The Tarot of Eli-Major Arcana: Thoth Tarot-ATU 6-The Lovers & Tarot of The Spirit- Key 6- The Lovers

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The Oracle of the Gods is the Child-Voice of Love in Thine Own Soul; hear thou it. Heed not the Siren-Voice of Sense, or the Phantom-Voice of Reason: rest in Simplicity, and listen to the Silence.

-Crowley

The Thoth- ATU 6- THE LOVERS is assigned the astrological sign of Gemini and is about the joining together of the female yin and the male yang. In Ancient Chinese philosophy, yin / yang is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Hence, the magnetic and electric forces joining together to create a greater Self. In Qabalah,Tantra, and Western Magic, the Male force is considered to be Electric and the Female Force is considered to be Magnetic.

This card represents the universal principle of the art and craft of relationship; the union of opposites that creates everything. The Lovers is about the Duality of the Divine Creative---Goddess/God and everything about this card is dual. Hence, the journey of the twins, a universal motif found in all cultures; Hansel and Gretel, Raggedy Andy and Raggedy Ann, Eros and Psyche; all the famous couples throughout history and mythology reflect this archetype of the Lovers.

The Lovers card may be about the subtle love and relationships of the soul and yet it also reminds us that as personalities, we are to be joyful and innocent in love (the two children) while exhibiting curiosity and playfulness; the adult couple facing each other remind us of loyalty and commitment. The Hermit, whose hands are raised in blessing above the couple, reminds us of the need to be alone and granting the gift of spaciousness for the purpose of individual contemplation, introspection and inner self meditation. All parts of balanced and flowing Love. The Iron gates in the background of the Thoth card symbolize the Lovers' need not to be limited, bared or restrained in their relationship. When this card is drawn it often symbolizes a loving relationship, soon to be or even a marriage and/or the inner balance of the female and male forces in an individual. Where the Muse marriers her Paramore.

In the Text, THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM, Dr. Paul Foster Case called THE LOVERS, the Disposing Intelligence. The complexity of this card can barely be presented by the image on the card, and is even difficult to understand as a disposing intelligence. When one classifies this Thoth Card as a Path of the Sword, it might even get more difficult to understand.

THE LOVERS, the Path of Zain/Zayin (meaning Sword), runs between the 3rd Sephiroth- Binah (understanding) and the 6th Sephiroth- Tiphareth (Beauty) and connects the Pure Conscious, from which all forms emerged (Binah) with the central point of Manifestation (Tiphareth). The Sword is the "armor of division", that is required to produce "individuality". The Term Lovers, seems simple enough, yet it is a complex and profound card, as it is not about the romantic love of 2 homo sapiens sapiens, but rather the Twins or duality of the individual, Anima (Spirit) and Animus (Soul) united in pursuit of Divine Love. The True meaning of Key/ATU 6, is embedded in the Astrological sign Gemini, The Twins. The Dual Intelligent Forces of Male and Female, (electric and magnetic), are what THE LOVERS proposes to unite. These are equal and opposite Intelligence that must be united as a major step towards the Godhead on the Tree of Life. The surging of the Divine One Energy, across the Abyss into manifestation, formed stable dualities of electric and magnetic natures. Crowley suggested that the Lovers card is also representative of the loving relationship a Magi must make of the Cain and Abel inside each of us, i.e. the animal and spirit or subconscious and consciousness. Being a marriage of equal and opposites, it is also representative of the first marriage of universal origin, that of the I and Am. In Qabalah, The Great Work, is considered to be a return to the primeval state (As above so below) by the communion or "marriage" of these dualities of manifestation.

As Robert Wang wrote about the Path of Zain (meaning; sword or armor) in his book: THE QABALISTIC TAROT, "Thus this path may be considered the aspect of the Garden of Eden, from which mankind was expelled, but to which it may earn re-entry by conscious dealing with what has been called the inner Sun and Moon. The whole key to the Great Work is uniting of the Sun and the Moon under Mercury (the planet ruling Gemini)."

On the Thoth Tarot Card, THE LOVERS, the Sun is the man, the Moon is the Woman, and the Divine Fire that is above the Abyss (The Vital Force or Serpent Force), is represented as Cupid. Dr.Paul Foster Case has stated that, the Sun is self-consciousness and that the Moon is sub consciousness. Dr.Paul Foster Case, considered these are both aspects of the One Life Breath, each working half of the body. Today we know them as the Male half and the Female half of the human brain. As Case has stated, “When the Solar and Lunar currents of the Life-Power are rightly perceived, rightly discriminated, and when their operation is kept in proper order, the personality of the man engaged in this practice becomes a free, unobstructed channel for the outpouring of the cosmic life force." Case considered THE LOVERS card to represent one of the dualities united by the Spiritual Self; the I AM. Just as most Tantric, and Gnostic practitioner's do. To the Qabalist, The Lovers, represents the union of manifested opposites under the Divine Love of the Supernal (Upper triangle of the Tree of Life) through Binah---The Great Mother. Thus, the Crowley Thoth Lovers Card depicts the theme of union as and Alchemical "Hermetic Marriage" of the female/male component parts of the seeker. Because of the electric and magnetic flow of force that makes all form possible, each Soul, that is born whole, and/or Androgynous but due to the complications of sexual forms, must become/represent male or female, depending on the personality/body they manifest and operate. Therefore, if the body is female, the Soul acts as her male counterpart. If the body is male, the Soul/Psyche, acts as his female counterpart. This is where the overused and least understood concept of "soulmate" has come from. In the process of sexing, we have formed an "individuality" by separating the androgynous counterparts of the Psyche. The Identity of the individual personality is now focused on the extreme sensuality of the Form. Hence, the identity becomes separated from its more subtle "other", and/or most beloved and we have become a divided Psyche.

This division is exploited by the Patriarchy of this world's rulers who faux authority is gained by divisionism. Rulers of word, cause us to believe that our Am is separated from our I. That we must learn/and earn an Identity for as a child we are more Am (imagination) than I and are told what our identity is. Hence, our I is ordained by the words of culture, peer pressure, indoctrination, dogma, i.e., by those who control definition. I find this fascinating, for we had to be identified before we could exist as a creation. Although, the I-Male and Am-Female are simultaneous in the Mental beginning, they are separated in the flesh of a species for even the brain has a membrane between its masculine and feminine halves, each a complete brain unto themselves. This division becomes even thicker membrane by believing in the Patriarchy's sponsored misogyny known as the "battle of the Sexes". Therefore, the Lovers is also about marrying these 2 parts, these twins, as One Greater Psyche. Placing Identity and Imagination as a harmonic couple, a perfect rhythm of I AM. Hence, the image of the dancing twins as Gemini and/or as Shiva and Shakti...the real "soulmates".

Due to the Universal dance, the Path of Zain is an active path, for the self-control and will attributed to Mercury-the communicator- which directs the movement and integration of opposites, is not passive; In fact, it is the fiery force or the Serpent Force known as the Kundalini which is masculine fiery force, united with the Feminine Watery force (flowing in waves as "serpentine:), both in equal measure and full of fiery dynamic and inspirational qualities, that dispose of the "membrane between" the god and goddess within. Now the I and Am dance as 0=2 and/or are symbolized as the lemniscate: 2 circles of one uninterrupted line. This is also the symbol of infinity.

Therefore, the inner hermetic marriage is a red-hot marriage, complete with Honey Moon and resulting "little death". For sure there is a type of death here, as the process of crossing the "membrane of separation" means the death of one's own concepts of self. This devastating passage is a willful and total self-destruction, an annihilation of separation and therefore, an immersion into the Divine I Am.

I'll leave you with a quote from the Gnostic Text, The Gospel of Didymos Judas Thomas where it is written that Jesus answered his disciples with:: (22) " When you make the Two One, and when you make the inside like the outside and the outside like the inside, and the above like the below, and when you make the male and the female one and the same, so that the male not be male nor the female, female; and when you fashion eyes in place of an eye, and a hand in place of a hand, and a foot in place of a foot, and a likeness in place of a likeness; then you will enter the kingdom." Jesus obviously knew of the Principles attributed to THE LOVERS card, but then he was a Nazarene Gnostic Master which is a Qabalist...the Word Christos is Greek and refers to the Sun which is the 6th Sephiroth on the Qabalistic Tree of Life!

Again, In the Text, THIRTY-TWO PATHS OF WISDOM, Paul Foster Case called THE LOVERS, the Disposing Intelligence. We may now see that it disposes of separation/divisionism.

Therefore the True meaning of Key 6, is embedded in the astrological sign Gemini, The Twins. The Dual Intelligent Forces of Male and Female, (electric and magnetic), are what THE LOVERS proposes to unite. These are equal and opposite Intelligence forces that must be united as a major step towards the Godhead on the Tree of Life. The surging of the Divine One Energy, across the Abyss into manifestation, formed stable dualities.

As state or at least intimated, The Great Work, is a return to the primeval state (As above so below) by the communion or "marriage" of these dualities of manifestation.

THE LOVERS and THE ART card of the Thoth Deck Tarot are amongst the most difficult to understand in this culturally indoctrinated world. The Path of the Art Card is Samekh (Meaning Prop) and requires a complete integration of the Personality in its subordination to the Ego (whole-self) in Tiphareth and the Path of THE LOVERS is Zain (Sword of Armor) , the armor of division, and requires a complete integration of the total self by an annihilation of separation manifest in the Microcosm, returning the soul to the aspect of the "Garden" or Macrocosm, from which it emerged.

Thus, we can say that Art is the equilibrium of the Lower Self and THE LOVERS, is the balance of the Higher Self.

In Crowley's card, we have the Royal Marriage of opposites, presided over by the hooded figure that is both the Hermit and Mercury. Eve and Lilith are shown above the couple, with cupid aiming an arrow, symbolizing will. The (illustration of Lilith and Lord Python)

On the Thoth Card the Black King wears a crown of gold, bears a lance, and is attended by the Red Lion, while the Kings black child holds the lance in one hand and a club in the other. The White Queen, crown in silver, is attended by the White Eagle and her white child, that is interchanged with the black child, holds flowers in one hand and the bottom of the Grail in the other. The Product of this union, is the Orphic Egg that is the very essence of Life itself.

The symbolism of the two children, has been noted by Crowley as Cain and Abel, which may seem out of place in a card called THE LOVERS.; However, the process of The Marriage is both reciprocal and repeated over and over again as it is defined by the infinity sign of Mercury-Magus, since the Sun and the Moon unite under Mercury. First one "Brother" dies, being absorbed into the other than there is a return to a balance of opposites after which the second "Brother" is killed and absorbed into the first. Theoretically, return to the Godhead requires that we incarnate repeatedly, in the twelve signs of the Zodiac, reaching perfection in each of the types of incarnation. The Christos incarnation is the perfection reached in Tiphareth which means Beauty in English and is the result of cyclic synchronicity.

THE LOVERS card also relates to the Hermetic Marriage, or "Chemical Wedding", as written in the 17th century in a text called: The Chemical Wedding of Christian Rosenceutz which is one of the key documents of Hermetic-Qabalist. I've found this alchemical text very readable, much like a fairy tale, and yet one of the most profound pieces of esoteric or Gnostic symbolism ever written. The fact that the word Sword or Armor (Zain) is the word meaning of this path and that blood is spilled on this path, are all reconciled and/ or reinforced in this text and is artistically shown in the Tarot Lovers card.

The Tarot of The Spirit- Key 6-The Lovers, has been thoroughly explained in this blog already. In all cases the Lovers card symbolizes the agony of separation and the ecstasy of union. However, union without a senses of oneness, can feel like unfulfilling bondage. The Crowley math of 0=2, displays the fact that in union contains separation and separation contains union; a universally/infinitely repeated action.

Balance of the glyph of Venus, are 2 lovers in an embrace. This is because key 6 is ruled by Venus. The blue of the Female, represents the cosmic Sea of Binah and the orange/yellow of the male represents the Cosmic Fire and/or Chokmah. Here, Binah (Mother God) and Chokmah (Father God) are joined together in Tiphereth (Sun/Son of God).The are seated within a downward pointed phallus, the Universal Male Principle, which in-turn contains the Universal Female Principle of Venus. We can see that the Vertical axis of Venus comes down to a point. This axis represents the middle pillar of the Qabalistic Tree of Life. It is this "Sword of Zain" that culminates with its point (a point in time-is an entity) in manifestation on Malkuth. Also shown is the twin nature of Kundalini (inner soul) depicted as intertwined serpents up the central spine. Above the lovers is a suggestion of the Wings of the Holy Spirit (Whole Spirit) for love is the divine nature that binds the lovers.

When THE LOVERS is thrown during a reading, it is stating a principle of:

• Art and Craft of Relationship.
• What is also suggested is the magical image of the power of surrender in which one form is given up in order to attain another.
• Being involved in a process of cooperation. ---combining energies for a common goal.
• Yin Yang attraction of polarities, or universal forces for one another.
• The power of sexual surrender to the Goddess/God within.
• This card can also mean a love affair with some sort of trial or choice involved... be it marriage or profane love.
• Inspiration.
• Motive power and action arising from inspiration and impulse.
• There is the Tantric Philosophy here also, only through physical union with a female can either a man or god, achieve true reality and the power to deal with it; A Spiritual/ sexual union, is required for shamans, priests, and holy men with the holy female is required before they gain full possession of their powers.
• In other words, the union of rational male right brain with imaginative female left brain must be a thing of beauty/harmony.
• This is also a process for Priestesses, who must be able to invoke the "Divine Phallus" through the Male before they can gain their channeling/birthing Powers inherited from the Divine Hermetic Marriage. In such a marriage, She realizes the true Feminine Power of Limitation. 

If ill defined by the surrounding cards:

• Unattainable ideal of love.
• Repressive neurosis.
• Self-sacrifice.
• Indecision. 
• Inconsistency within oneself. 

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