Daily Tarot: THE LOVERS
Union, Beauty & The Path of Desire.
VI. THE LOVERS
This card represents Union, Beauty & The Pathway of Desire
The number is VI (6), and is the 7th Card in the Major Arcana.
NUMEROLOGY
Numerology is the study of numbers. If mathematics is the language and the grammar, geometry is the syntax and poetry, and numbers are the base letters.
The number 6 is considered to be the embodiment of the heart, associated with beauty.
According to Pythagoras, 6 was the first perfect number—a number where all the divisors excluding itself equals the number itself. 1+2+3=6.
6 is arrived at by 2 x 3. 2 and 3 are Primes.
Six is regarded as the number of perfection or completion, whereby according to Judaic and Christian mythos, the world was created in six days.
Incidentally, the Numerology of pop culture considers 6 to be the number of the Lover.
GEOMETRY & SEMIOTICS
Semiotics is the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation, the systematic study of sign processes and the communication of meaning.
The number 6 in terms of geometry can be presented in many related ways.
The hexagon is recognised as the optimal structure in nature for strength and space optimisation. Hexagons can tesselate, or fit together without gaps or overlaps, in a two-dimensional plane, a property unique in polygons.
A cube is actually called a hexahedron, a platonic solid with six square faces.
These allude to the encoding in the Christian and Judaic mythos that the world was created in 6 days.
The star of David is comprised by the intersection of two triangles, representing the the union of masculine and feminine and also the alchemical union of the 4 elements. The triangles pointing up and down, are symbols of masculine and feminine respectively. The elements of Fire and Water in alchemy are represented by triangles, pointing up and downward respectively.
The triangle itself is the most stable, and balance shape in geometry, the internal angles adding up to 180 degrees which is a flat surface.
In sacred geometry, the seed, the germ and the flower of life are all constructed by the natural intersection of the circle into six equal parts of 60 degrees, corresponding to the six symmetries of a hexagon.
ARCHETYPE & FORM
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ETYMOLOGY & LANGUAGE
Vertical shallow Etymology finds the nearest root words and leaves it at that. Deep and Wide Etymology reaches down and laterally, to explore the full essence of meaning that is related to the word.
Love comes from the Germanic root languages, with meanings “praise”, “joy” and “beloved”.
Love is a word that describes the feeling of love, but refers also to the subject of someone’s love as in “my love” or “his love”. Lovemaking refers to sexual union where a sense of intimacy and emotional connection is prevalent.
APPEARANCE & ARRANGEMENT
The card has a yellow background. A radiant golden sun shines from the top centre lighting a scene of an angelic being emerging from the clouds, with wings unfurled, in a posture of benediction or blessing, presiding over a pair of naked lovers. The woman on the left beside a fruit tree, with a serpent, and the man beside a tree of flame, and between them a single mountain peak rises in the distance.
EGREGORE & ESSENCE
Egregore is an esoteric concept representing an emergent archetypal thought-form that arises from collective thoughts.
THE LOVERS card represents true Union which is facilitated by Beauty which is itself the pathway of Desire. Depicted are the Feminine and Masculine aspects in all creation that merge to create an Emergent “third”, an act of union and creation presided over by the divine favour.
In one and the same fire, clay grows hard and wax melts.
Francis Bacon
THE UNFOLDING
A closer look at the unfolding symbolism of that card reveals the archetypal Adam & Eve. Each is naked, that is to say, prior to the eating of the fruit, standing beside a tree. The Feminine has a fruit tree and a rising serpent. The Masculine tree has flowers of flame at the end of blackened branches.
Between them in the background a single mountain, and above the mountain an angelic being emerging from cloud, purple robes, red wings, with eyes looking down and arms raised in blessing. Behind the angelic being, a radiant sun.
The mountain peak has two ridges that may be climbed that meet at a single summit. The mountain is the axis mundi.
Adam looks at Eve and Eve at the Angel, and both have their hands down, palms open. Adam is able to encounter divine unity only through Eve.
The fruit-laden tree with 4 apples, is the Life of Nature (Soul), which requires the Knowledge of Good & Evil to ascend. Tree of Knowledge. The serpent is the Kundalini.
The 11th sepiroth Da’ath (Knowledge) is activated only through attainment via experience (exile).
The flaming tree is the Life of the Spirit. The Tree of Life with 12 flames, and one extra below, enshrining the 10 sephirot. The lower flame is also as Adam’s tail in THE DEVIL card.
It is Eve’s destiny to bear fruit. It is Adam’s destiny to carry the sacred seed of Life. The sacred seed of Life seeks unity with the Divine through Earthy Union, to fulfil its purpose of Masculinity and Fathering progeny.
The Angel represents the principle of Beauty, which is the essence of Invitation to relationship and Union. The angelic being is associated with Raphael, which in Hebrew means “God cures/has healed”, indicating the nature of healing the wound of separation between the masculine and the feminine through divine union.
6 is the number of alchemical Union of Fire and Water, of Masculine & Feminine, Star of David, also the Cube, and ultimately the Merkabah.
The Archetype of Man is driven by Fear (of consequences) & Desire (for Beauty) which are The Devil & The Lovers cards.
SYMMETRY & SEQUENCE
Within the deck, there are symmetries and connections between the cards, some defined by the relationship of the numbers, others by the relationship of their symbols and essentialities.
THE LOVERS is the 7th card. THE DEVIL is the 7th last card. The two cards have an integral symmetry in the arrangement and the present archetypes.
The number presiding over THE LOVES is 6. The number presiding over THE DEVIL is 5 as indicated by the inverted pentagram, the card’s number is XV(15), 3 x 5. 15 numerologically tally up as 1+5=6, representing a distended, rather than the stability and balance of the union of the number 6 which is underwritten by the number 3 (triangle).
THE LOVERS (Raphael) is one of three cards that feature Angels. The other two cards are TEMPERANCE (Gabriel), and JUDGEMENT (Michael).
THE LOVERS share a symmetry with several other cards in the Major Arcana, where either two pillars are represented such as THE HIGH PRIESTESS and THE MOON, but more specifically where a trinity of characters define the scene of the card. These are THE HIEROPHANT, THE CHARIOT, THE DEVIL and in a certain way THE TOWER, THE MOON. Another triangle of focus is found in the card TEMPERANCE.
ALCHEMY
Alchemy explores the transformative and mystical processes that turn the base into the sublime, symbolizing the journey from raw essence to spiritual enlightenment. In the context of Tarot, it offers a complimentary framework for interpreting the profound alchemical symbolism embedded within the cards, revealing deeper layers of meaning through the interplay of elemental and metaphysical transformations.
THE LOVERS(VI) represents the alchemical process of Conjunction—the union of opposites necessary for transformation and transcendence. This stage symbolizes the merging of Sulphur (active, fiery, masculine principle) and Mercury (fluid, receptive, feminine principle) into a harmonious whole, a sacred marriage (Hieros Gamos) that bridges polarity to generate something greater.
Hieros Gamos, or Sacred Marriage, embodies the archetypal union of opposites—masculine and feminine, spirit and matter, earthly and divine. Rooted in ancient and esoteric traditions, this union signifies the integration of dualities, leading to transformation, unity, and divine wholeness.
In THE LOVERS card, this sacred union transcends mundane love to represent the synthesis of polarities within the self and the cosmos. The Male Figure represents Sulphur—active will and desire—while the Female Figure embodies Mercury—receptive intuition and harmonizing energy. The Angel above them symbolizes the Spirit, the unifying third force (the Quintessence) that elevates the material union into the divine.
The Tree of Knowledge, with the serpent, introduces the trial of Choice, a catalyst for discernment and growth. Just as the alchemist must navigate duality to transmute lead into gold, the figures in THE LOVERS must choose integration over separation to achieve true transformation.
The card also reflects the elemental Trine, hinting at the alchemical balance:
The Cardinal element initiates the process, igniting the fire of Conjunction.
The Fixed element sustains the union, providing stability and form.
The Mutable element allows the union to transform, bridging opposites into an evolving whole.
EMERGENT SYNOPSIS
THE LOVERS as alchemical Conjunction represents the sacred union of opposites, a transformative process that transcends duality through integration. This is not merely a union of two figures but a fusion of forces—active and receptive, earthly and divine—that awakens a new level of being. It is the point where raw, divided energies are harmonized, setting the stage for higher alchemical stages like Fermentation and Sublimation. Through Conjunction, THE LOVERS become the living symbol of transformation: the alchemical gold born of Desire, Choice, and Union.
KABBALAH & JUDAIC MYSTICISM
GEMATRIA & ALEF-BET
The number 6 corresponds to the Hebrew letter Vav (ו), which means Hook (or peg as in tent peg), meaning “that which forms union from above”.
6 is arrived at by 2 x 3. The Hebrew letters for 2 and 3 are Beit (ב) and Gimmel (ג), which mean “Shelter” and “Giving or Walking Towards” respectively.
These two meanings are incorporated in the meaning for Vav which is 6, and thereby deepen the meaning of THE LOVERS card and the notion of Union and Beauty as the pathway of desire being depicted.
Uniquely, Vav, when paired with Niqqud—which means literally "precision"—can represent the vowel sounds O and U, “oh” and “uh.” The shape of the letter Vav itself is masculine—linear, upright, and penetrative—symbolizing the active, directive principle. In contrast, the sounds O and U evoke the feminine principle: receptive, curved, and expansive, resembling the shapes of the womb, the vessel, or the cosmic void.
This dual nature of Vav—as both a form and a sound—embodies the essence of union and the interplay between masculine and feminine energies. The masculine penetrates and gives direction, while the feminine receives, contains, and nurtures, reflecting the archetypal dynamics of creation and connection. Within THE LOVERS card, this symbolism speaks to the profound harmony achieved when polarities unite, giving rise to a generative, transformative wholeness.
SEPHIROT
In Kabbalah, the 6th station, or Sephirot, on the Tree of Life, is Tipareth: Beauty. Tipareth is a central station, in between the two pillars, but also at the heart of the tree, midway between the upper and lower halves, and is considered the essential gateway to the upper part of the tree. Tipareth is the Sephirot that holds the boundary between Yetzirah, the World of Formation and Beriah, the World of Creation. Tipareth, Beauty, is considered as the foundation of the World of Creation and the Crown of the World of Formation.
Genesis 6:2
“And the sons of Elohim found the daughters of man beautiful, and they took them wives of all which they chose. ”
Elohim is a plural name for God.
Depicted on the card are the two pillars Boaz and Jachin, represented by trees, and the mountain between them, depicting that the path of worldly ascent, the path to union, is via Beauty (and desire).
In Kabbalistic tradition, Vav also symbolizes the middle pillar of the Tree of Life, balancing the polarities of Chesed (Mercy) and Geburah (Severity) in the Sephirah of Tipheret (Beauty). This further aligns Vav with THE LOVERS, who reflect the tension and resolution of opposites into the beauty of harmony.
THE GARDEN OF EDEN
In Kabbalistic and mystical traditions, Eden is not a physical place; it symbolizes a state of grace, divine harmony, and unity with the Source. Eden is the primordial state of being before fragmentation—a state of complete harmony where the Divine Presence (Shekinah) and the human soul (Neshamah) were perfectly united, in alignment with the divine flow of creation.
Kabbalistically, Adam and Eve embody the Shefa (divine flow) and Shekinah (the indwelling feminine presence of God), humanity abiding in a state of grace, free from the illusion of duality, ego, and limitation
Their story illustrates the descent of divine unity into material form, setting the stage for humanity’s task of Tikkun Olam—restoring harmony and unity by reconciling opposites.
Adam and Eve personify the interplay of masculine and feminine forces, while the Two Trees symbolize the choice between material fragmentation and divine unity.
The separation of the masculine and feminine as depicted in mythic, Kabbalistic, and archetypal frameworks represents the first psychic wounding of the soul—the loss of the primordial wholeness the soul once ‘knew’. This is the birth of yearning—the deep existential longing to reunite the divided aspects of self. This is a concept related to but distinct from Desire.
In many mystical traditions, including Kabbalah, the primordial state of existence is described as a condition of unity. This is often represented as the Divine Oneness (Ain Soph) or the androgynous Adam Kadmon—the archetypal man in its paradigmatic undivided and unmanifested form.
The division of the masculine and feminine energies represents the soul’s first experience of duality—the realization of difference and separateness. In the Biblical narrative, this is symbolized by Eve being separated from Adam’s side. This event is deeply significant because it marks:
The fall from unity into duality/polarity, where opposites like masculine/feminine become experienced as distinct and separate.
The introduction of consciousness of division, which gives rise to a sense of lack or incompleteness within the soul, which is itself the source of archetypal Desire which related to Love, and the kabbalistic concept of the Soul as a Will to Receive.
In the card THE LOVERS, the Adam and Eve figures represent the two kinds of desire: the yearning for union between Masculine and Feminine, the fundamental attractive principle, and the desire for union with the Divine, which is why Tipheret (Beauty) is called the path of desire.
THE SERPENT (DESIRE, NOUS & KUNDALINI)
The Serpent (Nachash, נָחָשׁ) is one of the most enigmatic symbols in Kabbalistic thought. It represents both the descent into materiality and the potential for transcendence, embodying the paradox of spiritual evolution.
The Serpent as a Force of Desire:
The serpent introduces desire (Yetzer HaRa)—a fundamental force that can dualistically lead to spiritual downfall or be transformed into the energy for divine ascent.
Desire is necessary for creation and the human experience, but unchecked, it traps consciousness in material illusion and separation.
The Serpent as Nous:
In its exalted form, the serpent aligns with Nous, the intellective soul or divine mind, which bridges the human and the divine.
Just as the serpent offers Eve knowledge, Nous awakens the mind to self-awareness and the potential for divine realization.
The Serpent as Kundalini:
The serpent can also be seen as Kundalini, the coiled energy at the base of the spine that, when awakened, rises through the Tree of Life (the spinal axis aligned with the Sefirot) toward divine union.
In this sense, the serpent embodies the latent potential within the human soul to transcend the material realm and reunite with the Divine.
Nachash and the ‘Fallen’ State:
In its lower form, the serpent leads humanity deeper into fragmentation and exile.
Its name Nachash has the same gematria (358) as Messiah (Mashiach), suggesting that the very force of the serpent—when redeemed—becomes the catalyst for salvation and transformation.
Thus, the serpent is both adversary and liberator: it signifies the fall into duality but also holds the key to the ascent through conscious alchemical integration of the natural and divine duality.
HERMETIC LAWS & CONCEPTS
Union of the masculine and feminine, the gender principle is how everything within creation can create. Two parts come together to form a union which gives rise to an emergent third. The union of masculine and feminine is what generates creative energy as a combination of the insemination nature of the masculine and the ‘gestative’ nature of the feminine.
ASTROLOGY
The Hellenistic astrological insight cannot be divorced from the mythological context with which it shares archetypal relevance.
The Hellenistic astrological lens ties the card THE LOVERS(VI) to the planet of Venus, a zodiac archetype profoundly associated with beauty, desire, love, relationships and harmony.
VENUS
The number 6 is ruled by the planet Venus. The nature of Venus is allure, attraction, Desire and a love of aesthetic beauty.
MARS & VENUS
The two lovers also represent Venus and Mars. THE LOVERS card also represents the relationship between Venus and Mars. Mars symbolises cutting, decision, decisive action, and cleaving of which conflict is only a part of the expression.
Cleaving is a contronym or a ‘Janus word’, a word that can mean its own opposite. To cleave means both to split apart and to splice together. Everything in astrology has two ‘faces’, active and passive expressions, exulted and shadow expressions.
For union to occur, in a more symbolic, alchemical sense, always needs to involve penetration, separation and receiving. This is how the egg is fertilised, how atoms are ionised with charge. THE LOVERS card represents the pathway of desire, and therefore the pathway of union.
In mythology Venus and Mars are secret lovers, so opposite in nature and thereby attracted to each other.
CONJUNCTIONS, TRINES & OPPOSITIONS
The card also reflects astrological conjunctions, and oppositions, particularly between Venus and Mars, and then Trines in general via the triangle presided over by the Angelic figure.
Astrologically:
Conjunctions are of the nature of Venus, representing union, blending, and synthesis. They symbolize the merging of energies, much like the sacred union depicted in THE LOVERS.
Oppositions are of the nature of Mars, evoking tension, duality, and conflict that demands reconciliation. This is the dynamic push and pull that generates movement, growth, and the need for choice.
Trines are of the nature of Jupiter, signifying harmony, expansion, and grace. They reflect a natural, effortless flow of energy, where opposites find alignment.
Visually alluded to in THE LOVERS is the elemental relationship of any Trine, which by definition connects three zodiac signs of the same element: one Cardinal, one Fixed, and one Mutable. This highlights the card’s deeper essence of flow and transformation—how the union of polarities (Cardinal initiation, Fixed stability, and Mutable adaptation) creates an integrated, balanced cycle of emergence and evolution.
GEMINI
The Adam and Eve figures in THE LOVERS represent the cosmic, prototypical twins—an archetype deeply tied to the astrological sign of Gemini. As an astrological paradigm Gemini is not about rigid or forced unity but about holding space for contrast and complementarity—a mediator of opposites and facilitator of connection, embodying the eternal quest for understanding and integration of duality.
Mythological examples of twins as both siblings and consorts symbolise the relationship between of duality and unity. They represent the human experience of navigating polarity—self and other, yin and yang, masculine and feminine—and the alchemical process of reconciling these forces to return to wholeness. This archetypal theme remains a central key in understanding not only Gemini but the deeper mysteries of existence itself.
Gemini, ruled by Mercury, embodies the principle of duality: light and shadow, conscious and unconscious, self and other. Creation arises through the tension and interplay of opposites, inviting mediation and integration as pathways to wholeness.
MERCURY
Mercury, the Roman equivalent of Hermes—the winged messenger of the gods—is also symbolized by the angelic being depicted in The Lovers. In astrology, Mercury governs Gemini (air: intellectual duality) and Virgo (earth: analytical precision), uniting both the playful, curious mind and the discerning, methodical intellect. It represents the archetypal energies of learning, language, inquiry, and connection, serving as the essential force that enables movement and mediation between opposing or dual states of understanding and experience.
The nature of Mercury is inherently neutral, neither benefic nor malefic. It thrives in the tension of opposites, embodying fluidity and adaptability—qualities reflected in its role as psychopomp. As the guide who can travel freely between Olympus (the divine realm of the gods) and the Underworld (the shadowed realm of Hades/Pluto), Mercury serves as a mediator and bridge: between spirit and matter, conscious and unconscious, light and dark, above and below.
Mercury also holds a special place in astrology as the patron of the logia—the wisdom systems attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, father of astrology and alchemy. Through its mercurial essence, Mercury embodies the transformative potential of uniting opposites, ensuring the flow of insight, movement, and integration throughout all realms of existence.
MYTHOS & LOGOS
APHRODITE & ARES
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite (Venus) is the goddess of love and beauty, and in a way older than the other Olympian gods being born from the seed of the primordial Ouranos, the sky father, after he is castrated by his son Kronos. The genitals and seed are flung into the sea, and Aphrodite (Venus) is born from the union with the foam of the sea. This alludes to the nature of quantum foam from which atomic matter and forces are born. This myth places Aphrodite as a symbol of love as the generative force underlying existence.
Although Aphrodite is married to the graceless Hephaestus and is courted by many suitors, both mortal and divine because of her sublime beauty, but is found time and time again in bed with her true love Ares (Mars).
RAPHAEL
In Judiac and Christian mythos, the Angelic being is associated with the Archangel Raphael, whose name means the Healing power and nature of God, alluding to the power of union. Incidentally, Raphael is considered the patron angel of the blind.
ADAM & EVE
The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is the foundational archetype of union, choice, and consequence. Their relationship begins as an idyllic state of unity in paradise, where they exist in harmony with each other and the divine. The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge represents the choice to individuate—to embrace duality, polarity, and the potential for growth, even through suffering and separation.
Eve, as the archetype of the feminine principle, initiates the act of reaching for knowledge—inviting transformation through awareness. Adam, representing the masculine principle, follows, and together they leave the garden to embark on the human journey of integration and return. Their “fall” is not mere sin, but the necessary step into experience, where union is no longer a given but must be consciously chosen and earned.
The Serpent in this context represents both Nous and Kundalini, the tension between curiosity and vitality, which is allegorically depicted as temptation in the Christian mythos.
ASK & EMBLA
In Norse mythology, Ask (meaning ash tree) and Embla (interpreted as elm or vine) are the first humans, created by the gods from inert trees. Ask embodies the masculine principle—form and stability—while Embla represents the feminine principle—flow, movement, and receptivity.
The gods Odin, Vili, and Vé breathe life, spirit (óðr), and consciousness into them, transforming lifeless wood into sentient beings. This divine act mirrors THE LOVERS card: a union that awakens potential and connects to the sacred.
Symbolically, Ask aligns with the axis mundi—the upright strength anchoring the cosmos—while Embla reflects the generative flow of life, weaving through creation. Together, they represent the harmony of opposites necessary for life to emerge and unfold.
INNER REFLECTION
The interplay of Union, Beauty, and Desire we encounter at both the profound and the elemental. Beauty acts as both medium and attractor, through which this union is catalysed and realised, an aspect of harmony that appeals to the deepest parts of our being, guiding us towards a more profound merging that is seminal to Emergence.
Beauty, in its most esoteric sense, is the harmonizing principle that draws us towards union. It is the divine spark that illuminates the path of desire, guiding us through the visible and invisible landscapes of our existence. Beauty acts as both the magnet and the medium through which disparate elements find resonance—not only an aesthetic attribute but a fundamental force of attraction and integration, revealing the underlying order and coherence of the universe.
Desire, often misconstrued as mere longing or want, is reinterpreted here as the force that moves us through the pathways of life, driving the quest for union—not as a mere fulfilment of longing but as a journey towards completeness of Form and Purpose. This dynamic interplay serves as a reminder of the intricate balance necessary for growth and the realisation of potential. It is through this lens that we are invited to view the world, recognizing the unity in diversity and the creative energy that arises when opposites merge, and how their desires can be complimentary even if not directly aligned.
This is an invitation to a deeper engagement with both the essence of life, where the merging of the masculine and feminine principles embodies the alchemical process of ongoing creation itself and also with the deeper meaning of the words Beauty, Desire and Union, far beyond our trivial and literal interpretations.
Emergence is a prevailing theme contained within and expressed on various level by the Tarot. Here we are led into a deeper understanding, a union as it were with the notion of union, beyond the literal. The notion of union is how two opposites can attract and more, how a third force of divine intentionality is always at work, which we experience as beauty. Of deeper relevance is how Union is not the temporary culmination of desire and an end in of itself, but seminal to becoming, to an emergent form being brought into being through desire which originates below in the human and animal drive, but also from above in the divine will, to bring about the fulfilment of the intended Form and Purpose. The two poles of desire create a circuit, the current of which is Movement towards Union.
The title image includes a symbol of the twin serpents, snaking their way up the central staff or axis, which is central to the Cadeus. The two serpents are Kundalini (vital awakening of life force and body ) and Nous (vital awakening of consciousness and divine presence). Kundalini literally means serpent. Kundalini is considered a latent Feminine energy in the human body. Nous is considered a latent principle in the human mind that has both penetrative Masculine as well as ‘gestative’ Feminine aspects. The symbol is also reminiscent of the DNA double helix, which is the pathway of evolution, which in the Hermetic sense is the pathway to union with the actualised form or Telos.
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THE LOVERS represents Conscious Agreement under Divine ‘Consent’. It represents a participation in Convenant, mindful that three wills co-exist.
THE LOVERS depicts the marriage of opposites, the Vow.
The preparedness to not remain unchanged by the necessity of compromise, bringing your whole self in the eyes of your own higher truth.