That elusive spark of the Lovers
The Lovers of the Incidental Tarot
Have you ever felt that ecstatic rush when you meet that special someone…the one who ignites something inexplicable within you and sends your heart racing with anticipation? That is the influence of the Lovers: intense feeling, pure passion. The Lovers represents the moment of turning that occurs when you meet someone who will change your life in a profound way. In the same sense, this card is also an indicator of perfect timing, that moment of serendipity within which we forge emotional or sexual bonds and experience epiphanies that propel us forward (or backward) on our path. The Lovers also speaks of compelling esoteric connections, of coming together and a synthesis of ideas. I discovered an aspect of this shortly after I completed the design for this card.
In the spring of 2011, I was immersed in esoteric imagery for a private project I was commissioned to do: an alchemical divination/meditation set of icons. I love the realm of alchemy, with all its inherently mysterious and metaphorical conjurings. Its imagery has always captivated me, though I don’t delve deeply enough in exploring its intense and often contradictory implications. It is a study for which I would require another lifetime of dedication, and so in the here and now, I merely scratch the surface of its deeper wisdom. But from time to time, I am struck by how simple and profound certain of its principles are, and how frequently they will appear (unbeknownst to my conscious mind) in my art.
Shortly after completing the Lovers, I went back to the alchemy project with renewed enthusiasm. I began to go through the resources the client had compiled for me, for symbolism and explanation of the subjects he had commissioned. “Solutio” was the aspect that caught my eye immediately. I pulled up an antique engraving he had forwarded to me of the alchemical Solutio operation, and found to my shock several key elements that I had just incorporated into the Lovers. The two trees, an apple and an oak, the man and woman coming together in and around the flow of water…it was too coincidental. It was serendipitous.
Allegorical Solutio
The essence of the Solutio operation is a dissolving, a breaking down of the outer forms and constructs and return to the “Materia Prima,” or the pure matter that is the basis of all life. Whether speaking chemically or metaphorically, Solutio is a sign of surrendering, merging, and loosening of physical barriers until all that is left is one…the soul, or materia prima. And isn’t that in essence, what happens when we lose ourselves in love or lust? We let go of the fears and barriers we place for ourselves, and submit gratuitously to the bliss of wild abandon. We dissolve ourselves into union with another.
In many Tarot decks, the Lovers offers a twofold message. Love, certainly. Lust, frequently. But there is also the inherent notion of a choice that the Lovers implies. As if to indulge in a profoundly passionate love affair cannot be, in itself, sustainable.
The word passion is defined as “an intense emotion, compelling feeling, enthusiasm or desire for something.” Ironically, the word comes from the ancient Greek term, passio, meaning to suffer. Is it not a coincidence that in experiencing one extreme of love, that one must too often also experience its loss, evoking passion’s earlier, less fortunate meaning? A balance must be struck with passion; for to make room for such a powerful connection in one’s life, one must often let go of something else. And that is not always an easy decision.
READING THE LOVERS: The Lovers indicates a powerful connection or union is emerging; destiny is at work to bring these two forces together. Most often, it represents the coming of an intensely passionate new relationship, a bond that has the power to change the course of the querent’s life. The key to recognizing the influence of the Lovers is that profound sense of serendipity, as if every little twist of fate has ultimately led to this rapturous moment of meeting. But it is not for The Lovers exclusively to dictate whether this newly discovered union paves the path for the future; look to the cards that come up with and around it to clarify its ultimate context within the querent’s life. It is no doubt an important marker for the present, and its presence may imply a choice to be made that will directly impact the course of his or her life.
To define the Lovers in a word: PASSION.
REVERSED. Complete denial of reason, destructive lust, disregard for current relationships. Allowing extreme emotion to rule one’s life, inability to balance romantic relationships with the other aspects of life.