace of knowing that the ugliness of one's past, while it doesn't ever truly leave us, no longer has the power to define us.
The Lovers of the DruidCraft, Hanson-Roberts, Ethereal Visions, and Crow tarot decks.
Reversed, this card can indicate a relationship that has gone seriously wrong or simply worn itself out. The loss can feel like part of yourself has been torn off, or even died. It can warn of a potential relationship which would be unhappy, unhealthy, even toxic. It warns against going off the deep end into impulsive and destructive actions. It can also represent a rejection and/or blaming of oneself which can also lead to damaging behaviors.
The Lovers of the Santa Muerte, Tarot del Toro, and Cat Tarot decks.
A striking thing about the Lovers card is it's resemblance to the Devil. In many decks they're almost the same illustration, given a brighter or darker tone. Even when the scene is different, the people are the same, as in the Hanson-Roberts deck.
The Lovers and the Devil of the Rider-Waite tarot deck.
As with the Fool and the Hanged Man when one or the other is reversed, the imagery can be nearly identical. Interpretations can be opposing sides of one possibility, where a joyful prospect is taken to unhealthy extremes. The line between passionate attraction and unhealthy obsession can be very thin, hard to see in time to avoid, and dangerous when crossed. In all my years reading tarot, I've never had both the Lovers and the Devil show up in the same layout. And I think I'm glad.
The Lovers and the Devil of the Hanson-Roberts tarot deck.
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