Gemini & The Lovers
Artist unknown
I took this photograph of a picture hanging on a cafe wall whilst in Seoul 15 years ago. I wish I knew who the artist is/was; if anyone knows, please let me know! I love the face of the little girl in the red dress. It reminds me of the Lovers tarot card, which, in some historical decks, particularly French, depicted three people: a man in the centre with two women on either side, representing vice and virtue. While the story behind the children in the picture conveys lighthearted jealousy and the innocence of childhood friendship, the Lovers archetype represents profound expressions in the quest for self, individuation, choice, existential crisis, sexual union, spiritual awakening, and, of course, love.
The dualistic qualities of the Lovers archetype align well with its astrological association, which is Gemini. Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac, falling between 21 May and 21 June. An air sign, mutable, masculine and its zodiac symbol is the heavenly twins. Ruled by Mercury, Geminis are said to love all things associated with mental prowess, ideas, communication, and knowledge. In physical terms, Gemini is associated with the hands and arms. They are viewed as being the ‘social butterfly of the zodiac’ and are interested in many different things and people.
Nowadays, the most widely known depiction of the Lovers archetype is from the Universal Waite/Smith deck, which is heavily influenced by Christian mysticism. Two people, Adam and Eve, stand on green fertile land, opposite each other, sky clad under the open arms of the archangel Raphael (or Michael to some). Behind Raphael, a golden sun beams. Eve stands before the Tree of Knowledge bearing fruit with a serpent coiled around the trunk, and Adam stands before the Tree of Life.
The Lovers, Rider Waite Colman Smith
The image is full of esoteric and religious symbolism, which leads us down the road towards the creation myths. I feel that Adam and Lilith would be a better representation of the Lovers card, especially as the archetypal themes are related to duality - finding the opposite of you to become whole. In many cultures, women are associated with the night. To the Fon people of West Africa, Mawu, the female twin, rules the moon and the night, and her male twin, Lisa, rules the sun and day. In some variants of the myth, they come together to create a whole, and the divine couple become a single deity with two faces.
In Plato’s dialogue the Symposium, the comic poet and playwright Aristophanes tells a satirical version of a creation myth where humans were once double creatures and there were three sexes, male-male, female-female and male and female (intersex). They each had two faces, two sex organs, four legs and four arms. These ancient humans possessed superior strength and one day decided to storm Mount Olympus, much to the outrage of the Sky God, Zeus. To punish them for this unthinkable plan, Zeus split them with a thunderbolt, separating them. The male male sex became homosexuals, the female female became lesbians, and the male female became heterosexual and, as such, were forever in search of their other half.
Two Paths - Should I Stay or Should I Go?
This indecision's bugging me,
If you don't want me, set me free,
Exactly whom I'm supposed to be
Don’t you know which clothes even fit me?
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it, or should I blow?
The lyrics of The Clash’s song Should I Stay or Should I Go serve as another reminder of a shadow aspect of the Lovers archetype - indecision. Love, in all its magnificence, can often bring with it the choice of two paths - one of commitment or one of freedom. But what if you don’t want to decide, to make a choice? Choice, naturally, is not something just confined to romantic relationships; it is also true of our platonic relationships with friends and family members, which both require trust and work if they are to succeed. We ultimately choose who we want to be in relationships with, especially if we are listening to what we really want. However, more often than not, the Lovers implies a union of a sexual nature, of desire and the knock-on effect that union will have on the lives of the lovers as a whole. The union of two souls, a relationship that will have a profound effect on each of their lives and possibly their spiritual development.
The Lovers, Claude Burdel, Marseille tarot,
Bibliography
Pollack, Rachel, 1997, Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom
Teish, Luisah, 2021, Jambalaya
Tarot Heritage, 11 June 2025, https://tarot-heritage.com/from-trionfi-to-majorarcana/lamore-lamoreux-the-lovers/
Mawa, Wikipedia, 13 June 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mawu
BBC Radio 4, Youtube, The Myth of the Missing Half, 13 June 2025 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDvMRvWjI9Q
Symposium, Wikipedia, 16 June 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symposium_(Plato)
