VI - The Lovers

Titles: The Children of the Voice, The Oracle of the Mighty Gods; The Brothers
Hebrew letter: ז (Zayin = sword = 7) [Single Letter = Zodiacal Trump]
Element: Air
Astrology: Gemini ♊ - Mutable Air - The twins (ruler: Mercury, exaltation: North Node; detriment: Jupiter, fall: South Node)
Time: 21 May - 20 June
Path on the Tree of Life: 17th Path (Binah ↔ Tiphareth; 3 ↔ 6)

Symbols/Colours:

the hooded figure which occupies the centre of the card is another form of the hermit, who is further explained in atu ix; he is himself a form of the god mercury, described in atu i; he is closely shrouded, as if to signify that the ultimate reason of things lies in a realm beyond manifestation and intellect;
he is standing in the sign of the enterer, as if projecting the mysterious forces of creation;
about his arms is a scroll, indicative of the word which is alike his essence and his message;
behind him are the figures of eve, lilith and cupid; this symbolism has been incorporated in order to preserve in some measure the original form of the card, and to show its derivation, its heirship, its continuity with the past;
on the quiver of cupid is inscribed the word thelema, which is the word of the law; his shafts are quanta of will;
the royal persons concerned are the black or moorish king with a golden crown, and the white queen with a silver crown; he is accompanied by the red lion, and she by the white eagle; these are symbols of the male and female principles in nature: sun and moon, fire and water, air and earth;
in chemistry they appear as acid and alkali, or metals and non-metals, [...] hydrogen and oxygen; in this aspect, the hooded figure represents the protean element of carbon, the seed of all organic life;
symbolism of male and female is carried on still further by the weapons of the king and queen; he bears the sacred lance, and she the holy grail; their other hands are joined, as consenting to the marriage;
their weapons are supported by twin children, whose positions are counterchanged; for the white child not only holds the cup, but carries roses, while the black child, holding his father's Lance, carries also the club, an equivalent symbol;
at the bottom of the whole is the result of the Marriage in primitive and pantomorphic form; it is the winged Orphic egg; this egg represents the essence of all that life which comes under this formula of male and female; It carries on the symbolism of the Serpents with which the King's robe is embroidered, and of the Bees which adorn the mantle of the Queen;
the egg is grey, mingling white and black; thus it signifies the co-operation of the three Supernals of the Tree of Life;
colour of the Serpent is purple, Mercury in the scale of the Queen (the influence of that God manifested in Nature); whereas the wings are tinged with crimson, the colour (in the King scale) of Binah the great Mother;
the figure in the air presents some difficulty; the traditional interpretation of the figure is that he is Cupid; his appearance in this card suggests that Hermes is the true sire; he carries a bow and arrows in a golden quiver; he has golden wings, and is blindfolded; he is a symbol of inspiration, descending upon the hooded figure, who is, in this instance, a prophet operating the conjunction of the King and Queen; his arrow represents the spiritual intelligence necessary in alchemical operations, rather than the mere hunger to perform them.