Editor’s Note: This article continues our weekly series on the tarot. You can find some of the earlier ones by clicking the “tarot” category link above. For additional information on this week’s topic, here is an archive article by Eric on the Lovers/Art comparison. In case you want to experiment with the cards and don’t have any, we provide a free tarot spread generator. The formation is called the Celtic Wings spread. It’s based on the traditional Celtic Cross spread. This article tells how to use the spread. We’re happy to respond to questions and will take direction from readers who comment, so please let us know what you think. You can visit Sarah’s website at this link. –efc
By Sarah Taylor
Today, we are going to use our previous article on The Lovers as a springboard to compare and contrast two cards — this time, though, we’re going to be looking at two different cards from the same deck: The Lovers (VI) and Art (XIV), both major arcana cards from the Crowley-Harris Thoth Tarot.*
But first…
A crash course in alchemy
“What has alchemy got to do with tarot?” you might ask. An understandable question. The answer, in this instance, lies with this particular tarot deck. The Thoth Tarot was created by occultist Aleister Crowley and artist Lady Frieda Harris, and its symbolism is based on several different disciplines. Alchemy played a significant role in Crowley’s life and the practice of his art; and it is alchemy that lies at the heart of both The Lovers and Art cards in the Thoth deck.
Start looking up “alchemy,” however, and you rapidly understand why it is referred to as an occult art. Occult simply means “hidden”; occultism is the study of hidden knowledge; and alchemy not only has many branches to it, it’s also hard to grasp if we take a purely left-brained view of it — its hidden meaning can elude us. So let’s engage our right brain along with our left, take a brief look at alchemy (far from comprehensive, but enough for our purposes here) and see where it leads us in an exploration of The Lovers and Art. (For those who are better versed in matters alchemical, feel free to add any expansions and corrections in the comments section.)
At its most basic and physical, the study of alchemy is the study of turning base metals into gold. Add another layer and it is the study of changing base elements into an elixir of life — a substance that confers immortality. Add a further layer and it is the study of spiritual transformation.