Predicting The Present

by Daniel Kelley

  Some people may be shocked when I say that the ultimate message delivered by The Lovers is how to become self-sufficient, without any compulsion to look outside oneself for a sense of meaning, purpose, or identity. This doesn't mean that one is to become isolated. Allow me to explain:

  It's a well-known fact that talented artists tend to have "flash in the pan" relationships. What starts out as a passionate romance quickly burns itself out and ends up taking a back seat to the creative projects of the artist and, in many cases, the desire for sexual release completely vanishes in times of intense creative inspiration. It's only when the artist feels creatively spent that the sex drive becomes all-important. It's a sad fact that, for most people, sexual orgasm is the highest peak they'll ever achieve in life. It's even more depressing to think that this is what most people call love!

  In The Lovers, we can say that the lion of Leo symbolizes lust, commonly mistaken as love. Standing opposite the lion is a symbol reminding us that love’s always in support of the total freedom of the other: the eagle of Aquarius. Of course, these aren't the only meanings ascribed to these symbols, for the lion also represents the passionate dedication to learn and grow within the framework of a relationship. The eagle may also symbolize the popular sayings, "Love gives you wings," or, "If you love something let it go, if it comes back it's yours."

  Says Nuith:

  "The word of Sin is Restriction. O man! refuse not thy wife, if she will! O lover, if thou wilt, depart! There is no bond that can unite the divided but love: all else is a curse. Accursed! Accursed be it to the aeons! Hell."

  -Book of the Law, Ch.1 V. 41

  The Lovers represents the mind that has become married to the present moment. The Orphic Egg, in this case, symbolizes the welling up of energy within a mind without conflict.

  Says Crowley:

  “It is impossible to overcome one's inhibitions by conscious effort; their existence justifies them. A man cannot compel himself to love, however much he may want to, on various rational grounds. But on the other hand, when the true impulse comes, it overwhelms all its critics. One may say that, presuming the Union to be perfect, the Adept need not retain any memory soever of what has occurred. He may be merely aware of a gap in his conscious life, and judge of its contents by observing that his nature has been subtly transfigured."

  That said, the response of memory to the present moment is, at the same time, a useful tool and a dilemma. We respond to each moment with a mind encumbered by the past. We rarely see things afresh, but through the thick screen of our conditioning. This serves us well in many ways but also prevents us from thinking outside the box. In The Lovers, this conditioning is represented by the dome of swords arching above the entire scene. Now, as anyone who's been in love will tell you, the entire universe appears to have been completely transformed when love enters the scene! Colors seem brighter, and music takes on new significance. The same is the case when one becomes more meditative, more conscious of the unity which exists between oneself and the universe. When a cherished loved-one dies, for example, one has no choice but to be thrown to oneself. If the love was real, it won’t simply disappear just because the object of devotion has been removed. Rather, it'll remain as a subjective experience, unfocused and projected upon the whole of existence. It's almost as if one's beloved becomes the wind, the stars, the very existence itself (Panenhenic mysticism).

  So the Orphic Egg located at the bottom of the card, which is the child of The Lovers, is love itself, refined and brought closer to its source. This has been called satori, individuation, samadhi, and so forth, and it usually lasts for only a moment, whether in deep love, deep meditation, or in the final union with one’s Holy Guardian Angel. Once it's been glimpsed you're never again the same person. I mention these things here because it's been my own personal experience. I've felt in deep love many of the same things I've felt while in deep communion with my HGA. Indeed, the most devoted worshipers are those who’ve fallen in love with their god/goddess. Most of them would agree, out loud or secretly, that their adoration often includes a sexual nuance. The wonder of this is that there needn't be an image at all! One can feel the same way about pure presence as one can feel about any image of a god or goddess, man or woman.

  Listen to these words of Rajneesh (parenthesis mine):

  "And if you can know this (love), if you can feel and realize this, your sexual mind will become non-sexual. A very deep Brahmacharya, celibacy, can be attained. Celibacy can be attained through it!"

  This may seem nonsensical, but it works. Once you've been introduced to something transcendental it becomes very hard to return to who you were before. In fact, this is where your real problems begin! Not the problems of the so-called relationships you hear about every day on your favorite talk-show, but real problems:

  The problems that arise when one can no longer fool oneself about what is real and false love.

  Crowley insists:

  "The first principle of success in evolution is that the individual should be true to his own nature, and at the same time adapt himself to his environment."

  An allegory:

  "There's a story of an old Chinese monk who decided to go off and practice on top of a mountain, to either get enlightened or die. He had lived in a Zen monastery and had many years of peaceful meditation, but he was never enlightened.

  Finally he went to the master and said, 'please, may I just go to the mountains and finish this practice? That's all I want from life now, to see what this enlightenment is about.'

  The master, knowing he was ripe, gave permission.

  On the way up the mountain, he met an old man walking down with a big bundle of wood. The old man was really the bodhisattva Manjusri. He's said to appear to people when they're ready for enlightenment. Usually he's depicted carrying a sword that cuts through all illusions, but here he had this bundle of wood.

  The old man comes down the mountain and says:

  'Where are you going, monk?

  The monk says:

  'I’m going to the top of the mountain with my bowl and a few belongings. I'm going to sit there and either get enlightened or die. That's all I want. I've been a monk for a long time, and now I must know what this liberation is about.'

  Since the old man looked very wise, the monk asked:

  'Tell me, old man, do you know anything of this enlightenment?'

  At which point the old man simply let go of the bundle and it dropped to the ground.

  In that moment our monk was enlightened!

  'You mean it's that simple, just to let go in this moment and not grasp anything?' ''But what then?' asked the monk, 'are we to do nothing else?'

  The old man then knelt, picked up his bundle, and silently began to walk towards the village."

  At the top of the card we see Eros, the god of love. Legend says that Eros possessed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Some arrows were dipped in gold and others in lead. Eros is blindfolded as if to suggest that he himself doesn't know which of the arrows he's shooting! It's said that whomever is pierced by a gold arrow will immediately become infatuated with the first person looked upon. The one pierced by a lead arrow, however, will immediately flee in terror. This represents the alchemical transmutation of lead into gold, or conversely, from gold back into lead.

  Gold is the metal of the Sun and of Tiphareth, as lead is of Saturn and Binah.Tiphareth means "Beauty," and Binah means "Understanding".

  One must understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and one's concept of beauty may at any moment change. Two people meet for the first time and sparks fly, they're completely taken by each other: an arrow dipped in gold has hit them. Or just the opposite happens. Two people meet for the first time and run away from each other as fast as they can: an arrow dipped in lead has hit them. As if that weren't bad enough, sometimes a golden arrow strikes one of them and the other is struck by one dipped in lead. Or a person, who has been up to this point repulsed, is suddenly infatuated with the
other. Here's the catch:

  These arrows are only "dipped" in these archetypal substances.

  They're not the real deal. One man's "love like unto the purest gold" may be just gold-plated. After the waters of time have soaked it a bit the gold fades and the lead bleeds through. Inside every woman (The Empress) are both the maiden (Eve in the upper right corner) and the witch (Lilith in the upper left corner); and inside every man (The Emperor) there's the child (children at bottom) and the monster (snake entwined around the Orphic Egg).

  The Lovers have no facial features, indicating that what they see in the other is determined by their own unconscious projections. Often, this is determined by which arrow they tend to get hit with most. The task is to learn to accept both the lead and the gold, no? No! Why? Because such a thing can't be practiced. What you can do is learn to see things as they are, and this includes what you find in yourself. The magic of such a total look is that by learning to look at even the most unloved aspects of yourself and others, you'll begin to understand what creates the response of criticism within you. You'll find that by looking at something totally, if it has no true substance, it disappears. Take, as one example, a base emotion like fear. Courage isn't the opposite of fear; fearlessness is. Courage is simply the alchemical tincture that transforms fear into fearlessness. The same energy that was bound up in the habit of fear is transformed from one state—the state of fear—into another state, the state of fearlessness. But the transformation of lead to gold is not the highest level of alchemical transformation:

  The transformation of gold (Tiphareth) into diamond (Kether) is.

  In The Lovers, the royal pair can symbolize relationship, society, and obligations such as school, work, or family. The Hermit, on the other hand, symbolizes one's private life (or lack thereof), and how it conflicts or harmonizes with one's social life and personal obligations. He also represents the desire to retreat from such things; from a plastic society devoid of authenticity. The Hermit desires freedom from control and the ugly outgrowths of false relationship. If he can't establish what he deems right-relationship with his fellow man, The Hermit prefers to be alone. This is precisely where the problem begins, for one can't simply retreat to the forest or monastery and expect to grow past a certain point. This is especially true if one finds oneself in the role of father, husband, mother, wife, etc. Things are different today than what they were in the time of the Buddha, and one can't simply leave one's wife and child in the middle of the night and expect to avoid the consequences!

  We've learned that The Magus, as the first trump, is associated with the first Sephira on the Tree of Life, Kether. We've also learned that The Lovers, as the sixth trump, is associated with the sixth Sephira on the Tree of Life, Tiphareth: the reflection of the supreme Godhead of Kether. The Lovers is a direct reflection of The Magus, a perfect example of the dual form of Mercury. The Hermit and Orphic Egg both suggest the rebirth of The Magus and The Hierophant into the world of form. If you look closely at the lantern held by The Hermit, you'll notice the six-pointed star of Vishnu and/or David, representative of (among many other things) the uniting of the microcosm with the macrocosm. The number six not only reveals the balanced integration of the crisis of the Fives, but also the cooperation between the Fives (momentum to change) and the Fours (stability, pattern, habit, and order). Kabballistically speaking, the fourth Sephira is Chesed, (Jupiter) the fifth Sephira is Geburah (Mars).

  We've already discovered that the spiritual function of Tiphareth is to unite all seemingly opposing principals within the individual, and this includes Sephiroth seven through ten. Making a quick pass, we see that we must reconcile our anxieties about the future (Hod) with our investments in the past (Chesed). We must learn to accept and find time for, work, action, movement, change and risk (Geburah), but not at the expense of playfulness, fun, relaxation, pleasure, relating, enjoyment, celebration, art and beauty (Netzach). At times, our desire for pleasure (Netzach) may completely override our reason (Hod), and lead to habitual preference (Chesed). This in turn leads to a necessary run-in with the opposite, which in turn gives rise to resistance (Geburah). Not to mention the effect these things have upon one's physical body (Malkuth) and overall sense of wellbeing (Yesod). And to think, all of this can be avoided simply by becoming more conscious (Tiphareth) of the deeper layers of one's being (Yesod) and organizing them into a cosmos (Tiphareth)!

  Balancing these contradictory impulses within oneself through analysis alone would take lifetimes to accomplish (Hod). The approach contained in the Six is far more direct; a total insight into both past and future through intense awareness of the Now. Often, our inclination toward one or more of the extremes of human behavior is due to unconscious influences (Yesod). By bringing these hidden impulses into the light of awareness and learning to live with them without averting our gaze, they tend to dissolve, and their energies become available for conscious integration (Tiphareth). Energies previously regarded as inimical are now perceived as being reciprocal. Keep this in mind as we discuss The Lovers and its association with the Sixes of each suit.

  The Lovers/Six of Wands: This pair reveals the "triumph of love" and the burning away of all resistance, both internal and external, in the "fires of love." We're shown just how powerful of a force can be generated when there's no conflict or distraction within us. There's a saying that goes, "If you have one eye on the goal, and the other on what it takes to achieve it, you'll be slowed down immensely." This card-combo might also suggest victory by way of good teamwork and cooperative effort.

  The Lovers/Six of Cups: This is the realm of soft merging and tender affection. The wedding cup and the joys of love, both erotic and sentimental, belong here as well. If the Six of Wands represents victory, then the Six of Cups represents the celebration that follows it. We have the pleasure of good company, wine, music and entertainment. There are jovial spirits and good times at hand. There may be a family reunion, the reunion of friends, or the beginning of an exciting creative project or new job. We might give or receive a gift, card, or letter that causes the heart streams to flow, bringing joy to the soul. We may be dealing with issues of comfort, inner contentment, or a sense of belonging.

  The Lovers/Six of Swords: This card-combo suggests moderation, honest and open-minded communication between two or more people, and decisions made in the best interest of all parties involved. In fact, if you were to look closely at the Six of Swords, you would see The Lovers contained within it; not just in the symbol of the Rose and Cross, but in the geometric designs, pinwheels, and wings found in the background of the card. This card-combo reminds us why The Lovers used to be called "The Decision". The Six of Swords' association with Aquarius shows us that these decisions might involve a very humanitarian perspective. Add just a dash of Mercury and we're left with a multi-faceted (Gemini) and experimental approach, laying a fair and balanced foundation for relationships and projects alike. All forms of contracts and written agreements belong here as well.

  The Lovers/Six of Disks: Here we have the results obtained via the balanced and proper functioning of the previous three cards (you reap what you sow). Also, generosity and the need to be open to generosity are indicated here. Financial stability and/or difficulty belong to this card combination. A little bit of give and a little bit of take, the need to accept personal responsibility for one's actions are issues here as well. We are reminded that any imbalance within ourselves will be reflected on the screen of our lives, and we're advised to be watchful in this regard. This brings us to the symbol of the Rose and Cross—the Rosea Rubea Aurum Cruxis—found on both the Six of Swords and the Six of Disks. This symbol is not found on the Six of Wands or the Six of Cups, and the reason is simple. Whenever this symbol is seen we're dealing with exactly that which The Lovers represents, and that's the union of Subject and Object. You see, whenever we're faced with an internal issue, such as hate, the tendency is to avoid looking at it by immediately aspiring to its opposite; in this case, love or toleranc
e. The Rose Cross exhorts us to do the opposite of that. Instead of running away from hate we should remain with it—crucified to it, so to speak—making no attempt to change or justify it whatsoever, allowing the grass (or rose) of virtue to grow by itself. This doesn't mean that you should give free reign to hatred or intolerance. On the contrary, the tendency to act contemptuously is typically a product of unconscious behavior. To remain with it always is to be constantly aware of the fact—in this case, hatred—ever careful not to fall prey to habitual response. You'll not see this symbol in the Six of Wands for the simple fact that the suit of Wands exists entirely above the Abyss, in the world of Atziluth. Add to this the fact that the suit of Wands represents elemental Fire and thus intense, passionate, and focused energy. And as a card that falls on Tiphareth, the stoical energy of the Six of Wands is especially focused, like the rays of the sun through a magnifying glass. There’s no need to collect oneself; in the Six of Wands this step has been taken already.

  You'll also not find this symbol in the Six of Cups because when you're truly having a good time you're not concerned in the least bit with what has happened yesterday or what's going to happen tomorrow. Celebration naturally brings you into the present moment. So if you can find a way to celebrate all things, even misfortune, you have found the key to bliss. But this isn't the case with the Six of Swords or the Six of Disks. In the Six of Swords, we may deceive ourselves. We may lie or exaggerate the truth to others and ourselves. We may choose the path of divisive analysis alone, instead of the intelligent awareness of direct and holistic perception. We might overlook, or fail to acknowledge, a crucial element in our decision-making. In the Six of Disks, we may get too comfortable with our success and forget to remember that it's merely the bedfellow of failure. We may overlook an important aspect of our development and total self, choosing one side over the other (leaning to the extreme of either suit), thereby becoming lopsided. I'm sure the reader could come up with many more fascinating discoveries to add to the ones listed here.