the Lovers (from realms of Light)
The Lovers (6) are the anima and animus. They are the dots in the yin-yang. Taken as one unit they are the All before separation. Yet they are plural so we cannot take them as one unit. We must see them as their own selves.
The Lovers recognize the Holy in the Other and as such they offer a mirroring effect. It is said we can only know our beauty in the reflective eyes of others. Our presence in the life of another is a miracle and all Love is a gift. And so this Archetype is the Holy Lover who is led to mystical union through passionate embodied embrace. So, in some way or form, the Beloved is always the All. The poetry we write for the object of our affection is religious poetry. The mystical union is with the Holy in the form of the Other. It is when we forget this that we fall into the melodramas of relationship politics.
The Lover asks us to step outside being “in love” and asks us to be Love. We are pushed to embody Love in every breath and every moment (after all, Love is what we’re made of). Our relationships with others are opportunities to do this both in our reactions to them and in the way we treat ourselves through our relationships.
Love is expansive and does not limit itself. The Lover, too, is expansive and vulnerable. As Aphrodite, Love is born from oceanic emotion. And, like all waters, Love flows naturally where it is welcomed.
When the Lover enters your life you are offered the opportunity to expand with generosity both to others and to yourself. And so any love relationship is a love affair with the self, which is why so many are fraught with tangles and insecurities.
Everything is sex. The dance of energies between the sun on Earth’s skin and the breath we exhale to the trees are intricate webs of sexuality. The Lover is the personification of all this. She owns this dynamic play between forces and brings into herself the abundance of the Universe while sending out the expansiveness of her own passion.
It is when she feels lack in herself and forgets to drink in the Light around her that she becomes stingy and jealous and the so-called Lover scorned. In this face he is obsessive, egotistical, and dangerous. Energy must be free-flowing to be Love and the Lover, in whichever face, is here to remind us.
When the Lovers grace your life take stock of your intimate relationships - including the one with yourself - to ensure a free flow of loving passion. When things feel topsy-turvy within the realms of Love, return to your own reflection and engage with self as Lover.
In The Eyes of the Lover
1. Whenever we interact with another it is useful to take an inventory. Is this action loving both to me and to the Other? Am I living in a loving way? How do I love myself? How do I love others? Remember we are as much an embodiment of the Holy as those we meet each day.
2. Write a love poem to yourself. Find the qualities you adore most. Perhaps it is the color of your eyes. Perhaps it is your strength in adversity. Weave together the qualities you admire in yourself and write it onto your cells.
3. The Lovers card represents both the Anima and Animus, the male in female and the female in male, which live inside each one of us. We do not have to look externally for love when it exists fully within. Examine your beliefs surrounding what is feminine and what is masculine and how they interact in yourself. Do you need balance through another person or can you create it in yourself?