The Lovers (VI) - Sacred Union - Tarot Major Arcana

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The Lovers - Card VI

Sacred Union

A man and woman stand naked in Eden, blessed by the angel Raphael above. Behind the woman grows the Tree of Knowledge with the serpent, behind the man the Tree of Life. This is the card of choices made from love, the union of opposites, and the moment Adam chose Eve over paradise—a choice that brought both suffering and consciousness.

Attributes & Correspondences

Number

Hebrew Letter

Zain (ז) - The Sword

Tree of Life Path

Binah to Tiferet (17th Path)

Astrological

Gemini

Element

Air (intellectual choice)

Keywords

Love, choice, union, duality, relationships

Symbolism & Imagery

Traditional Symbols:

Angel Raphael: Divine blessing, healing presence, higher guidance
Naked Couple: Innocence, vulnerability, authentic relating
Tree of Knowledge: Conscious choice, the feminine principle
Tree of Life: Immortality, the masculine principle
Serpent: Wisdom through experience, kundalini, temptation
Mountain: Higher consciousness, aspiration, challenges

📚 Primary Sources: The Lovers

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Pictorial Key to the Tarot:Part II:The Lovers

The sun shines in the zenith, and beneath is a great winged figure with arms extended, pouring down influences. In the foreground are two human figures, male and female, unveiled before each other. This is a card of human love, which in the highest sense is the choice of truth in the heart, and the love of truth in the soul. It is the card of trails overcome gloriously.

Source: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot by Arthur Edward Waite (1911)

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Book of Thoth:Atu VI:The Lovers

This card represents Gemini, the Twins, and shows the formula of opposites united by love under divine sanction. The central mystery is that of the Sacred Marriage (Hieros Gamos), wherein the King and Queen, Sun and Moon, Gold and Silver are conjoined. This is the alchemical operation of conjunction.

Source: The Book of Thoth by Aleister Crowley (1944)

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The Tarot:Part Two:Key 6

The Lovers represents the function of discrimination—the power to distinguish, to choose. Gemini is the sign of duality, and here duality is resolved through right choice guided by higher consciousness (the angel). This is the intellect (Air) choosing love, the conscious decision to unite with the other.

Source: The Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages by Paul Foster Case (1947)

Meanings & Interpretations

Upright Meaning

Love, union, relationships, choices, values alignment, harmony, attraction, partnership, sacred marriage. The Lovers announces a significant choice, usually in matters of the heart but also in values and loyalties. This is the choice to commit, to merge with another, to create partnership. It can also represent the integration of inner masculine and feminine.

Reversed Meaning

Disharmony, misalignment, poor choices, separation, values conflict, lust without love. When reversed, the Lovers indicates choosing based on superficial attraction rather than deep compatibility, or being unable to choose, frozen between options. Sometimes indicates the breakdown of a relationship or choosing security over love.

Spiritual Meaning

The Lovers represents the path from Binah (Understanding, the Mother) to Tiferet (Beauty, the Heart). This is the descent of divine understanding into harmonious manifestation through conscious choice. The angel Raphael (healing) blesses the union. The Lovers teaches that consciousness arose through relationship—Adam alone in paradise was unconscious; only through choosing Eve and tasting the fruit of knowledge did humanity awaken.

Mythology & Archetypes

Related Mythological Figures:

Adam and Eve (Judeo-Christian): First couple, choice of consciousness over innocence
Shiva and Shakti (Hindu): Divine masculine and feminine in eternal union
Hieros Gamos (Greek): Sacred marriage of god and goddess
Eros and Psyche (Greek): Love between divine and mortal
Isis and Osiris (Egyptian): Divine couple, eternal devotion