astrology + tarot [VI. The Lovers]

From the Sepia Stains Tarot deck

In light of our recent supreme court RULING here in the states, allowing everyone the right to be married.. and the current amount of love that it's in the air.. i thought it would be fun to talk about just what kind of love is truly described by the sixth card of the tarot. 

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we loved with a love that was more than love
- edgar allan poe

In the older versions, the lovers card was associated with the planet Venus, which is represented by the Goddess of love and sexuality - and why not? After all, what is love without a little sexuality to spice it up right? So in these older cards, Cupid (Eros) could be seen floating above the nude couple's heads. Eros,the mischievous God of passion and fertility (whose mother happens to be the Goddess Venus herself) was often times depicted wearing a blindfold, because love is blind, and can strike without warning. In some decks there were also two females with the male figure, representing the choices one must make in love and the inevitable consequences of those choices. 
The Rider-Waite deck 'Christianized' the older representations in 1910, and replaced Eros with his biblical counterpart Archangel Raphael. In the Bible, Raphael is sent by God to heal a man of blindness and to assist the man's son in marrying a woman named Sarah. Sarah was possessed by a demon who prevented her from consummating her marriage due to the untimely death of every man she would wed. But after being healed of her afflicting demon, by Raphael, she was able to marry. So Archangel Raphael became the patron saint of singles (among other things) and would be prayed to when one was seeking a spouse.  Also, the figures in the Rider-Waite deck are reminiscent of Adam and Eve. The fruit bearing tree with serpent, and tree that is consumed in flames are both symbols of the couples time spent in the Garden of Eden, and their banishment from it (again with the theme of choices and consequences). Even the number placement of the card is symbolic of the biblical story of the first lovers. On the sixth day is when God created a mate and companion for Adam, and in some decks their union is depicted by the six pointed Star of David. 

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Illustration by Marco Mazzoni

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends
john 15:13

When Allister Crowley's Thoth Tarot deck hit the scene in 1969, it changed the world of Tarot in many ways. The Golden Dawn was displeased with the former ruler of the lovers card being Venus, and instead chose to designate it to the astrological sign of Gemini, which is still considered to be the "correct" ruling sign of the card today. 

The story of brotherly love

The sign of Gemini is representative of the twins Castor and Pollux. Their mother, Leda (who was a hotty) had caught the eye of Zeus (who could never keep it in his pants). One day, he decided to disguise himself as a swan so he could manage to get close enough to Leda so he could rape her. That same night, Leda layed (in the biblical way) with her husband as well. So she became pregnant with two sets of twins: Castor and Clytemnestra who were mortal and children of her mortal husband, and Pollux and Helen (as in Helen of Troy) who were immortal children of Zeus. Well the two brothers, Castor and Pollux, became inseparable. So when the mortal Castor had finally met his death, Pollux was so distraught that he pleaded with Zeus to allow him to become mortal as well so he could be with his brother in the after life. Instead, Zeus allowed the two brothers to share immortality together as a constellation in the heavens. Now that's love! The type of love that is represented by Venus is sexual, and a bit selfish. I love you because you make me feel good. I need you to make myself happy and to experience pleasure - vs - I love you because you are my best friend, my brother, and I'd rather die than exist in this life without you. See the difference? Which love would you rather have?

Fuck Romeo and Juliet, I want a love like Gomez and Morticia

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This new correlation of Gemini to the lovers card once again shifted the artistic depictions. The Archangel Raphael is now sometimes replaced by two conjoined figures (like the one to the left), symbolizing the twins, reminding us to love as Pollux loved his brother Castor. Also, another common depiction is that of the Caduceus (the winged stick with two snakes wrapping around it), which is symbolic of and carried by Hermes (Mercury). Hermes is known as the messenger of the Gods, and also to be quite a trickster and thief. Which is fitting, sense love can be tricky, trip you up, and steal your senses along with your heart. Hermes is the God associated with the Magician card in the Tarot, which is a card that represents magic, existence, and again some trickery. The Caduceus itself is representative of the balancing and harmony of opposites, and never ending repetition of birth, death, and rebirth. Meaning love never dies, and can survive all else.