The Lovers 💕
🎵All you need is love…🎵
…and maybe a little divine inspiration 😉
That's what we're looking at in The Lovers, #6 in the major arcana.
The Lovers is a partnership. It's cooperation between partners who each make a unique contribution to the pairing.
Take a look at the trees behind the people—one is lush, lovely and bearing fruit, and the other is on fire. Looks pretty bad, right? But think about what the elements symbolize on tarot cards. Fire is passion and virility, and earth is stability and groundedness. Individually, both of these people have valuable qualities, but together, they're able to support each other's best traits. While the man is passionate and driven, the woman is grounded and secure. Perhaps we can read this as he's the idea guy and the starter in this relationship, and she's the one who has the follow-through and discipline to bring his ideas to fruition…hence the fruiting tree behind her 🍎
This concept is key to understanding The Lovers—these aren't just two acquaintances, they're people who've chosen each other and over time, grown together.
They didn't choose each other by accident, either. There's a third figure in this card, the angel floating between them. That angel, who many believe is archangel Rafael, the divine matchmaker and healer, can be interpreted as having a hand in bringing them together. Rafael knows things regular people don't—he's an angel, after all—and when the people opened up and listened to his guidance, he brought them together and now, they're unstoppable. See that mountain on the horizon? They can scale it if they work together✅
Because let's talk a bit more about that idea of guidance and bringing two people together. The Lovers is associated with Gemini, an air sign symbolized by the twins. Gemini is insightful, communicative energy, ruled by quick-witted Mercury. It's all about sharing ideas back and forth, volleying insights and feedback that add onto the ideas with every exchange. Information literally grows and permutates when it's exchanged between people (and not always in a good way 😬), and in The Lovers, we see the woman looking up at the angel with outstretched arms, taking in his insights to ideally share them with her partner and carry on growth and development from there.
Earlier versions of this card were most explicit about the concept of divine insight guiding relationship choices. Here's a glimpse at how it looked in the Tarot de Marseille, a deck first published in 15th century Europe and in many ways, the great-grandma of our beloved Rider Waite Smith deck:
See how the angel is pointing the arrow at the guy's head, and the guy is looking like he needs to choose between the women? Your choice of partner is a big deal. It can be the difference between growing old together as you build a lifetime of warm memories and being the subject of a viral Reddit thread.
So when you pull The Lovers in a tarot card reading, what does it mean? It could mean that:
Whatever you're doing, you aren't doing it alone. Or perhaps you shouldn't attempt it alone…you've got a partner, so lean on their support. It also speaks to the importance of communication, since this is the foundation of any successful partnership. This card is associated with Gemini, keep in mind, so think about all the traits associated with Gemini:
♊Sharing ideas
♊Collaborating
♊Connections
♊Exploring different opinions and perspectives
In a reading, The Lovers could mean you need to communicate your wants or needs. It could also mean you need to evaluate who you're partnering with—or what you're partnering with. The Lovers isn't always about a relationship between two people; it can speak to your relationship with your job, your home, an ideology, or anything else that's not human, but you nonetheless have an ongoing relationship with.
It's also important to note that despite its name, The Lovers isn't only about romantic relationships. It's about all kinds of partnerships, like business partnerships, friendships, and familial relationships. So if you're asking about a situation with a friend and you pull The Lovers, don't get squicked out and assume the cards are telling you to hook up with them. You can if you want to (and they're down), but that's not what this card is telling you. That message would come from the 2 of Cups 💗
Want to hear a podcast about The Lovers? Listen to Omg Tarot! here: https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/zFcJtGb5ZJb