The Lovers - my first thoughts

Twoflower

The first thing that struck me was that they physically mirror each other - identical posture so right away I am thinking about balance - about opposite aspects of something that comes together.

The 'apples and serpent' behind the woman, rightly or wrongly for me, conjures the biblical references. I suppose the trees of knowledge and life each represent the different inherent aspects of the 2. But the roots are already joined - maybe the external appearance of this being a joining is really a re-joining : these 2 things were not meant to be apart. Maybe they never truly were, but choose to come together because they realise or learn that this is the right way.

The figure above : I can't decide if it is directing the union or merely approving of it.

I was reading earlier today someone's Reading thread and they were concerned that they may be projecting too much of themselves on to the cards : but for me that feels absolutely the right thing to do, in fact that seems to BE the point. Based on that when I currently see this card I am immediately reminded of being a better and more fulfilled person when forced to be part of a partnership. It says to me that letting go of ones natural or default setting and choosing to integrate fully the thoughts, attitudes and way of being of a partner is the proper way to be. Knowledge without Living? Living without Knowledge? Union : of man and woman (traditionally), of lovers, of intellect and emotion.

One lingering question though: Why are they depicted apart? Is it to make the act of union feel as though it is about to happen - to put us in media res ?

So come on - set me straight :D
Or share your own interpretation if you would be so kind
T
 

rwcarter

Welcome to Aeclectic Twoflower!

Twoflower said:
The first thing that struck me was that they physically mirror each other - identical posture so right away I am thinking about balance - about opposite aspects of something that comes together.
The couple's posture isn't fully mirrored (her arms are higher and his legs are wider apart), but it is close. But I can still see balance in that.

Twoflower said:
The 'apples and serpent' behind the woman, rightly or wrongly for me, conjures the biblical references. I suppose the trees of knowledge and life each represent the different inherent aspects of the 2. But the roots are already joined - maybe the external appearance of this being a joining is really a re-joining : these 2 things were not meant to be apart. Maybe they never truly were, but choose to come together because they realise or learn that this is the right way.
Ahh. You see the squiggly lines on the ground between them as being roots between the trees. That had never occurred to me! (To be honest, I'd never really given any thought to those lines.) So if she is the personification of the left pillar and he is the personification of the right one and the two pillars are already joined together, then does that indicate that the two people are also joined even though we can't see a physical connection between them?

Twoflower said:
The figure above : I can't decide if it is directing the union or merely approving of it.
Why can't it be doing both? For me that interpretation would be contextual - for some readings the angel might be directing the union and in other cases he might be approving of it.

Twoflower said:
I was reading earlier today someone's Reading thread and they were concerned that they may be projecting too much of themselves on to the cards : but for me that feels absolutely the right thing to do, in fact that seems to BE the point. Based on that when I currently see this card I am immediately reminded of being a better and more fulfilled person when forced to be part of a partnership. It says to me that letting go of ones natural or default setting and choosing to integrate fully the thoughts, attitudes and way of being of a partner is the proper way to be. Knowledge without Living? Living without Knowledge? Union : of man and woman (traditionally), of lovers, of intellect and emotion.
I agree. It's our own experiences and beliefs that inform our relationship with a given deck. That's why you and I can interpret the same cards completely differently and why we can come up with the same interpretation using different cards.

Twoflower said:
One lingering question though: Why are they depicted apart? Is it to make the act of union feel as though it is about to happen - to put us in media res ?
But as my somewhat rhetorical question above asked, are they really apart? Two people can be joined together without being in physical contact with one another. The bond could be emotional or mental instead of physical.

Twoflower said:
So come on - set me straight :D
Or share your own interpretation if you would be so kind
T
Nah, there's nothing to set straight. I agree with most of what you've written, but even if I didn't, that doesn't mean that you're wrong and I'm right. It would just mean that we see the card differently, and that's perfectly OK in my book. :)

Rodney
 

Twoflower

Thanks Rodney, appreciate that.

There seems to be a relative dearth of RWS recent discussion - is that because it's all been done to death a long time ago or am I looking in the wrong place in this area?

I notice from your profile that you like the Alchemical deck - coincidentally I read about it yesterday and it immediately seemed to tick all my boxes.
I'm inclined to think I'll get more out of it in the long run by looking more closely at the standard RWS deck initially - do youthink there is truth in that?

thanks,
T
 

Toxicmage

Twoflower said:
One lingering question though: Why are they depicted apart? Is it to make the act of union feel as though it is about to happen - to put us in media res ?

I was looking at Pictures From The Heart-A Tarot Dictionary by Sandra Thomson and she makes this observation..

" The Lovers card represents the feminine/masculine ( yin/yang; anima/animus ) within each of us and speaks of attempts to keep these separate, or to acknowledge and reconcile them in order to become whole. "

That makes sense to me. This union of two co-creators coming together as one, with the blessing of the divine ( the archangel Raphael ) from above.

I think the same can be said of the union of the Emperor-Empress, the High Priest ( the Hierophant ) and the High Prestess.