Atu VI is commonly called “The Lovers”. The ‘Golden Dawn’ version of this image is a fascinating break from the now-classic Waite-Smith version, where a hero rushes in to rescue a maiden in distress. There have been other versions that emphasize what was only hinted within the Crowley-Harris version: “Eve” and “Lilith” flanking the central figure. “Lilith” was ‘the first wife’, but was ‘made’ unruly. ‘She’ was then divorced, and then “Eve” was brought about to be ‘obedient’. (The legend of “Eve” eating the fruit, aside from the vast other interpretations, was a confusion of ‘her’ with the ‘disobedient’ “Lilith”.) “Eve” tends to be depicted as “soft and beautiful”, while “Lilith” tends to be depicted as “hard and ugly”. Read: “control-able” and “un-control-able”; or rather, “easily definable” and “not so easily definable”. “Eve” was ‘easy on the eyes’, whereas “Lilith” was ‘difficult on the eyes’.
The two brides “Eve” and “Lilith” represent what the ‘Gnostics’ called “The Eidolon” and “The Daemon”. They are the “Intimate Lovers”, always bound in a Marriage. That marriage is not “forthcoming” except for those who still imagine that their separation is “a given”. And that is what is described by this Trump: the supposition that their relation is “separate”. This is not an error: at this stage of conception, the individual still imagines that these two are “separate” and must yet still be “externally conjoined”. This icon is not about the actual “union”; it is rather about an imagination of the “separate” condition, the “need” to “join hands”. That is why this Trump is rather still within a ‘prepatory’ stage.
Atu V depicts “The Teacher”, and is sequentially placed between Atu IV “The Divine Upstart” and Atu VI “The Devout Follower”. The ‘Teacher’ is placed in the awkward position of tending to both “the chosen ruler” and “the disciple”. Atu IV represents the receiver of instruction that is not required to receive instruction. Atu VI represents the receiver of instruction that is required to receive instruction. The Student will thereby gain the full benefit of “previous wisdom” that the “divine emperor” will miss out. The ‘Teacher’ has to cajole the ‘Emperor’, but can demand the ‘Student’.
“The Student” is placed in the unique condition of Being Oriented by ‘an experienced other’. Atu VI is rather an extension of Atu 0 in the sense of “abandonment of the previous”. “What I thought I knew is now abrogate, and now I place myself willingly to receive new information.” The mind-set of a real Student is hardly ‘passive’; it actually requires a form of ‘will’ that The Emperor cannot even cognize. In the most extreme example, what is thought of as ‘will’ must be totally overthrown in favor of complete obedience. Thus, you have in various traditions the “hoodwinking” of the young initiate — which is not merely a metaphor of “you were blind and now you see”. When done properly, this tactic has the “back-door” effect of engendering ‘will’ in a way that no instruction of ‘willful behavior’ can match. When done improperly, the ‘Teacher’ has merely “a slave”.
So, the series of lessons ensue, and if successful, then at Atu XIV the Marriage of ‘The Eidolon’ and ‘The Daemon’ is actually consummated!
O-A-Hum
OPD
OPD Tarot 