Symbolism & Imagery:
Perhaps one of the most prominent visual features of The Lovers Card is the two people, one man, one woman standing beneath an angel. And that’s no regular angel, it is the Archangel Raphael. Raphael means ‘God heals’ which is highly representational of this card. But, we’ll get into the juicer details in a moment. Both the man and the woman are naked, and as they stand beneath the angel it depicts a blessed union with the Divine.
The foreground consists of a lush landscape similar to the Garden of Eden. Further imagery that relates to the Garden of Eden includes an apple tree behind the woman. And what’s more, there’s a serpent coiled around the trunk. Both the apple tree and the serpent have their connection to the sensual pleasures of life, pleasures that are said to distract from spiritual focus.
Yet behind the man, we see fire. These flames are reminiscent of passion- also said to direct the nature of man away from the Divine. There are twelve flames in total to represent the twelve signs of the zodiac. And while the woman’s gaze is fixed on the divine angel, the man’s is locked onto the woman.
What could this Symbology Mean?
Symbology is beautiful. It is one of the core constructs of the Tarot. The man gazing at the woman is suggestive of the initial place of consciousness as its natural progression towards the subconscious, represented by the woman. The supernatural, in this case the angel and the Divine, is the ultimate aspiration for the human spirit and soul. And the subconscious, or the woman, has her sights set on the superconscious. All in all, this is a beautiful description of our path as humans. It can also be said that this represents the journey we take from physical desire (base level), to emotional and finally, to spiritual fulfillment.
The lush and fertile landscape also includes a volcano. This volcanio adds to the imagery and overall feeling created by the flames. The volcano has long been associated with phallic symbology. When man and woman meet each other bare and naked, the passion that erupts between them is not unlike a volcano.
Whether you feel that The Lovers card is a portrayal of the danger that physical desire can take you away from focus on spiritual fulfillment, or, the two go hand in hand without separation- simply the natural course as one eventually leads to the other, is up to you.
The Rider Waite deck is my favorite, but I am a sucker for the classics. The Garden of Eden imagery with Adam and Eve was created on the Rider Waite tarot deck. But newer and more modern decks depict two people, accepted as a couple, receiving a noble’s blessing instead of an angel.
Archangel Raphael is the angel blessing the two in the Rider Waite deck and has been portrayed with significant details. The angel’s wings are crimson, the color symbolic of wisdom. Archangel Raphael is the archangel of healing, but also for matchmaking. It would be too easy to accept this Garden of Eden imagery as a simple rehashing of that fatal bible story. No, I don’t agree with the idea that physical intimacy, desire, passion, and love between two people is the opposite of the Divine and spiritual fulfillment. Instead, I believe it is a blessing, but a drop in the ocean and a hint of the Divine. And the message of the angel and the physical attraction is the message that love, in all its forms, is what brings us closer to the Divine.
Love is the tonic for the soul and the catalyst for the spirit.
While the snake is referred to as the tempter, especially in the Garden of Eden story, this is not what we should accept at face value. The snake itself is also a universal sign of medicine, just look towards that age-old symbol used by doctors. And what’s more, the snake is also the symbol for the kundalini, the life force, the spiritual energy.
Between the man and woman is not only desire but also clouds. These clouds are representative of a spiritual bond alongside the physical one. But we see the mountain as well, which suggests that even in a union blessed by the Divine, there will always be obstacles.
Perhaps the most beautiful element on this card is the grace with which it alludes to the human spirit. We experience love, we experience life, but yet we deny our progress because of a need to deny ourselves in the pursuit of the Divine. A dog chasing its tail. More so, instead of celebrating love on earth with another, we see it as a challenge to overcome. This is why The Lovers card is so often linked to our choices. The angel in this card is carrying a clear message, you are human, you make decisions- sometimes ones that seem wrong. Nevertheless, a choice, however poor, when made out of love is a choice that does not deserve punishment but a blessing.