The lovers - a backside?

Adriana

Ive always seen this as being about choices and attraction, the kind of choice for something your heart wants. But Ive gotten this card sometimes to mean the very opposite, at least from how the situations turned out. Geetimng confused here.

For example: what draws A to B? The lovers
And soon after A left person B, often for another person. And I do use reversals, but it shows up upright..
Also this has happened in readings about a triangle; Who person A s most drawn to, B or C. If C got the lovers then person A goes for the other person....

And this is been happening a few times now.

Can this card also be a bit too much? Too strong feelings so they rather run the other way?

Could the lovers sometimes come up like that to represent the lesser good choice for them? It just seems so illogical lol
 

nisaba

Well, a "choice" doesn't mean always going in one direction. It means having to think about the options carefully, with an equal possibility of ending up doing two or more things, with different consequences attached to them in the longer term.

If the card is coming up repeatedly, you are not listening to it.

So make your choice. Your choice is not only one thing, it's between at least TWO courses of action, quite different to each other.
 

Adriana

Nisaba, thanks for answer.
I understand a choice can be more complex than just a set of 2 options and all clearcut.
I have gotten the card repeatedly for a certain situation that is about a choice. But Ive seen it turn out this way before as well.
 

Padma

For example: what draws A to B? The lovers
And soon after A left person B, often for another person. And I do use reversals, but it shows up upright..
Also this has happened in readings about a triangle; Who person A s most drawn to, B or C. If C got the lovers then person A goes for the other person....

Well, The Lovers doesn't indicate the choice will be *good* or even logical - just that there will be one! ;)

Also, your comments made me think of the old representations of the Lovers card in the Marseilles-type deck - usually a man trying to choose between two women, with a cupid floating over head with a bow and arrow. So if A chose B instead of C, clearly B and C could be seen as those two women in that card. I find today's versions, though much more attractive artistically, often miss this distinction of having two people to chose from...

Anyways, I can see why it comes up as it does for you, just based on that paragraph of yours and the old Lovers card.
 

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Barleywine

I like to think of the Lovers as a "crossroads," a meeting-place where the participants either link up and go hand-in-hand down the same fork, or fail to connect and have a "parting of the ways." The Lovers is about that experience and the choice it implies; the cards surrounding it would indicate which way the decision is likely to play out.

For example:

The Lovers + the Tower = the worst blind date you ever had (or maybe the best sex).
The Lovers + the Moon = one isn't being entirely honest with the other.
The Lovers + the Hanged Man = . . . and you wondered why he/she didn't call.

I'm sure you can come up with numerous other match-ups.
 

Krystophe

I don't want to nitpick, but I've never been a fan of the word "choice" in interpreting the energy of the Lovers, mainly because I've seen it reduced too often by well-meaning readers to a much more shallow level than I think is indicated by the card (think of choosing which appetizer to order with your dinner, or choosing which movie to watch on Netflix).

I prefer the word "commitment." The element of choosing among possibilities is still there, but this choice is made from a very deep place, has ramifications that go far beyond the gratification of the moment, and requires ongoing effort to maintain. Keeping all this in mind has certainly helped me greatly in my understanding of the energy represented by this card, particularly when it appears badly aspected or in a negative position.
 

Padma

I don't want to nitpick, but I've never been a fan of the word "choice" in interpreting the energy of the Lovers, mainly because I've seen it reduced too often by well-meaning readers to a much more shallow level than I think is indicated by the card (think of choosing which appetizer to order with your dinner, or choosing which movie to watch on Netflix).

I prefer the word "commitment." The element of choosing among possibilities is still there, but this choice is made from a very deep place, has ramifications that go far beyond the gratification of the moment, and requires ongoing effort to maintain. Keeping all this in mind has certainly helped me greatly in my understanding of the energy represented by this card, particularly when it appears badly aspected or in a negative position.

Actually, this card's original meaning was always meant to be taken seriously. It is after all a Major ;) I think what you say in your second paragraph is very much the essence of it - it is a watershed choice, and one that will affect all the areas of a person's life - so for sure, it is a choice to be taken extremely seriously.
 

Krystophe

Actually, this card's original meaning was always meant to be taken seriously. It is after all a Major ;)

Exactly. And Padma, just to be clear, I wasn't picking on your particular reference to "choice" in your earlier post, only observing that it's the word I see used most often in general to interpret this card, and one that I don't believe does the card justice.
 

Barleywine

I don't want to nitpick, but I've never been a fan of the word "choice" in interpreting the energy of the Lovers, mainly because I've seen it reduced too often by well-meaning readers to a much more shallow level than I think is indicated by the card (think of choosing which appetizer to order with your dinner, or choosing which movie to watch on Netflix).

I prefer the word "commitment." The element of choosing among possibilities is still there, but this choice is made from a very deep place, has ramifications that go far beyond the gratification of the moment, and requires ongoing effort to maintain. Keeping all this in mind has certainly helped me greatly in my understanding of the energy represented by this card, particularly when it appears badly aspected or in a negative position.

I've always based my assumption in this regard on the image in the Tarot de Marseille, where the man between the two women is clearly trying to make up his mind between them, with Cupid meddling from above. In my admittedly warped opinion, the only "deep place" under consideration is where that left hand is straying (which really ought to be the young woman's right hand, but the thumb is in the wrong place; one of tarot's little mysteries)
 

Krystophe

I've always based my assumption in this regard on the image in the Tarot de Marseille, where the man between the two women is clearly trying to make up his mind between them, with Cupid meddling from above. In my admittedly warped opinion, the only "deep place" under consideration is where that left hand is straying (which really ought to be the young woman's right hand, but the thumb is in the wrong place; one of tarot's little mysteries)

The very best opinions are the warped ones! Good to see a kindred spirit here!
And I agree with you, of course, about the man in the TdM image, although I do tend to see him as making a relatively serious decision about to whom he wishes to commit, not just "choosing" his preferred flavor for a night's pleasure...although the latter would certainly be an apt reading for the card's shadow energies.