There are different ways to read The Lovers card, and to be honest, some of them made me cringe. For some reason, the idea of a man having to pick between two women seems very old-fashioned and rude. Though there is also the idea of choice, which means being stuck between two options and not being sure which one to choose. That meaning struck a chord with me because it seemed more realistic and less like a stereotype.
Some people think that the man and woman on the Lovers card in the Rider Waite deck are Adam and Eve with the snake in the Tree of Knowledge. Right? It's all about choosing. Some choices could free you or teach you something.
A man and a woman are chained to the devil's throne on The Devil card. It's the same as being stuck in bad choices that hold you back. Strong figures rise over the images, and pairs of things, like the towers and dogs in The Moon card, are shown below.
I think of cards like "Justice" and "The High Priestess" as people in charge who make choices based on what we say. It's about how the choices we make affect us and other people. But it can be hard to figure out what each card means because they have been interpreted in different ways over the years and have a lot of history baggage.
It's always been on my list to learn more about the meanings behind the original decks and make my own one day. At this point, though, I'm only looking at one card at a time and seeing where the path takes me.