Almost everyone who pulls The Lovers in the tarot for a question about love celebrates prematurely. The image of the couple under the angel looks like a definitive yes, and that is how the card is usually sold around here.
The key, however, is different. Arcana card VI is the card of choice, and choosing means letting go of something. The couple is in the image because the most difficult decision that exists usually involves affection, not because the card promises romance.
This guide brings the profile of the arcana card and the symbol by symbol of the image. It also shows what Waite wrote in 1910, the difference between Marseille and Rider-Waite, and the reversed reading.
Do The Lovers guarantee that love will work out?
No. The card does not promise a happy ending or a scheduled marriage. It signals that there is a decision at stake, and that this decision demands coherence between what you feel, what you believe, and what you do.
Notice that the couple in the image is naked, one in front of the other, with nothing hidden. It is a card of transparency and responsibility, not of conquest. When it falls on a love question, it usually points to the point where the relationship needs to be defined.
The Lovers do not say which path to follow. They say that there is a path to choose, and that the choice made against one's own values takes its price later.
Arcana card VI Profile
| Field | The Lovers |
|---|---|
| Number | VI, the sixth numbered major arcana card |
| Other names | Os Amantes (Brazil), L’Amoureux (Marseille), The Lovers (Rider-Waite-Smith) |
| Correspondence | Gemini sign, Air element, Mercury planet |
| Upright (current reading) | Conscious choice, union, attraction, alignment of values, communication, free will |
| Upright, by Waite (1910) | Attraction, love, beauty, trials overcome |
| Reversed (current reading) | Misalignment of values, indecision, lack of communication, choice by external pressure |
| Reversed, by Waite (1910) | Failure, foolish designs, with mention of frustrated marriage |
| Yes or no | Maybe, with a yes bias when the choice is aligned with one's own values |
A caveat that applies to the entire Major Arcana series: astrological and cabalistic correspondence is a matter of school, not consensus. The Hebrew letter of the card is Zain in the Golden Dawn system, an English order from the late 19th century, but the continental tradition records Vau for the same arcana card.
Symbol by symbol: what the image tells
The original description is in the Pictorial Key to the Tarot, which Waite published in 1910 and is now in the public domain. He writes that the two figures appear "unveiled before each other, as if Adam and Eve when they first occupied the paradise of the earthly body". In Portuguese: without a veil one before the other, like Adam and Eve in the paradise of the earthly body.
- The winged angel: Waite says only “a great winged figure”, a large winged figure with open arms. The identification as archangel Raphael is a later reading, now almost universal, and matches the Air element of the card.
- The sun at the zenith: illuminates the entire scene. Nothing is hidden here, unlike what happens with The High Priestess.
- The Tree of Life, behind the man: carries twelve flame-shaped fruits, associated with the twelve signs and the cycle of time.
- The Tree of Knowledge, behind the woman: with the serpent coiled around the trunk. It is the knowledge gained through experience, with temptation and consequence in the package.
- The two naked figures: vulnerability and transparency. The nudity is about having nothing to hide, not about eroticism.
- The mountain in the background: is read today as the challenge that rises ahead. Waite does not comment on it.
From L’Amoureux to Adam and Eve: what Waite changed
Card VI did not always look like this, and the change explains why two decks say such different things about it.
| Phase | How the card appears |
|---|---|
| 15th Century, Visconti-Sforza and Charles VI | Couple and marriage scene, the oldest core of the card |
| Marseille, Jean Dodal, beginning of the 18th century | The Lovers (L’Amoureux): a young man divided between two women, with Cupid armed with a bow above |
| Rider-Waite-Smith, 1909 | Waite cuts the third figure and places the couple under the angel, between the two trees |
The cut was deliberate. Waite said that his drawing replaced the old marriage card. He also discarded "the later follies which depicted man between vice and virtue", the follies that showed man between vice and virtue. Reducing three figures to two reinforced the connection with Gemini, the sign of the pair.
The practical effect is direct. Those who read by Marselha tend to see hesitation and moral proof, with the seeker divided between reason and desire. Those who read by Rider-Waite tend to see mature union and conscious decision. Neither of the two readings is wrong: they describe cards designed with distinct intentions.
The Lovers in the reading: love, work and combinations
In love, the card indicates real harmony and attraction, but demands definition. For someone who is alone, it points to a meeting with potential for commitment. For someone who is in a relationship, it usually marks the moment to consecrate an agreement, a theme that also appears in the tarot of love.
In work, it speaks of partnership, cooperation and the choice between two proposals. It frequently appears when someone needs to decide between what pays better and what makes sense.
In money, it points to decisions where the paths exclude each other: choosing one means giving up the other. It also appears in investments that depend on an agreement with third parties.
In spirituality, it is the card of coherence. It deals with aligning what the person believes with what they practice, building their own system of values.
In health, it suggests balance between body and mind and the weight of emotional bonds on well-being. Tarot is not a diagnosis and does not replace a doctor or therapist.
In yes or no, the answer tends toward maybe. As already recorded in yes or no tarot, the best path is to rephrase the question in a more specific way.
Three combinations that change the reading:
- With The Devil (XV): it is the same couple, now chained. Together, they tell of an emotional choice contaminated by dependency.
- With The Tower (XVI): the decision is postponed until the structure gives way on its own.
- With The Magician (I): the one who chooses already has the tools to execute the choice.
The Lovers reversed and the shadow of the card
Reversed, the card points to a mismatch between values and attitude. Contemporary readings list paralyzing indecision, lack of communication, misalignment in the couple, and a choice made to please others. It also appears when the person has forgotten themselves within the relationship.
Waite was more dry. In part 3 of the Pictorial Key, he summarizes the reversed card as "failure, foolish designs," failure and foolish plans. He adds that another account speaks of a frustrated marriage and setbacks of all kinds. Today's reading is more psychological and less sententious.
It is worth remembering that reversing the card does not create an opposite meaning out of nowhere, as explained in reversed cards in tarot. The reversal usually indicates the same theme blocked, exaggerated, or turned inward.
The shadow of The Lovers is the outsourced choice: letting the pressure of family, the group, or fear decide in your place, and then calling that destiny.
A note of context: tarot is a European oracle, born as a card game in 15th century Italy. It is not the liturgy of Umbanda or Candomblé, although there are decks that dialogue with Afro-Brazilian traditions, such as the tarot of the orixás.
Frequently asked questions
What does the card The Lovers mean in tarot?
It means that there is a choice at play, and that it calls for alignment between feelings and values. The card also speaks of union, attraction, and open communication. What it does not do is promise romance or marriage, despite the fame it carries because of the image.
What is the number of the card Os Enamorados?
It is arcana card VI, the sixth of the numbered Major Arcana. It comes after The Hierophant (V) and before The Chariot (VII). In the most widespread system, it corresponds to the Gemini sign, the Air element, and the planet Mercury.
Are Os Enamorados and Os Amantes (The Lovers) the same card?
Yes, they are two names for the same arcana card VI. In Brazil, both forms circulate. The Marseille deck uses L’Amoureux, in the singular, and the Rider-Waite-Smith uses The Lovers. The choice of name usually follows the tradition of the deck that the person learned.
What does The Lovers (Os Enamorados) reversed mean?
It points to misalignment between what one wants and what one does, prolonged indecision, lack of communication, or a choice made under outside pressure. Waite, in 1910, summarized it as failure and foolish plans. Today, the reading is less judgmental and more focused on self-knowledge.
Are Os Enamorados yes or no?
They tend toward maybe. The card describes a fork in the road, not a verdict, so it returns the question to the person consulting. It becomes a yes when the decision is aligned with one's own values, and a no when it is taken out of convenience or fear.
Where to buy tarot decks and items
At Joia Mística Laroyê, you find what you need to study and practice:
- Tarot decks: Rider-Waite, Marseille, and Brazilian editions
- Reading towels: to set the table before the reading
- White candles: to open and close the reading ritual work
- Incense and smudge sticks: to clear the environment and the deck
- Guard bags and crystals: to accommodate and protect the cards
Visit our shop in Extrema, Minas Gerais or buy via WhatsApp with delivery to all of Brazil. We also offer tarot readings with Joice.
To check the iconography and names of the card, see the “The Lovers (tarot card)” entry on Wikipedia.
References
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part 2, by Arthur Edward Waite
- Wikisource: The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, part 3, Waite's divinatory meanings
- Wikipedia: The Lovers (tarot card) entry, with the astrological correspondence and the reduction of three to two figures
- Wikipedia: L’Amoureux entry, about card VI in the Marseille Tarot
