The impression I get from the Rider-Waite and Palladini Lovers is of Adam and Eve, and I'm sure they're meant to convey that impression. Whether a person believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God or an old enduring mythology, its lessons are nonetheless powerful. So, not only were Adam and Eve 'made for each other,' their whole story is about choice. Looking in Genesis, I see in 2:16 that God commanded the *man* not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam was a perfect man (imagine that), lived in Paradise, had dominion over the whole earth, eternal life, talked to God and had only one rule to abide. He blew it. Genesis 3:17 says:
"And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: . . ."
I think this is where the idea of the "temptress" vs. the "angel" comes into the picture. BUT, on the card, they're naked, so that's before they made their choice. So, Adam must be by the tree of life, the eternal flame, and Eve is over there by the fruit tree. The serpent is whispering in her ear right now saying: ". . . Ye shall *not* surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. . . "Eve had an important choice, with a serious impact. I think she didn't even considered the ramifications of her act. She only looked to her own desire. "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
Eve made a choice; Adam made a choice. (Funny how they both tried to pass the buck after: "She tempted me. " "Well, the serpent tempted me.") Although eating the forbidden fruit may have had benefits on the conscious level, it certainly was devastating spiritually.Every choice IS about good and bad, and sometimes we choose BAD because we LIKE it! This is part of our legacy. Hopefully, we have something of a CONSCIENCE, which tells us what is good for everyone. If we follow the moral of the story, we train our conscience and let God guide us.
When I say we choose bad because we like it, I don't necessarily mean evil. Think chocolate...or cigarettes.Did the serpent lie? Did Adam and Eve die? Eventually. Do we die? To a one. Do we know good and evil??? It's not about knowing the *difference* between good and evil, it's about knowing good *and* knowing evil. Before that, there *was* no evil on earth. But their eyes were opened--well, that's what we say when we learn something.
I don't know how the angel on the card fits in. I could interpret it in a number of ways. Personally, after what I wrote before, the angel reminds me of the conscience. But why are it's eyes closed? As far as Genesis goes, there's an unspecified number of cherubim and a flaming sword, but that's later in the story, and wouldn't really correspond to the card.
The Lovers are associated with Gemini, the twins--born of the same egg. Adam said Eve was "flesh of my flesh." So, I can see this connection, but what does it say about the card? Aren't there also some cards with Romulus and Remus? This card is also called the Brothers, and as I try to think of myths and stories with twins, I can only think of male twins. Other than Anne Rice's _Queen of the Damned_, I can't think of any tales of female twins. For example, Castor and Pollux, Romulus and Remus, the Prince and the Pauper, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito . . .
Maybe it represents a bond or unity of which marriage, twinship (?) and our relationship with Creation could be examples? Or something about a common Source?
As for the part of us that is the "temptress" I could really say a lot, but I'm trying to quit smoking, so I'll keep my colored opinion to myself. According to Waite, the figures suggest "love before it is contaminated by gross material desire." I just think it's better not to be focused on the physical to the point of being enslaved or commanded by largely unnecessary 'self'-ish desires. After all, Eve had every other tree in Paradise to enjoy--it's not like she needed that fruit.
THE LOVERS, a.k.a. The Brothers, is the first card that isn't focused on a central figure.
TIME: Beltane/May DayMEANINGS UPRIGHT: Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome. Emotional, intellectual and physical attraction and love. Amorous attachment, betrothal, wedding, marriage. Mating, desire, sex and sexuality. An important current or potential personal relationship, bond, union. Emotional support, trust, deep feeling, optimism. Decisions about the nature of a relationship. The choice between two or more lovers. A moral or ethical choice, freedom of choice, decision, discernment. Determining moral and ethical values, struggling with temptation, knowing good and evil, discovering what is important, establishing and standing on one's personal beliefs, principles and/or standards.
ALSO: Balancing male and female qualities within the self or in the world. Duality, unity, blend of opposites, harmony.MEANINGS REVERSED: Failure, foolish designs. Another account speaks of marriage frustrated and contrarieties of all kinds. Influence or interference from family and/or friends in matters of the heart. Seeing a relationship where none exists; a manipulative, imbalanced, exploitive or destructive relationship; bad marriage. Love star-crossed, unrequited, soured, illicit, blind or foolish. Emotional distress over a love affair; grief and trouble over a lost love; crippling nostalgia for a past love. Separation, loneliness, isolation, division. Romantic or sexual problems or immaturity, infidelity, sexual incompatibility, avoiding intimacy.
ALSO: Failure to meet the challenges of responsible choices; wrong or unwise choice(s). Conflict between sacred and profane.BIBLICAL: Adam and Eve
MYTHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATIONS: WANG GOLDEN DAWN TAROT features Perseus and Andromeda. I always thought of Perseus as such a Hero, the way he went through all those trials and tribulations to save Andromeda, his love. On this card, he's swooping down out of the clouds, winged helmet, sword and shield. She's chained to a rock (earth) surrounded by water, looking up at her "guardian angel." What was her "claim to fame," other than her earthly beauty? I really don't remember a lot about this story, other than how good Harry Hamlin looked. ;)
ASTROLOGICAL: (1) Gemini--questioner; (2) Gemini; (GD) GeminiANIMALS associated with the Lovers are the snake (coiling-cycles, DNA, the Nation's Hoop around the Sacred Tree) and the dragon; also, osprey.
INSECT: love bugs!
PLANT: rose and lily, Tree of Knowledge, Tree of Life, pomegranateBOOK: Sacrament--Clive Barker
MUSIC: Two Makes One--Aswad; violins
OCCUPATIONS: small family business (i.e. restaurant or landscaping!), middleman, wedding industry, marriage and family therapistOTHER: My favorite lovers from this time are Stacey and Mathis Fingerle. After living 5000 miles apart for three years, they each had a turn giving up everything to go live in another country in order to be together--the pains of adjustment, loss and culture shock being less than the pains of separation.
Historically, my favorite lovers are Abelard and Heloise. They were a French monk (or priest) and nun who married, but never lived together. (Monasteries and convents only had single rooms available.) About 500 years after they died, the church finally dug them up and had them buried together at Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where I became acquainted with their story when visiting Jim Morrison's grave.
PERSONAL THOUGHTS: I think the woman's skyward focus is relevant. Waite said: "The suggestion in respect of the woman is that she signifies that attraction towards the sensitive life."
Of course, every individual has their own combination of qualities, and I don't want start a gender debate, but I think that for the *most* part, woman are more spiritually focused than men. I think bisexuals especially can appreciate the difference in the things that draw them to each of the sexes.
A friend once said that women have something more on the inside, while men have something more on the outside. I had to take that with a grain of salt, since she had just filed for divorce from her cheating husband. But I guess it's true, biologically speaking.
Interpreted through the lens of my own relationship, my man is certainly the one who is the more responsible, while I tend to have my head in the clouds. He a "math/science, TV, newspaper" type, while I'm a "liberal arts, stereo, book" type. Where he thinks of societies, I think of communities. (A fine line, I know. Think of spaghetti in a box vs. spaghetti boiling in a pot.)
He helps me maintain in the mundane but necessary world, and takes on most of the responsibility for our physical well-being. I help him relax and enjoy the joys of living, and the things of the spirit. Together we make a whole, and for me this is one of the symbols of our rings. I don't just *love* him, I *need* him. But this is just the microcosm of Unity ("I"-nity?).
If I were to make a Lovers card, I would show them kissing--the exchange of breath being rich in symbolism that I find relevant to the male/female, yin/yang, Creation and "urge for union" aspects of the card. I'd make something like Canova's Psyche and Cupid:
The Voice Flesh and Bone The Vision
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This page is excerpted from my original contributions to an online Tarot course discussion of this card graciously sponsored by Pandora's Bookstore.
http://www.moonchild.ch/Tarot/major/Lovers/06IMHO.html
