Today’s Journey Tarot Key 6 Union and The Lovers

The Lovers card is one of the most profoundly symbolic of the Major Arcana. Within its mystery is the key to one of the great philosophical truths of the Tarot – the union of body, mind, and spirit. The Rider/Waite/Smith deck shows the archangel, Raphael, illuminated by the sun and floating above two figures. The man and the woman each stand before a tree which represents aspects of the nature of their gender. This card is often used to express a romantic relationship between two people, as the name suggests. But it is much more than that. The man represents the conscious mind, the woman the subconscious, and the angel the superconscious. The truth being conveyed is the union of conscious and subconscious which reaches for the superconscious – a connection with the Divine. The Today’s Journey Tarot card is called Union and also depicts a man and a woman. It is a little more obvious that the woman is the link between the man and the Divine. The man is seated and reaching up to her. The woman takes his hand and with her other hand reaches for the Universe. Their union represents the cycle of spirituality, saying that the conscious mind can only reach the superconscious through the subconscious. We can only reach the Divine through prayer, contemplation or meditation, not through thought alone.

 

Teresa Sue McAdams, co-creator of “Today’s Journey Tarot”, co-author of “Today’s Journey Tarot, A Traveler’s Guide”, and author of “Lessons, The Wisdom Within Each Moment”

Union

Today’s Journey Tarot Key 5 Tradition – The Hierophant

The Hierophant represents traditional, orthodox teachings. These teachings are known only to him and he decides when they can be shared. There is a lot of symbolism in the Rider/Waite/Smith version of this card. This symbolism can be daunting to a new student. The Hierophant himself has a symbolic gesture, a crown with a letter on the top, a scepter, and there are two crossed keys at his feet. He sits between two pillars – also decorated with symbols. The priests kneel before him with different symbols on their robes. While the rich symbology here is appealing to some, it does take study to understand what is being expressed. Today’s Journey Tarot’s Key 5 Tradition shows a building that could be used for religious worship of any kind. The building is made of stone to represent the closed mindedness of blindly following dogma. The colored glass windows however, suggest that the potential for enlightenment is always present even in the most rigid of traditions and circumstances.

 

Teresa Sue McAdams, co-creator of “Today’s Journey Tarot”, co-author of “Today’s Journey Tarot, A Traveler’s Guide”, and author of “Lessons, The Wisdom Within Each Moment”

Tradition