the lovers tarot meaning

Welcome to part 7 of my 22 part Tarot Meanings Deep Dive series – each week we explore ONE major arcana card and uncover it’s secrets, symbols and messages.

Today we’re diving into The Lovers – one of the juiciest cards in the whole deck! YES!

Grab your Tarot journal and pen, make yourself a hot cup of something and settle in….

Keywords: relationship, attraction, temptation, seduction, choice, passion, primal desire for union, vulnerability

Symbols: snake (Eden), man and woman (polarities), erect mountain, flaming tree (passion), nudity (vulnerability, primal state)

Light side: Finding union with another, intimately merging with your polar opposite, passion and connection with a lover. Vulnerability plays a key role here.

Dark side: Losing yourself in the Other. Union that obliterates your sense of self (in a bad way) – like a toxic, co-dependant relationship. Giving into temptation as a way to forget yourself/abandon yourself.

1) Attraction

The Lovers is all about attraction! Often, opposites attract and we find ourselves drawn to others who possess the qualities we lack. You can learn a lot about yourself just by paying attention to what you are attracted to.

Journalling Questions:

♥ Think of someone (real life or celeb) you’re VERY attracted to. Why? What about them is so attractive?

♥ What qualities in another will ignite you and draw you in?

2) Temptation

The Lovers symbolizes temptation and the choices we make as a result of our temptations. Typically, the things that tempt us most are things that pull us out of ourselves and help us forget ourselves for a moment, like drugs, alcohol, food, sex, porn, gambling, shopping, gaming, excessive screen time or a lusty affair!

Journalling Questions:

♥ What tempts you? What does this temptation seem to promise?

♥ What brings you out of yourself? What lets you forget yourself?

♥ When was the last time you felt tempted? What did you choose? Why?

3) Primal Desire

We are all driven by a human desire for connection and union – even it it’s subconscious or subliminal. If we look closely at our choices, actions, fears and desires, the primal desire for connection is often underlying these things. Vulnerability is required in order to truly connect with another, making the process somewhat terrifying and difficult.

Journalling Questions:

♥ How does your primal desire for union and connection drive you? What actions, decisions, priorities and choices have you made based on getting those desires/needs met?

♥ What does it mean to you to be vulnerable with another person?

The Wisdom of The Lovers

We all long to merge with someone (or something!) and when romantic union happens, it has the potential to bring out the best in us and act as an avenue for growth, healing and ecstasy. It also has the potential to bring out the worst in us and bring our wounds, fears and dysfunctional patterns to the surface.

The Lovers advises you to know and understand the difference between connection with another and obliteration of self, because the two can never truly exist together.

Let me know in the comments below…Did you enjoy this exercise? Did you learn anything new about The Lovers? Or about yourself?

♥ Join me next week as I dive into The Chariot – one of the fastest moving cards in the deck!