| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Combat | ATK 40 DEF 45 SPR 80 SPD 55 INT 70 |
| Rank | Major Arcana VI |
| Domain | Choice, Union, Duality, Temptation, Free Will |
| Hebrew Letter | Zayin (ז) -- "Sword," that which separates and discriminates |
| Tree of Life Path | 17 -- Binah (Understanding) to Tiphareth (Beauty) |
| Alignment | Archetypal |
| Upright | Love, harmony, partnership, alignment of values, conscious choice |
| Reversed | Disharmony, imbalance, misalignment, infidelity, avoidance of choice |
| Weakness | Indecision; the sword of Zayin must cut, and the Lovers who refuse to choose remain paralyzed |
| Counter | The Devil (XV) -- the shadow of the Lovers; what was union becomes bondage |
| Source | Rider-Waite-Smith deck; Genesis 2-3 imagery; Golden Dawn |
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” — Genesis 2:24
Lore: The Rider-Waite image is explicitly the Garden of Eden. A naked man and woman stand beneath the angel Raphael (healer of God, patron of lovers in the Book of Tobit). Behind the woman: the Tree of Knowledge with the serpent coiled around it. Behind the man: the Tree of Life bearing twelve flames (the twelve fruits of Revelation 22:2). The mountain between them is the mountain of aspiration. This card is not merely about romance — it is about choice. The older Tarot de Marseille showed a man choosing between two women (virtue and vice). Waite deepened it: the choice is Eden’s choice. To eat or not to eat. To know or to remain innocent. The Hebrew letter Zayin means “sword” — the discriminating edge of consciousness that separates one path from another. Every great biblical drama turns on a moment of choice: Eve and the fruit, Abraham and Isaac, Ruth and Naomi, Peter’s denial.
Biblical Parallel: Adam and Eve in the Garden (Genesis 2-3) — the primal scene depicted on the card itself. The choice of free will: “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19). Ruth’s choice: “Where you go, I will go” (Ruth 1:16). Mary’s choice: “Be it unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
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