By Sarah Taylor
That there are two major arcana cards this week speaks to a development that transcends the day-to-day, and which focuses on the larger, soul-based themes that direct the flow of life. Your life, to be exact.
To use a rough metaphor, the major arcana are differentiated from the minor arcana in that they are the colours with which you paint your canvas; the minor arcana are the strokes that you use — the detail through which the major arcana show up. Here, there is a particular spectrum to life that is starting to take shape, and this is concerned with a coming together and the choices, and balancing of those choices, that emanate from that.
And, again, we have a Swords card, which over the weeks have created a leitmotif — or recurring sub-theme — which provides a sense of contrast, a throwing into relief of the bigger picture.
The Lovers is described as follows in the cursive writing to the right of the entwined figures: “Twin; Love; Attraction; Approach; Connection; Uniting of Differences.” The card is the first card in the major arcana to have two figures on it. After the evolution from The Fool to The Hierophant — all powerful, single archetypes — The Lovers refers to the manifestation of archetypal experience in human form. It is the first card that is concerned with duality. This is encapsulated in the final phrase, above: “Uniting of Differences.” The differences are the two polarities; The Lovers holds and brings together both, in feminine and masculine form.
The Lovers is also about choice, because when you operate within a dualistic paradigm, you have decisions to make: about who you are, what you do, how you relate. This is the case when the Three of Swords is juxtaposed with The Lovers; in many respects the cards can be seen in opposition to each other.
Traditionally, the Three of Swords refers to the conflict that emerges when ‘two’ becomes ‘three’. You have moved out of the world of duality as a concept and put it into practice, where your choices are multiple, and often at odds with each other. In the Rider-Waite Smith deck in particular, the Three of Swords focuses on the thoughts that seek to ‘carve up’ love — where the heart becomes a piece of emotional real-estate that is subject to divisions. And it is the assertion of those divisions that wield the most potential to damage it. If you view love as something to carve up, you have already lost the truth of love. We cannot intellectualise love (Swords are the ‘thought’ cards); we can only feel it.
When this happens — when mental conflict arises within us — we lose the clarity and ‘passage through’ that was created last week by the appearance of the Two of Swords. As you can see, the two swords running from left to right at the top of the card are now countered by a third sword running right to left between them. There is a dissonance when it comes to direction, and so, as written on the card, we meet with words such as “doubt,” “not clear,” and “sorrow.” Access to the open landscape is obstructed by a door.
Nevertheless, there is a way out of the conflict of your thinking. The obstacle, after all, is a door, and it can be opened again. What opens it is the card at centre: Temperance.
There is a very similar phrase on Temperance to the one on The Lovers. From “Uniting of Differences” in The Lovers, in Temperance we move to “uniting the opposites.” This lies at the heart of Temperance. It describes an alchemical process whereby two seemingly contrasted forms, or ideas, are brought together — not so that they lose each other, but so as to create something new.
If you look at Temperance, you will see two streams from two bowls at the outer edges of the card, directed by the figure who stands between them. The streams don’t mix, but they come together. In fact, I would suggest that it is the figure herself who is created by their contact. She is naked, save for a feather, which is indicative of flight, lightness, freedom. She is without guile, a beautiful balance of opposed qualities. Yet she looks to The Lovers and away from the Three of Swords. Another paradox. She needs both in order to choose one.
Without the Three of Swords, there would be no possibility of understanding that there are alternatives to its experience. There is no doorway without something being there on the other side. There is no experience of separation without knowing connection. Holding the paradox of both is the key to holding both, while making your choice.
Astrology/Elemental correspondences: The Lovers (Gemini), Temperance (Sagittarius), Three of Swords (Saturn in Libra)
If you want to experiment with tarot cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator using the Celtic Wings spread, which is based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article explains how to use the spread.
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Amanda, thank you for catching that valuable point, as it helps in understanding of Sarah’s additional comment push/pull.
As I see it temperance’s internal counterpoint (she) is emphasizing releasing is the catalyst, the freedom, the silent in evolution which extends ‘out’ new energy in all angles, broadly, seen and unseen from there.
Thank you for your comments, Amanda and P. Sophia.
Central to the Temperance card is the idea of paradox that I bring up in the article. I cannot stress this enough. So there will be the feeling of opposites pushing/pulling together in order to generate energy. This paradox is also behind the observation you make about the bowls spilling together and yet her hands are pointing outwards. We have to perform a kind of magic in order to create a third out of two polarities.
The other thing that came strongly to me yesterday, but which I felt would be more suited to the comments section, is the idea of the “red pill” vs the “blue pill” from The Matrix, and I will include that quote here:
“This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill – the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill – you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember, all I’m offering is the truth – nothing more.” — Morpheus
In this case, the red pill’s truth is one that liberates us from the swords of doubt.
It is also worth taking a look at the equivalent “Art” from the Crowley-Harris Thoth Tarot, on which this deck is based:
http://www.adonim.com/CrowleyTarot/crowley_art.jpg
before reading i clicked to see the larger image, and my automatic tendency to read the cards from left to right was not suggesting a very optimistic message! yet it was certainly evocative. i had a feeling you would read from the center outward in some way. 🙂 it’s much more rich with potential and choice the way you understand how to proceed with the images (which are gorgeous — especially temperance).
one thing i find fascinating about temperance is that even though the bowls are clearly spilling toward each other, the woman’s hand gestures look more like she is sending them outward away from her. not sure what to make of that… unless she is sending the *containers* away so that their contents may meet freely in the middle, within *her*?
Sarah, thank you for your help with this incredible reading work. The spread is timely and resonates. It also has a flavor of a lesson of Retrograde Mars in Libra to me?!
This week among the positive spiritual forces getting my attention, on the other (left) side, as in your reading, I have also been feeling an annoying uprising of a power play. Did I take the bait? Not entirely, but it has been a’gnawing at me inside.
I am working very hard to stay aware and keep the integrity of my emotions in check without succumbing to feelings of oppression, control ‘locked’ or, likewise to turn and offer in return the same. So that this energy be not of my relinquishing, in power over me. Yes, well I know that would be turning back to old pattern emotions of inadequacy, separation and of loss verses, choosing inner empowerment and healing.
The power comes in my recognizing these moments of balancing extremes are necessary. They are set by me, my soul in turn to grow towards greater psychological and spiritual development and maturity.
In the other deck is the very literal image of the Three of Swords piercing the heart! Of course as it’s visual shows it does not feel good to be in conflict, suffering through. Yet it is precisely because it goes so deep, that this moment can be understood as a blessing in disguise.
I hope I am successful and preserver in strength and choose (right). Choose towards greater wholeness, healing in union and love. Thanks again for all you share : )