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The Thoth ATU VI – THE LOVERS (Zain): The Hieros Gamos Within

The Lovers of the Thoth Tarot, attributed to the sign Gemini and the Hebrew letter Zain (meaning Sword), is far more than a poetic emblem of human romance. It is an alchemical formula—one of the most essential in the entire Tree of Life—depicting the inner marriage of opposites within the Soul itself.

Gemini’s duality is not a war of halves but the revelation that the psyche is structured as a pair of primordial polarities:
• Electric/Phallic – Yang – Active – Will
• Magnetic/Yoni – Yin – Receptive – Imagination

These are not “man” and “woman” but the very architectural poles of consciousness. Within the human microcosm they appear as the left and right hemispheres of the brain, the conscious and subconscious, the rational and the intuitive, the solar and lunar archetypes that give the psyche its geometry.

The Lovers is the formula of 0 = 2 and 2 = 1, the mystery by which the One becomes Two in order to know itself, and the Two reunite to make a higher synthesis—the Child.

Crowley’s oracular statement for this card reveals the necessity of this union:

“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.”

This card is a command: Return to the Inner Marriage and silence the distortions of both raw instinct (“sense”) and over-intellectualization (“reason”). When both are purified, harmonized, and voluntarily united, the Child-Voice—the emerging Holy Guardian Angel consciousness—speaks clearly.

The Hermetic Structure Behind the Image

In the Thoth Tarot, The Lovers is not just a couple. It is an entire alchemical ceremony:
• The King and Queen (Will and Imagination)
• The Hermit as officiant (the Yod-spark of the Supernal Father)
• The Cup and Lance (the two powers of creation)
• The Orphic Egg (the potential of the Child to come)
• The alchemical lion and eagle (Fire and Water, tamed into cooperation)

This is no sentimental romance—it is the Great Work in its earliest creative stage.

On the Tree of Life, Zain connects Binah (Understanding) to Tiphereth (Beauty—the Soul). Thus the path of The Lovers is how the Holy Guardian Angel descends from the Great Mother’s womb of Understanding into the heart of the incarnate Self.

The Universal Twin Motif

The Lovers is a universal mythic pattern: the twinship inherent in creation. Every culture encodes this truth in its sacred pairings:

• Shakti & Shiva
• Isis & Osiris
• Radha & Krishna
• Jesus & Mary Magdalene (esoteric lineage)
• Hansel & Gretel—siblings surviving the Shadow Mother
• Beauty & the Beast—Ego and Shadow seeking transformation
• Even Raggedy Ann & Andy—archetypal innocence divided into two dolls

These are not “couples” but polarities meeting their counterpart in order to re-enter unity.

The Lovers in Practical Interpretation

While the Thoth deck makes clear that this card’s highest meaning is spiritual, it also expresses itself on the mundane planes as:

• romantic union rooted in soul-resonance
• partnerships that mirror one’s inner polarity
• a project, path, or passion that completes the seeker
• confronting and integrating one’s inner opposite—Anima/Animus
• conscious healing of the fractured psyche
• moving from dualistic, reactive mind into unified awareness

The Lovers is always about relationship, but often the relationship is not with another person—it is the relationship between your own inner forces, seeking alignment for the next phase of the Great Work.

The Key Insight

When The Lovers appears, the Soul is attempting to reunite its own poles.
The “Two” you see—desire and discipline, intuition and logic, feminine and masculine—are preparing to become the One Child, the new state of consciousness that arises only after the inner marriage is consummated.

It is the turning point where the aspirant changes from being torn between dualities to becoming the living vessel through which duality produces creative intelligence.

The Lovers: Innocence, Union, and the Architecture of Sacred Space

In the Thoth Tarot, The Lovers is indeed a card of love and relationship—but not in the simplistic, romantic sense often promoted in popular tarot culture. Instead, it presents the architecture of spiritual intimacy: the dynamic equilibrium between unity and individuality, devotion and selfhood, innocence and sovereignty.

While the card carries profound alchemical symbolism, its most accessible teaching is found in its depiction of the two children. They represent the original joy and playfulness inherent in pure love—long before conditioning, fear, or expectation distort it. This is the uncorrupted state of the Twin Souls, the primordial curiosity of the psyche exploring itself through mirroring. In this sense, The Lovers reminds the aspirant to return to a childlike openness within relationship:
• curiosity instead of fear,
• playfulness instead of rigidity,
• and genuine wonder instead of jaded expectation.

The adult couple who stand behind the children exemplify the next octave of the same formula—the matured dimensions of intimacy: loyalty, commitment, reciprocity, and the conscious honoring of a shared bond. They show that innocence does not exclude responsibility; rather, innocence informs it. When the childlike openness of the heart is carried into adulthood, fidelity becomes not an obligation but a natural expression of resonance.

The Hermit’s Benediction: Solitude as a Pillar of Union

Hovering above the union scene is the Thoth Hermit—the figure of Yod, the spark of Divine Will, the silent lantern-bearer of inner truth. With his hands raised in benediction, he imparts the essential Hermetic reminder: love requires spaciousness.

His position over the couple symbolizes that even the most sacred union thrives only when both partners preserve threads of solitude for:
• introspection,
• self-discovery,
• spiritual retreat,
• and communion with the Holy Guardian Angel.

This is not distance but depth.
 

The Hermit instructs us that a relationship becomes stagnant or distorted when both individuals neglect the inner pilgrimage. Thus, in the geometry of The Lovers, solitude is not the opposite of union—it is one of its pillars.

His blessing sanctifies the understanding that the bond between two souls remains strong only when each soul continues to develop its own luminosity.

The Sword Gates and the Path of Zain

Behind the figures rise the Sword-shaped gates, one of the most overlooked yet crucial symbols on the card. They belong to the Path of Zain (Zayin), the 17th path on the Tree of Life—connecting Binah (Understanding) to Tiphereth (Beauty, the Soul).

Zain means:
• Sword,
• Weapon,
• Armor,
• and symbolically, the power of discrimination.

The Sword in Qabalah is not violence—it is discernment, the ability to maintain clarity and freedom within connection. This reveals a vital truth of The Lovers:
 

Love should not become a cage.

The Sword Gates signify:
• the lovers must never confine one another,
• the relationship must not become a prison or limitation,
• each partner must retain their sovereignty,
• and love must allow movement, exploration, and evolution.

The Path of Zain cuts away possessiveness, fear, and false expectations, ensuring that the union serves the spirit instead of binding it.

Thus the gates are not barriers—they are protections. They prevent the lovers from collapsing into fusion, codependency, or loss of individuality. They are the sacred guardians of the freedom required for genuine union.

The Hermetic Formula

Bringing these layers together, The Lovers teaches that balanced, flowing love requires:

1. Innocence and Play — the childlike heart open to wonder.

2. Devotion and Commitment — the mature heart grounded in reciprocity.

3. Solitude and Inner Work — the Hermit’s gift of personal space for spiritual development.

4. Freedom and Discernment — the Sword Gates ensuring that union does not devolve into limitation.

When these four streams merge, The Lovers expresses its highest formula:
Union that magnifies the Self rather than constricting it.
Love that is both sanctuary and liberation.

The Hermetic Qabalah also recognizes that there is more than one gender manifesting in Malkuth.

The Five Gender Principles Through a Hermetic Qabalistic Lens

Many Native American tribes recognized five gender principles rather than the narrow binary common in later European thought. While terminology differs among nations, the general schema often includes:

1. Masculine-Man

2. Feminine-Woman

3. Masculine-Woman (female-bodied, masculine-spirited)

4. Feminine-Man (male-bodied, feminine-spirited)

5. Two-Spirit (a sacred or liminal gender, often combining or alternating energies)

Hermetically, these five principles map elegantly onto the Qabalistic patterns that govern polarity, synthesis, and the embodiment of Spirit in matter.

They are not merely “genders,” but states of polarity-expression—how the One manifests itself in differentiated vessels.

1. The Binary of Creation: Chokmah and Binah

Hermetic Qabalah begins not with biological sex, but with the archetypal poles of Creation:

• Chokmah — Pure Masculine force (Electric, Projective, Yang)

• Binah — Pure Feminine form (Magnetic, Receptive, Yin)

These are the original “gender energies” of the Universe.
They are not human traits, nor do they imply physical bodies.
They are cosmic principles, the architecture of polarity required for any manifestation.

In the Native gender systems, the “Masculine-Man” and “Feminine-Woman” correspond to these archetypal poles—not because they must be, but because they represent aligned embodiments of the primary currents.

These two principles reflect:
the dual pillars—the Jachin and Boaz of the Tree.

But the Tree of Life is not built of two pillars—it is built of three.

And this is where the other gender principles appear.

2. The Middle Pillar: The Path of Integration

The Native gender principles 3, 4, and 5 correspond to the Middle Pillar, especially Tiphareth (the Soul), Yesod (the Etheric), and the harmonizing paths in-between.

Masculine-Woman

A female-bodied person whose energetic polarity leans toward Chokmah’s qualities (projective, active, directional).
This is not “masculine” in a cultural sense but in an energetic sense.

Feminine-Man

A male-bodied person whose energetic polarity leans toward Binah’s qualities (receptive, intuitive, fluid).
Again, this is not “feminine” in a societal sense but a manifestation of the magnetic current.

These two principles express cross-polar embodiment, where the vessel and the energetic current reflect different Sephirothic leanings.

In Qabalistic terms, these individuals embody the harmonizing currents that flow between the pillars, where the soul expresses itself beyond physical form.

3. The Fifth Principle: Two-Spirit and the Androgyne of Tiphareth

The Two-Spirit identity (with great cultural variation) maps directly onto the Hermetic concept of the Divine Androgyne, located centrally at Tiphareth—the Sephirah of Beauty, Harmony, and the Solar Self.

Historically in many tribes, Two-Spirit people were:

• mediators

• healers

• diviners

• ceremonial specialists

• keepers of balance

This is identical to the Qabalistic description of the Solar Being—the Child of the union of Chokmah and Binah, the androgynous Vav of the Tetragrammaton, the reconciler of opposites.

In Hermetic symbolism:

• The Two-Spirit is the living expression of 0=2 and 2=1.

• They embody the Lovers formula (Zain), but internalized.

• They resonate with Tiphereth, where duality is reconciled into a luminous third state.

• They personify the Hermetic hieros gamos (inner sacred marriage).

Thus, the Two-Spirit role is not just “a blend” of masculine and feminine—it is the embodied Third Principle, the Child of the Alchemical Marriage.

This is why so many tribes considered Two-Spirit people to be sacred, liminal, powerful, and essential to the spiritual life of the community.
They held the same place that the Hermetic Mysteries assign to:

• The Hermaphrodite of the alchemists

• The Adam Kadmon of Kether

• The Solar Child of Tiphareth

• The Androgyne of the Lovers card

4. The Five Principles as the Pentagram of the Human Soul

When mapped onto Hermetic symbolism, the five gender principles create a perfect Pentagram, corresponding to the five points of the microcosmic human:

1. Masculine-Man → Fire (Yod)

2. Feminine-Woman → Water (Heh)

3. Masculine-Woman → Air (Vav expressed through a feminine vessel)

4. Feminine-Man → Earth (Heh-final expressed through a masculine vessel)

5. Two-Spirit → Spirit (the fifth point rising above the other four)

This is the same pentagram Crowley references in the Liber V vel Reguli formula—Spirit ruling the four elements.

Thus the Two-Spirit identity is not merely a “combination” but a fifth elemental principle, the integrator of all others.

5. The Hermetic Conclusion

From a Hermetic Qabalistic perspective, the five gender principles recognized by many Native American cultures are not a deviation from the binary—they are a more complete expression of the energetic spectrum of incarnation.

They reveal that:

• gender is an emanation of consciousness, not a limitation

• the binary is the foundation, not the whole structure

• the soul expresses itself across multiple energetic configurations

• the “third principle” (Two-Spirit) is the Hermetic Child of the Divine

• the Pentagram—not the dual pillars—is the true map of human gender

In other words:

Native gender systems reflect the same esoteric truth as the Qabalah:
Creation is not twofold, but fivefold;
not a binary, but a star.

The Lovers as the Disposing Intelligence

Paul Foster Case and the Hermetic Meaning of “Disposal”

In The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom, Paul Foster Case designates the Path of Zain—The Lovers—as The Disposing Intelligence. On the surface, the English word “dispose” implies throwing away, releasing, or giving something over. Yet in Hermetic Qabalah, Case is pointing toward something far more profound than mere relinquishment.

To dispose is to empty oneself
so that something higher may enter.

It is the intelligence that removes the illusion of separateness, clearing the way for the recognition of unity.

Thus, the Disposing Intelligence is the power that dissolves the false individuality, the egoic sense of being a disconnected fragment, so that the greater Self may emerge as the operative consciousness.

In the context of The Lovers, disposal means:

Two must remove their isolated selfhood to enter the One.

1. Disposal as the Annihilation of Egoic Individuality

The Path of Zain connects Binah (Understanding) with Tiphereth (Beauty), meaning that it is the path where the soul sacrifices its limited self-definition to become aligned with its higher solar identity.

Case’s designation reveals the core formula of The Lovers:

• the lower individuality is disposed of,

• the false ego is released,

• the separate self is given away,

• so that the unified consciousness can arise.

This is the same formula expressed by the traditional mystical marriage:

0 becomes 2,
2 becomes 1,
and 1 becomes more than it was before.

To truly unite, the protagonists in this inner alchemical drama must relinquish their rigid self-positions.

This is disposal in its highest, Hermetic sense.

2. Zain the Sword as the Instrument of Disposal

The Hebrew letter Zain, meaning Sword, is the tool of this intelligence.

What does a sword do?

• It cuts away,

• divides illusion from reality,

• severs the unreal from the real,

• and pierces through the shell of the ego.

Thus, the Lovers’ sword gates (in the Thoth image) symbolize the cutting away of the false sense of separateness.

The sword’s role is not destructive—it is clarifying.
It “disposes” of what is untrue, thereby creating space for the true union.

3. The Communion of Two Becoming One

In this path, disposal is the giving up of:

• self-importance

• rigid ego identity

• separateness

• the illusion of “me vs. you”

• the fear of vulnerability

• the clinging to isolation

The Lovers teach that real union requires the complete surrender of the false self.

To enter the One, the two must let go of the egoic persona that keeps them divided. This doesn’t annihilate the true individuality (the eternal solar Self), but eradicates the illusory individuality—the husk that believes itself separate from the Divine.

Thus, Disposing Intelligence is the power that:

throws away the fragmented identity
so the unified Soul may be revealed.

4. Hermetic Marriage as Ego-Death

In mystical terms, the Lovers represent:

• the ego’s death through love

• the dissolving of duality in the heart

• the surrender of separateness in exchange for unity

• the alchemical merging of opposites into the Child

This is why the Lovers precede Art (Temperance) on the Tree:
the raw merging of opposites must occur before their true alchemical transmutation.

In Art, the opposites are fused into a perfected synthesis.
In the Lovers, the work is the annihilation of division.

Case’s term “Disposing Intelligence” perfectly describes this preliminary stage.

5. Disposal Leads to the Solar Self

Once the false ego is sacrificed at the gate of Zain:

• the Soul at Tiphareth awakens,

• the Holy Guardian Angel becomes accessible,

• the child consciousness is born,

• the microcosm aligns with the macrocosm.

The Lovers do not destroy individuality—they destroy the illusory separate individuality so the True Individuality, the Solar Self, may radiate unobstructed.

In Hermetic terms, this is:

the annihilation of ego
and the revelation of the Divine Androgyne within.

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

In Summary

Paul Foster Case calls The Lovers the Disposing Intelligence because:

• It disposes of the illusion of separateness.

• It cuts away the false ego.

• It prepares the Soul for union with its Divine counterpart.

• It clears space for the rebirth of the Solar Self.

• It is the inner hieros gamos where individuality is given over to unity.

Thus, “two becoming one in wholly communion” is not poetic metaphor—it is the literal function of Zain.

The Lovers is the instrument of ego-death,
the midwife of the Solar Child,
and the path where the false dies so the real may emerge.

Arcane Tarot – Key 6 – The Lovers

The Royal Garden of Choice, Union, and the Divine Embrace

The Arcane Tarot’s Lovers depicts a courtly couple embracing in a lush Garden of Eden—an image deliberately saturated with symbolism. Their extravagant medieval garments, the attire of nobility, emphasize that the union shown here is not casual affection but a sacred and sovereign bond, the joining of two beings who recognize the divinity within one another.

The garden—fertile, blooming with red and yellow roses—is a classic esoteric symbol:

• Red roses → passion, vitality, desire, the fire of the active principle

• Yellow roses → intellect, clarity, reason, the solar virtue of Tiphareth

Together, the roses mirror the fusion of heart and mind that every true relationship requires: emotional warmth balanced by conscious clarity.

Above the couple, the angel Raphael, the great Healer and Divine Guide of Mercury, extends a blessing. Raphael’s presence elevates the scene beyond earthly romance—he signifies the higher intelligence that oversees human unions, the spiritual contract behind every meaningful connection. His influence also hints at the Lovers’ deeper message: the healing—and sometimes the testing—of relationships, values, and choices.

Thus, the Arcane Tarot version retains the heart of the traditional Lovers meaning:
relationships, ideals, and choice.

Upright Meaning

Personal Development

Upright, this card urges you to refine, clarify, and consciously build your own system of beliefs and values. The Lovers calls for alignment: choices must reflect who you truly are rather than what others expect from you.

It may also indicate a moment in which you must choose between two paths, ideologies, or desires. These may appear opposite, but the lesson is to choose in harmony with your inner truth.

Relationships

The Lovers upright often heralds a strong, mutual, and soulful connection. The medieval clothing in the Arcane Tarot suggests the “royal” quality of the union—the idea that both individuals recognize their inherent dignity and honor each other as sovereigns.

Traditionally, Lovers imagery includes nudity, which speaks to emotional vulnerability, honesty, and transparency. The message remains:
To love deeply, you must be willing to be seen completely.

Career

In career readings, The Lovers may indicate:

• a beneficial business partnership,

• collaboration based on mutual trust,

• or romantic feelings arising in the workplace.

Since the card is also about choice, it serves as a caution:
Be aware of the long-term implications of a workplace romance or partnership.

Reversed Meaning

Reversed, The Lovers points to disharmony, either:

• within yourself (inner conflict, divided will, confusion about values),
  or

• within a relationship (imbalances, lack of communication, emotional misalignment).

It may also signal that you are avoiding a choice or delaying a decision that must be made. The reversal implies fragmentation—two forces pulling in different directions, calling for reevaluation and reintegration.

The Lovers and the Magus: Uniting the Sun and Moon Within

The Lovers card is not merely an emblem of external partnership; it is primarily a glyph of inner union, the sacred work every Magus must undertake to harmonize the two fundamental currents of the psyche.

In the Hermetic tradition, these currents are symbolized by:

• The Sun – the rational, conscious, active, solar will

• The Moon – the imaginal, subconscious, receptive, lunar soul

This is the same polarity Carl Jung identified as the Animus (inner masculine) and Anima (inner feminine). The Lovers describes the hieros gamos—the sacred inner marriage—by which these forces are brought into conscious relationship.

Only through this union can the Magus awaken the Child, the unified Self that transcends polarity.

1. The Sun and Moon as the Two Pillars of the Psyche

The Lovers depicts the two great forces that govern human consciousness:

The Sun — Reason, Will, Direction

Solar consciousness corresponds to:

• clarity

• deliberate will

• executive action

• focused intellect

• the discriminating power of Zain, the Sword

This is the light-self, the conscious ego’s active component.

The Moon — Imagination, Emotion, Dreaming

Lunar consciousness corresponds to:

• intuition

• imagination

• emotional flow

• symbolic language

• the receptive vessel of Binah

This is the shadow-self, not because it is dark, but because it is internal—felt rather than seen.

The Lovers teaches that these two are complementary halves of the same Self, not opposing forces but necessary participants in the Great Work.

To neglect either half is to create imbalance:

• Reason without imagination becomes sterility.

• Imagination without reason becomes chaos.

The Magus must cultivate the marriage of both, not the dominance of one.

2. The Inner Lovers: Anima & Animus in Jungian Terms

Jung recognized that each person carries within them:

• an inner feminine (Anima), representing emotional depth, intuition, dreaming, and imagination;

• an inner masculine (Animus), representing rational thought, direction, focus, and conscious will.

For Jung, these are not psychological quirks—they are archetypal structures of the psyche.

In Hermetic Qabalah, these correspond perfectly to:

• Binah → Anima

• Chokmah → Animus

• Tiphereth → The Child born of their union

Thus, The Lovers card is the very image of Jung’s central inner work: bringing the unconscious and conscious into loving relationship.

The Magus must court the Anima and befriend the Animus, allowing the two to dance rather than battle within the psyche.

3. The Alchemical Marriage: The Great Work Begins Here

In alchemy, the marriage of Sun and Moon is the coniunctio, the essential formula that begins the creation of the Philosopher’s Stone.

The Lovers is the tarot’s depiction of this:
the Red King (Sun) embracing the White Queen (Moon).

This formula creates:

• integration

• equilibrium

• the rising of the sacred Child (the Solar Self)

• the harmonization of thought and feeling

• inner sovereignty

When these forces are deeply reconciled, the Magus no longer oscillates between emotional storms and intellectual rigidity. Instead, the psyche becomes a unified vessel capable of true will.

4. The Magus Must Become the Third Principle

The real power of The Lovers is not found in the Sun or Moon alone—it is found in the Child who stands between them.

This Child is:

• the Holy Guardian Angel

• the Solar Self

• the unified consciousness

• the “Disposing Intelligence” (Case)

• the Divine Androgyne

• Tiphereth, the Beauty of the Soul

• the Higher Genius

The Magus must become this Child through the reconciliation of the Sun and Moon within.

This is why the Hermit (Yod) blesses the marriage in the Thoth card—he is the signal that from this union, the perfected Self will be born.

5. The Practical Teaching for the Aspirant

For a modern reader or practitioner, The Lovers teaches:

• If your reason and imagination do not love each other, your life remains divided.

• If your rational mind suppresses your emotional world, the inner marriage fails.

• If your emotional world overwhelms your rational clarity, union cannot occur.

• True selfhood emerges only when the Sun and Moon work as partners.

A Magus must allow:

• the Sun to give the Moon direction,

• the Moon to give the Sun depth,

• the Sword (Zain) to cut away illusions,

• and the Hermit to bless the union with wisdom.

Only then does the psyche become a vessel of Soul, not ego.

Conclusion

The Lovers card reveals the sacred inner relationship a Magus must cultivate within themselves: the union of Sun and Moon, Anima and Animus, reason and imagination, light-self and shadow-self.

This is not romance—this is the Great Work of Selfhood.

When the inner lovers join in harmony, the Divine Child is born, and the Magus becomes whole, radiant, and capable of true magical will.

The Lovers card assigns the Sun in the astrological house of Geminin. In astrology, the Sun sign represents the core essence of an individual's personality. When the Sun is in Gemini, people are born between May 21 and June 20. Here are some characteristics associated with individuals born under the Sun sign Gemini:

1. Adaptable and Versatile: Geminis are known for their flexibility and adaptability. They can easily adjust to different situations and are open to change.

2. Intellectual and Curious: Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication and intellect. People with the Sun in Gemini are often curious, intelligent, and enjoy learning about a variety of subjects.

3. Expressive and Communicative: Communication is a key strength for Geminis. They are articulate, witty, and enjoy engaging in conversations. They may have a natural flair for language and expression.

4. Social and Charming: Geminis are typically social butterflies, enjoying the company of others. They are charming, friendly, and can connect with people from various walks of life.

5. Restless and Energetic: There's a sense of restlessness in Geminis, as they are constantly seeking new experiences and intellectual stimulation. They may have a lot of energy and find it hard to stay still for long periods.

6. Dual Nature: Symbolized by the Twins, Geminis are often associated with dualities. This can manifest as having dual interests, personalities, or perspectives. They may be perceived as having a changeable nature.

7. Inquisitive and Playful: Geminis have a playful and curious nature. They enjoy exploring new ideas, concepts, and activities, often approaching life with a sense of light-heartedness.

8. Quick Thinkers: Geminis tend to be quick thinkers, able to process information rapidly. This agility of thought allows them to adapt swiftly to changing circumstances.

9. Restlessness in Relationships: Geminis may experience restlessness in relationships, seeking variety and mental stimulation. It's important for them to find partners who understand and appreciate their need for diversity.

Remember that astrology provides general traits associated with each Sun sign, and individual personalities can vary based on other astrological factors in a person's birth chart.

Divine partnering is not limited to species or gender as this is not about procreation. This divine partnering is even seen in the Oceans as a clown fish and an anemone are often symbiotic partners, each fulfilling the need of the other. The lover's is definitely not limited to human experience it is the experience of the Divine Creative as "I" and "other". The duality that creates all life.

This immersion into the Collective is well said in Gnostic Text of the Nag Hammadi Library, The Gospel of Didymos Judas Thomas, where it is written that Jesus answered his disciple's question of "When shall we enter the Kingdom?" Jesus said: (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 (2) in place of an eye (I), 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."

✧ Elucidation of Saying 22 from The Gospel of Thomas ✧

Jesus says:

"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..."

This speaks directly to the Great Work — the alchemical unification of all apparent opposites into a singular, divine Whole.

The entire spiritual path, in both Gnostic and Hermetic traditions, is to overcome the illusion of duality and reawaken the original Unity (Pleroma / Kether / Adam Qadmon).

Let's break down the components:

✧ "Make the Two One"

• The first and great division was the splitting of unity into polarity — light and dark, male and female, spirit and matter.

• Making the Two One is the sacred Reconciliation — an inner fusion of all dualities.

• In Hermetic Qabalah: Chokmah and Binah, Force and Form, reunite through the agency of Tiphareth, the Solar Self.

• In Gnosticism: The Divine Spark (Sophia's child) imprisoned in matter is reunited with the Light of the Father.

Thus:
Inner Work = Alchemical Marriage — not by denying dualities, but fusing them into a greater harmony.

✧ "Inside like the outside, and outside like the inside"

• This is the Law of Correspondence: "As above, so below." (Emerald Tablet of Hermes Trismegistus)

• The microcosm (individual soul) reflects the macrocosm (universe).

• True Adeptship means that no boundary exists between inner consciousness and outer reality — they mirror one another perfectly.

• Hermetic Rituals seek to bring the inner vision into the external world through act, symbol, and word — making the outside a sacred mirror of the inner divine.

Thus:

The Kingdom is entered when your inner world and your actions in the outer world are in perfect resonance.

✧ "Above like the below"

• Again, the principle of Hermetic Correspondence.

• Kether (the highest Sephirah) is mirrored in Malkuth (the Kingdom).

• Spirit and Matter must be reconciled — the Kingdom is not escaped, but fulfilled through conscious embodiment.

Thus:

Heaven is not elsewhere; it is born through union within the living soul.

✧ "Make the male and the female one and the same"

• This is profound.

• The "male" and "female" here are not merely biological — they are symbolic of active and receptive principles, Yang and Yin, Solar and Lunar forces.

• To transcend gender polarity within is to become Androgynos — the original Adamic being before division.

In Western Hermetic Qabalah:

• Tiphareth (Solar Consciousness) is androgynous — both the King and Queen united in Beauty.

• The Magus must merge his/her Anima and Animus to become whole.

• Crowley speaks of "the androgynous Self" that is the true Magician.

Thus:

The Soul transcends gender by integrating all energies into One radiant consciousness.

✧ "Fashion eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand..."

This strange imagery reflects the renewal of perception:

• "Eye for an Eye" becomes "Eyes for an Eye":
  A higher sight replaces the mundane sight — multiple levels of vision awaken (physical, astral, spiritual).

• "Hand for a hand":
  Actions are no longer from egoic self-will, but through the Hand of God operating through the purified vessel.

• "Foot for a foot":
  The path is no longer walked by mundane intent, but by the Feet of Spirit, walking the Way of Return.

• "Likeness for likeness":
  The outer form is re-clothed with inner Light, becoming a reflection of the True Image (Imago Dei).

Thus:

You reforge yourself into a New Being, remade in the pattern of the True and Holy Image.

✧ Hermetic Summary:

✧ Forward-Hermetic Thought:

Ultimately, Jesus in this Gnostic gospel teaches Alchemical Regeneration — becoming a consciously created Divine Being (immortal).

The "Kingdom" is not some far-off place.
The "Kingdom" is you, transmuted.
It is the birth of the Solar Child within, who sees no division, no separation, no limitation — only Unity in multiplicity.

"Blessed are the Solitaires and Elect, for you will find the Kingdom. For you are from it, and to it you will return."
(Gospel of Thomas, Saying 49)

Yeshua/Jesus obviously knew of the principles attributed to THE LOVERS card, but then he was a Nazarene Gnostic Master which is a Kabbalist (ironically, he rebelled against organized religion: hence to believe in the Christ with in all of us, is to not believe in Patriarchy controlled Religion) … Besides, the Word Christos is Greek and refers to the Sun, which is the 6th Sephiroth who also happens to be hermaphroditic. Therefore, the Lovers, is a return to the original marriage of Binah and Chokmah, the Divine Creative.

  The union between the Earth and the Sun, is the union between two Divine Intelligences, for they are both Living Beings (immortals).

THE LOVERS card and the marriage that becomes consummated in the ATU 14- ART card of the Thoth Tarot is amongst the most difficult to understand. The Path of the Art Card is represented as the Hebrew letter- Samekh (Meaning Prop shown on both cards is the sign of Gemini) and requires a complete integration of the Personality (lesser ego) in its subordination to the Greater Ego (whole-self) in Tiphareth-The Solar self (Soul) that is a combination of Hermes and Aphrodite (Hermaphrodite) in equal measure.

The Path of THE LOVERS is represented by the Hebrew letter- Zain (Sword or Armor) and requires a complete integration of the total self-manifest in the Microcosm, returning the soul to the aspect of the "Garden" or Macrocosm, from which it emerged. Hence 0=2 who return to the Alchemical solution and coagulation becoming 2=1.

Therefore, the Lovers card is the marriage, achieved by going inward to one's Source and the Art card is the Divine Orgasm of the Consummated marriage that seals together, by fire (Kundalini), the perceived separation of the Anima and Animus so that the "male is no longer male and the female is no longer female."

Eve and Lilith on the Thoth Lovers: The Two Faces of the Inner Anima

One of the most overlooked details in the Thoth Tarot Lovers card is the presence of the two female figures atop the side pillars—a profound symbolic inclusion by Lady Frieda Harris and Aleister Crowley. These figures embody Eve and Lilith, two archetypal expressions of the Divine Feminine, whose reconciliation is essential for the inner alchemical marriage the card portrays.

Most students focus on the marriage below and overlook the primal feminine polarity above—yet it is precisely this upper polarity that makes the entire card an initiatory formula.

Eve and Lilith: The Split Anima

Eve – The Compliant Feminine

Eve represents:

• cooperation

• nurturance

• relational harmony

• the receptive and socially “approved” feminine

• the part of the psyche that seeks connection and belonging

She is the “sanctioned” form of the Divine Feminine within patriarchal frameworks—soft, compliant, and pleasing.

Lilith – The Independent Feminine

Lilith represents:

• sovereignty

• sexual autonomy

• fierce power

• instinctual knowing

• the feminine that refuses subjugation

She is the “unapproved” feminine—exiled, demonized, or misunderstood within patriarchal narratives precisely because she represents uncontrolled and unapologetic power.

In Jungian terms, these two figures are split faces of the Anima, the unconscious inner feminine within every soul, regardless of gender.

The Hermetic Teaching: These Opposites Must Be Reconciled

Crowley’s Lovers card shows that the inner marriage of masculine and feminine cannot occur until Eve and Lilith are no longer enemies within the psyche.

The two women stand atop the pillars for a reason:

They are the supernal feminine polarity that frames the entire alchemical operation.

The side pillars of the Tree (Boaz and Jachin) contain the polarities of Severity and Mercy, Form and Force. On the Lovers card, Eve and Lilith occupy these positions—showing that the inner feminine is dually structured and must be balanced, not divided.

Patriarchy forces a split:

• The “good woman” (Eve) is rewarded.

• The “rebellious woman” (Lilith) is punished or cast out.

This is not just social conditioning—it is psychic dismemberment. A house divided cannot stand, and a psyche divided against its own feminine principle cannot achieve wholeness.

The Magus must heal the split.

Why Patriarchy Split the Feminine

Patriarchal systems depend on the illusion that:

• the phallus (force) is the creator of life,

• while the womb (form) is secondary, passive, or irrelevant.

But in the Hermetic tradition, Qabalah, alchemy, and biology itself:

Form is the true matrix of manifestation.
Life comes through the Womb, not around it.

Patriarchy’s fundamental lie is that the Will-to-Force alone is supreme. Yet without the Will-to-Form—the shaping matrix of Being—nothing incarnates.

Thus patriarchy divides woman against herself, because an integrated feminine is invincible.
A divided feminine can be controlled, shamed, or redirected.

The Lovers card restores the truth:

Woman is Life, and Life is woman.
She is the matrix of incarnation.
No creative force exists without her.

Eve and Lilith must be reunited because they are both required for the creation of the Child—the unified Self.

On the Thoth Card the Black King wears a crown of gold, bears a lance, and is attended by the Red Lion, while the King's 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, which is interchanged with the black child, holds flowers in one hand and the bottom of the Grail (Womb) in the other. The product of this union is the Orphic Egg (egg wrapped in serpent) that is the very essence of Universal Life itself and making the child born of the Union most important. The Orphic Egg or Egg of Akasha is the 0 who becomes 2.

Eve + Lilith: The Dancing Twins

When these two principles are reconciled:

• the compliant and the sovereign

• the nurturing and the powerful

• the relational and the independent

• the lunar and the fiery

• the soft and the fierce

…they become the Dancing Twins—a pair that moves in harmony rather than opposition.

This is the wholeness of the Feminine, no longer profaned by patriarchal dogma or divided through indoctrination.

The reunited Feminine becomes the living Shekinah, the radiant inner Anima who lifts and guides the psyche toward the Solar Child of Tiphareth.

Only when the Feminine is whole can the Masculine unite with her in truth.

Hermetic Conclusion

The two female figures atop the Thoth Lovers card reveal a fundamental truth of the Great Work:

Before the union of masculine and feminine can occur,
the Feminine must be made whole within the psyche.

Eve and Lilith, once set against each other, must:

• reconcile

• reintegrate

• respect each other

• and dance together as equal expressions of the Divine

For only then can the true inner marriage—the sacred hieros gamos—take place.

And only then can the Holy Child, the Tiphareth soul, be born from the union of:

• a healed Feminine,

• a conscious Masculine,

• and the Sword of Zain that cuts away all illusions.

The outer relationships we have on earth reflect the inner relationships we have with our inner-lover-the anima and animus of the Soul. If the Divine Partnership- of the Feminine and Masculine are at odds in our inner-self, none of our outer relationships shall be fulfilling.

THE THOTH - ATU 6- and the Lost Soul Tarot-Key 6-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 Rosenkreutz which is one of the key documents of the Western Hermetic-Qabalist and considered a Rosicrucian text. 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 (Zayin) is the word meaning of this path and that blood is spilled on this path, are all reconciled and/ or reinforced in this text. This understanding of united paradoxes requires some meditation on the Alchemical text. Each of us is Female and Male, as the brain shows its Hermaphrodite (Hermes & Aphrodite) construction. Just remember, to be both rational and intuitive in equal measure and you will begin the process of reuniting the Divine Couple within your body, making it the honeymoon suite of the Divine Creative. We may not accurately dream of what that Divine Hermaphrodite is, but rest assured, it has dreamt you into existence.

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 attaining 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, Divine, or profane love.  
• There is the Tantric Philosophy here also, only through physical union with a female/Dakini, can either a man or Immortal Being, achieve true reality and the power to deal with it; A Spiritual/ sexual union, is required for shamans, priests, and holy men with the Divine-Feminine is required before they gain full possession of their powers.  
• There is also a process, in ritual magic, for Priestesses, who must be able to invoke the "Divine He" through the Male before they can gain their Powers of "Will to Force", inherited from the Divine Hermetic Marriage
•  In other words, the union of rational male right brain with imaginative female left brain must be a thing of beauty.
• Spiritual love.

If ill defined by the surrounding cards:

• Unattainable ideal of love.
• Repressive neurosis.
• Indecisiveness.
• Inconsistency within oneself.

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