Tarot Symbolism: The Lovers and The Chariot Cards

sacred, represents the genius of good inspirations of the spirit and consciousness; his gesture invites meditation, to hear the voice of heaven in the silence of passions and instincts of the flesh. The right column symbolizes divine law; the left one, the freedom to obey or disobey. The cross of three crosses is the emblem of God penetrating the three worlds (Human, Spiritual and Divine) to give life to all manifestations of universal life. The prostrate men, one red and one black, represent the Genius of Light and the Genius of Darkness, who both obey the Master of the Arcana. The Pope represents the true Doctrine in its dual aspect, exoteric - that is, for the masses, and esoteric - that is, reserved for the initiated. The Pope is thus able to speak to all according to their understanding. The Pope's own words are heard by the two men prostrate before him in different ways. To them the Pope is imposing the Discipline of the Arcanum, to signify that the teaching is for all but not all are ready to receive it in the same way. Meaning: Rigor, severity, fear, the will that controls or governs the gift of life. Conscience, duty, moral law, inhibition, restriction, for it is necessary to abstain from practicing evil before dedicating oneself to doing good. Priesthood, religious knowledge, metaphysics, Kabbalah, teaching, knowledge as (instead of being able). Authority, certainty, guarantee, absence of doubt, influence or suggestion over the feelings and thoughts of others. Ability, good will, kindness, generous wisdom. A director of conscience, the physician of the soul, moral counsel, a sententious character. Absolute authority in his opinions. Function conferring prestige. The influence of Jupiter in good and evil. Taken under a harmful light: immorality, for flaws take the place of qualities when an arcana becomes negative. 6 The Lovers or the Two Roads The sixth arcanum identifies sublimation. It is represented by a motionless man in front of the crossroads. His arms are crossed over his chest. Two women, one to his left, place a hand on his shoulder, each entering one of the streets. The woman on the right has her forehead surrounded by a golden circle, personifying Virtue. The one on the left represents tempting vice. Above and behind this group, the Angel, hovering in a dazzling halo, bends his bow and directs the attention and strength of the subject towards Virtue. The whole scene expresses the struggle between passions and conscience. The deeper meaning of the Lovers is Eros, the force of love symbolized by the angel of the sun shooting the arrow; it is burning passion, interior fire, the dynamic force necessary to produce work, according to the saying "you shall know them by their fruits". The crossroads clearly indicates that this passionate force can be directed by the Magus upward, for an interior transmutation, or downward to lose itself in the mediocrity of daily life and in the self-satisfaction of unbridled passions of sexual life and instinctive life. Meaning: Tiphereth, moral beauty, love, union of bonds among all beings, feeling; sphere of life in attractions and repulsions, sympathies and antipathies, pure affections, strange to sensual attraction. Aspirations, desires on which the beauty of the soul depends, salutations, desires; freedom, choice, selection, free will, temptation, judgment, doubt, uncertainty, irresolution, hesitation. Sentimentalism, perplexity, indecision, matters in suspension, promises, unsatisfied desires. 7 The War Chariot or Triumph The seventh arcanum is represented by a war chariot, square in shape, surmounted by a starred canopy supported by four columns. In this chariot a triumphant and armored man carries in his hands a scepter and a sword. He is crowned by a golden circle surrounded by nine golden five-pointed stars. The square chariot symbolizes the work accomplished for the will that has overcome obstacles. The four columns of the starred canopy represent the four elements subject to the master of the scepter and sword. On the square front face of the chariot is a sphere supported by two open wings, sign of the unlimited exaltation of human power in the infinity of space and time. The golden crown on the forehead of the triumphant man indicates the possession of light. The nine stars represent the nine angelic hierarchies, the spirits that inspire the driver of the chariot. The five-armed wheel represents the spirit that dominates matter. The ascending sword is the sign of victory. The two sphinxes, one white and one black, symbolize good and evil, one conquered and the other vanquished, which become two servants of the triumphant Initiate. Meaning: Triumph, firmness, active spirituality, conscious progress, intelligent evolution, constructive principle of the Universe, Great Architect. Control, absolute dominion over oneself, direction, government, total power of intelligence and tact, discernment in reconciliation, civilization. Talent, success through personal merit, legitimate result, loyal diplomacy, the ability to benefit from adverse actions, ambition, advancement, the position of director or chief. In a negative sense: incapacity, lack of talent for tact, diplomacy or spirit of reconciliation.