Tarot del Fuego - The Lovers - 6

In the background, we can see that the pink bird of passion descending from Spirit into the Earth sphere has an eye on each of its wings. The sun above it also has an eye. The eyes represent the first 3 phases of the cycle of Involution, which in turn are represented on the first 3 trumps of the Major Arcana. Taken together, these disparate elements seem to connect to the yellow background to form a single entity: A wise old man with an awakened third eye. The yellow background is his beard and the bird's beak is his mouth. Issuing from his mouth is the iconic arrow of Cupid, an arrow with a heart for an arrow head.

We tend to associate this symbol with romantic love. But I'm reminded of a speculative article I once read where they pointed out that there was once a very famous species of plant whose seed pod resembled the now universally known symbol for the human heart and for love. It was a widely used herb in southern Europe that was so effective in achieving the desired effect, which was birth control, that it was over harvested to the point of extinction. At the height of its popularity, the iconic seed-pod/heart symbol was printed on its packaging, making it originally more a symbol for a wild night, or at least responsible family planning, than for romantic or selfless love. The fact that the arrow seems to be igniting a fire of passion in the lower abdominal area of the guy depicted in this card makes me lean toward that interpretation of the heart symbol here.

His apparent romantic interest is a two-headed woman. He seems to be being asked to make a choice. One, fiery and passionate, has a rose growing out of her head. The other, dark and earthy, has a tree growing out of her head (how granola). Each is trying to win him over with the temptation of her own glass of wine: one red, one white. Which one will he pick? Each has her own corresponding house: one small, one large. Each will ultimately result in a vastly different life than whatever he would build with the other.

But she's a chimera. Is she a single thing, or two different things? She may have two different minds, but a single heart. The principle of Consciousness represented by this card is Maya, the appearance of division where there is really only unity. Maya is generally maligned in Yogic traditions. This is not so much the case in the Tantrik tradition. As Christopher Wallis points out in his Tantra Illuminated,

Now we come to the top of the hierarchy of manifest reality, the highest princile that is not the Absolute itself. In other traditions, maya means illusion or delusion, but not so in Tantra. Maya is rather the "world source" (jagad yoni), the Divine's power to project itself into manifestation. It is also the power of differentiation by which the One appears as many. Maya is not given a negative valuation in Tantra, even though it does in a sense delude us into seeing duality where there is only unity; for seeing dualistically is a necessary part of the process of Self-exploration that the Divine has freely chosen by manifesting a universe in the first place. 

Wallis goes on to offer the oft-cited analogy of the various types of jewelry that can be formed from gold. Even though we call them earrings, necklace, bangles, etc., are they ever anything other than gold? The difference is, "...only in name, form, and function, not in essence."

The Hebrew letter associated with the Lovers is Zain, which represents a sword...

Suggesting the antithesis to Vav, the nail, because a sword cleaves, cuts, divides, separates. Diversity, contrast, antithesis, distinction, and therefore discrimination, are some of the related ideas. - Paul Foster Case, "Tarot: A Key to the Wisdom of the Ages"

Astrologically, the Lovers corresponds to the constellation of Gemini, the twins. Gemini is ruled by the planet Mercury, which governs the intellect. This connection further reinforces the resonance of the Lovers with the activity of discernment.

At a mundane level, this card is pointing out a choice. At a higher level of metaphysics, we are talking about the decision to see either unity or duality. If Consciousness is going chronologically through the archetypes (0-21/Involution) this is the point where duality becomes the prevailing orientation. If Consciousness is moving in reverse order through the Major Arcana (21-0/Evolution) this is the point where the appearance of duality is resolved in the fundamental unity of everything. The decision here is on which side of the veil of Maya are we about to end up.

In the context of divination, this card can represent the union of two people, the merging of two entities to form a single body, love, harmony, and beauty. Or it can symbolize a choice (sometimes with disastrous consequences), temptation, seduction, and even delusion.