Adam’s Peace

It has been a while since I have written about the tarot cards in the Major Arcana… In fact, I have been stymied by the forces represented in this card, which has held me back from continuing on the fool’s errand.

The seventh card of the Major Arcana, The Lovers, portrays a person at a crossroads, with passion on one side, and his initial goal on the other.

On its surface, this card represents love, companionship, or passion. At first glance, it is almost impossible to tell what it really offers, which goes along with any type of relationship. You just can’t tell what the relationship will bring until you have entered into it, lived through it, and have learned from it. Whatever type of love it bring, agape, eros, obsession, pure selflessness, or any combination of types of love, you can be certain that the ride will be wild.

This brings us to the second layer of this card, which is the most common meaning during a reading: Choice. At this point, a decision must be made, and that decision often carries with it some sort of sacrifice. On non Rider-Waite decks, there are two paths… The path that leads to love is often the side road, taking you away from your goals, whether temporarily or permanently. The choice must be made if any progress is to be had. One simply can not sit at the crossroads forever, wondering what each path holds, because the path which the Fool follows is time itself. Rider-Waite based decks, however, show the Garden of Eden, with the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil on one side, and the Tree of Life on the other.

You can see down each path a little ways, and know the immediate gains of each… The most difficult part is that both paths are good paths; there really is no wrong way to go. Each path, however, requires that you give up the goal of the other path. At the second layer, the question that this card poses is which do you love more?

Looking a bit deeper into the card, into its third, more personal layer, we find that the nature of The Lovers changes yet again. Just as much as the second layer is about exclusive choices, the third layer is about inclusive choices. Many of us have faced choices where we were certain that we have had to make a sacrifice… All too often, when we sacrifice something based on our fears, we lose both what we gave up and what we sought to gain. One example is liberty vs. security. We have given up many liberties in the past six years, and yet, I can’t help but ask what security we have gained… All politics aside, I personally believe that more people have suffered in the pursuit of security than could ever suffer in the pursuit of liberty, both in light of recent events and in the entire history of humanity.

At the same time, though, when we give up our fears, and make our choices out of love, we seem to gain both. Recently, my wife pointed out my addiction to blogging in a rather heated conversation. She pointed out how I was ignoring her, my job, and my responsibilities around the house in order to blog. I faced a tough decision, where I had to either give up blogging, or give up everything else. Looking back, I realize that if I had chosen my blog, I would soon be homeless from lack of income, and on my way to a divorce. Instead, I chose to humble myself, realize that I was making some extremely stupid decisions, and work on my life outside of the internet for a while. Because of the shift in priorities, I was actually able to make more time for blogging, without guilt and without fear of losing my wife, home, and this creative outlet.

Another analogy, going back to the symbolism on the Rider-Waite deck, is that of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Can immortal people ever give birth? (Figuratively, I mean… ) Adam and Eve had to partake of the forbidden fruit, sin, and be banished in order for us to exist today. Their choice was a personal sacrifice so that we could each come to live today. It was made out of love, and for their decision, they are immortalized in story, so not only did they gain the ability to experience both good and evil, but they also retained their eternal life, in a round-about sort of way.

For the LDS out there, or the former LDS as I am, I’d like to share my favorite passage from the Book of Mormon:

2 Nephi, 2:25 Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy.

At this third layer, instead of the card simply asking which you love more, it is asking you to figure out which decision is the one made out of love. It isn’t two paths diverging, never to meet again… it is a shortcut with extra benefits, if only we would have the courage to go down that less traveled path.

Here is some extra reading. The first is a very famous poem by Robert Frost, The Road Less Traveled. Each path is equally inviting, and only hindsight can reveal which is the ‘right’ path… but so long as we choose, we are always on our path… and that makes all the difference.

The second is an article by Slade, titled The Art of Surrender. In it, Slade talks about how sometimes we just need to let go and stop struggling in order to progress… This is often a hidden path that just isn’t obvious, but it matches the third layer of The Lovers perfectly.

The third bit of extra reading is the comments in my post, Manifest Destiny. In it, Kara-Leah asks how detachment in Intention Manifestation works in the analogy I had described in my post… Her second reply got me thinking a bit more about letting go and letting work get done in the background. Just how much energy are we wasting by controlling so many aspects of our lives, when we can just let go after we have set events in motion?

There are a lot of ways to apply the card in our lives, from recognizing the relationships in our lives to facing the choices before us with courage and love. Most of all, this card reminds us about love, and shows us that we always have a choice, no matter where we are on our path through life.

Throne, ram’s heads, orb and sceptre. Sometimes an Eagle.

The Emperor represents management. Once the beginnings of the project have been set out, it is time to learn how to manage it. Again, like the empress, this card rarely signifies a person, but a process. This card is also the first one to be represented by an astrological sign, Aries.

Oh, management is such an Aries ideal… It is so full of bluster and appearance, and getting all of the glory. Of course, it is a noble task in itself, and does deserve recognition. This card deals with the question of how others can do things for you, and how to get them to do it.

In the story of The Fool, as we retrace him through having an idea, seeing his talents laid before him by the Magician, learning his direction from the High Priestess, and giving birth to his project with the Empress, we find that the fool now realizes that he has to manage it all… He does his taxes, buys upgrades for his tools, and may even start gathering a staff, but at the head of it all sits the fool, feeling as successful as ever as he makes every decision and plans every detail.

Something has to give… The fool can either rest here, for it is a comfortable position, and many would say that it is a successful one… or he can continue on to become a leader, and let others manage the day to day tasks.

It should be noted that other Fools have turned away from the path… Some sit at the cliff, looking over it, afraid to climb down its cliffs. Still others refuse to accept the gifts of the Magician, because of the tricks used to bring them out. More yet have refused the help of the High Priestess, as she didn’t give them a straight enough answer. Even more fools have stopped short of starting their projects, giving the Empress the hard work that she requires out of those who come to her… Of those who make it to the Emperor, very few remain, having given up their dreams and ambitions, so getting this far is certainly a success in its own right… yet something lies just beyond the hill, waiting to be seen.

A gown decorated with pomegranates, a crown of stars, a rod, a heart-shaped shield with the symbol for Venus, a field of ripe wheat.

The empress is the card of birth. It isn’t just physical birth, as a person can only be born once, while the tarot is designed to apply equally in everyone’s life, no matter how old they happen to be. It is the birth of a project of some sort; the first physical steps in making something come to life that had existed in your thoughts. It is the first sign of creation.

Although this card has a person on its face, it is rare that someone will play its role. In this case, the Fool, after being shown his talents by the Magician, and being shown a direction by the High Priestess, becomes the Empress, and gives birth to his project.

There isn’t much to do about this card, except to continue and build upon your project. If you were thinking of writing in a blog, this would mark the time when you have selected your hosting and have written your first post. Start developing your habits and refining your methods.