Gemini in the Major Arcana: The Lovers

Today let’s look at the tarot card from the Major Arcana that’s traditionally (well, in the tradition I follow!) associated with Gemini - The Lovers.

Although many people connect The Lovers to romantic love – the sign of a new relationship, perhaps – I see this card being wider-ranging.  Following on from cards that can represent Mother (Empress), Father (Emperor), and Education (Hierophant), the Lovers, in these terms, could suggest the teenage years, when we start to make our own choices – often beginning with what, or who, we are attracted to.  So yes, it can be about love and affairs of the heart, but it’s more about reminding us that we always have a choice.

The Lovers (trimmed):

© Universal Rider-Waite Tarot

The Gemini glyph symbolizes the idea of duality and opposites that we all contain – masculine and feminine, yin and yang, light and dark, however you choose (!) to name them. 

There are many versions of The Lovers. The most familiar, perhaps, is that of the Rider-Waite-Smith deck. Here we have the young man and woman being blessed by an angel, with a serpent behind the woman and the Trees of Life and Knowledge in the background.  Here, love becomes the path to wisdom, with the man representing the conscious mind and the woman the unconscious.  Both need to be brought together, or ‘married’, through love.

The Lovers (trimmed):

© Shadowscapes Tarot

The Shadowscapes’ version follows this tradition, in that its Lovers card depicts a couple. No angel, though...just a giant sun overhead. The choice is symbolized by turtledoves (innocence) and a red apple around which is wrapped a snake (Garden of Eden reference, perhaps?!), representing temptation, as well as the calla lily (purity) and the rose (‘lush and sensual complexity’, says the LWB). Purity/youth and passion/maturity, say.

The Lovers (trimmed):

© Druid Craft Tarot

In the Druid Craft Tarot’s Lovers, we see the young couple together, having chosen to unite. The transformation (remember, Gemini is a mutable sign) resulting from their choice is represented by the winged orphic egg and the serpent coiled around it, carved into the rock beneath them.

The Lovers (trimmed):

©Sharman-Burke/Caselli Tarot

Other versions of this card show a young man standing between two women, with Cupid about to shoot an arrow in his direction. Juliet Sharman-Burke has followed this tradition in her Beginner's Guide to the Tarot. Each woman represents something different (youth/purity and maturity/experience). By making that choice, by electing to commit to one person, idea, thing, way of life – whatever it is – we need to be aware of the potential consequences or ramifications of that decision.

The Lovers (trimmed):

© Thoth Tarot

The idea of the marriage of conscious and unconscious is depicted in the image in the Thoth deck. We see the marriage of the Empress and Emperor, presided over by the Hermit. The Hermit is associated with Virgo, the other sign ruled by Mercury – and, if you recall the mythology of the Gemini twins, perhaps symbolizing the ‘earth-bound’ twin. The duality of Gemini appears over and over again in this image; we all contain, as individuals, these opposites – the yin and yang, the masculine and feminine, however you choose (!) to name them. Here we see the opposites ready to be united, choosing to be united, choosing to make that connection. The transformation (remember, Gemini is a mutable sign) though the ‘wedding’ (alchemical, perhaps) is represented by the winged orphic egg and the serpent coiled around it. Through this, we become whole.

Beginner’s Guide to the Tarot created by Juliet Sharman-Burke, illustrated by Giovanni Caselli, published by Connections

DruidCraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections

Shadowscapes Tarot created by Stephanie Pui-Mun Law and Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn

Thoth Tarot created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. Published by US Games Systems Inc.

Universal Waite Tarot created by Mary Hanson-Roberts & Pamela Colman-Smith, published by US Games Systems, Inc.

Both sides now – the nature of Gemini

The sun moved (astrologically speaking!) into Gemini today, at 15.36 BST.  Here in my part of the UK, it’s feeling spring-like, although it could be warmer! 

‘Gemini’ © Alison Coals

I’ve been seeing butterflies all over the place, flitting from one wild flower to another. They’re such great symbols for Gemini, which is associated with the element of Air.  The butterfly darts from blossom to blossom, sampling different nectars, much as Gemini represents the gathering of bits of information from various sources.  In doing so, connections are made – socializing, networking...just as we do!

There are quite a few bees around, too. Bees are also symbols of Gemini; they pollinate flowers, reflecting the way in which Gemini disseminates information, collecting a bit of knowledge here and then dropping it off somewhere else.  It’s one of the mutable signs, so is interested in transforming what’s already been established.  Gemini is associated with communication (newspapers, email, telephone, etc) as well as networks for transportation (roads, railways, vehicles) – anything that moves information or goods (Gemini is ruled by Mercury, the god of not only communication but also trade and commerce: Mercury-mercato - market) from A to B.  Gemini rules short journeys;  it’s is more interested in the local environment, community, or market – so this covers trips to the shops, and travelling to work, for example.  It’s also associated with neighbours and siblings, as well as early childhood and education received while still living in the ‘home’ or local environment (i.e. primary and secondary).

Gemini is often said to only be interested in the superficial, but that’s not a fair accusation. Gemini represents intelligence, and a desire to get the facts right, rather like Virgo (also ruled by Mercury).  Gemini is interested in how things work, but whereas Virgo might approach this on a more practical basis, Gemini does this through thought, working it out in the head – and then communicating that through words.  Gemini loves language.  This might be explained by looking at the myth behind Gemini. 

Castor and Pollux

The constellation of Gemini is that of the twins, Castor and Pollux, who were separated at birth by Zeus. He placed one in the sky, the other on earth. The twins would swap places now and then, and were only able to meet when this exchange occurred. So there are two sides to the Gemini nature, which may be at odds with each other.  Perhaps the earthy twin is the more Virgoan  approach, needing to reach a compromise with its airy, more cerebral twin?! Duality is the key to Gemini – marrying the opposing side.   

The Lovers (trimmed): Thoth Tarot
©US Games Systems Inc.

We can see that in The Lovers, the Major Arcana card associated with Gemini. I think the Thoth's version of this card illustrates the duality, and the idea of marrying the opposite, beautifully. Here we see the marriage of the Empress and Emperor, presided over by the Hermit. The Hermit is associated with Virgo, bringing in Mercury's rulership.  The duality of Gemini appears over and over again in this image; we all contain, as individuals, these opposites – the yin and yang, the masculine and feminine, however you choose (!) to name them.  Here we see the opposites ready to be united, choosing to be united, choosing to make that connection.  The transformation (remember, Gemini is a mutable sign) though the ‘wedding’ (alchemical, perhaps) is represented by the winged orphic egg and the serpent coiled around it. Through this, we become whole.

Thoth Tarot, created by Aleister Crowley, illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris. Published by US Games Systems Inc.

Gemini in the Druidcraft Major Arcana: The Lovers

Today let’s look at the tarot card from the Major Arcana that’s traditionally (well, in the tradition I follow!) associated with Gemini - The Lovers.  With Gemini symbolized by the twins, Castor and Pollux, this association isn’t perhaps that surprising – twins, duality, a couple.

Although many people connect The Lovers to romantic love – the sign of a new relationship, perhaps – I see this card being wider-ranging.  Following on from cards that can represent Mother (Empress), Father (Emperor), and Education (Hierophant), the Lovers, in these terms, could suggest the teenage years, when we start to make our own choices – often beginning with what, or who, we are attracted to.  So yes, it can be about love and affairs of the heart, but it’s more about reminding us that we always have a choice.

The Lovers - Druidcraft (detail)

The Gemini glyph symbolizes the idea of duality and opposites that we all contain – masculine and feminine, yin and yang, light and dark, however you choose (!) to name them.  Here we see the opposites ready to be united, choosing to be united, choosing to make that connection.  The transformation (remember, Gemini is a mutable sign) is represented by the winged orphic egg and the serpent coiled around it, carved into the rock beneath them. Through this, we become whole, with love becoming the path to wisdom (see Rachel Pollack’s wonderful The Kabbalah Tree for more on the symbolism). 

These lovers have chosen to unite, and have also chosen to rest together afterwards, luxuriating in that choice.  Some decks include an angel, but here we have a hind in the background, watching them. The hind, in the Druid Animal Oracle, symbolizes subtlety, grace, and the feminine, and represents the call to the heart of things, beyond the material level. That too implies making a choice, to let go of the superficial and to be willing to go deeper and explore other options.  The ivy wrapped around the man’s head represents death and rebirth, a reminder that when we make choices, we often have to let go of something else. Ivy berries are poisonous, causing intoxication – and what greater intoxication is there than having the ability to choose, regardless of whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual in nature.

  

Druidcraft Tarot created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections. 1988

The Druid Animal Oracle created by Philip Carr-Gomm and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, illustrated by Will Worthington, published by Connections. 1996

Pollack, Rachel. The Kabbalah Tree, Llewellyn Publications US, 2004.