Divine duality, inner alignment, and the call to choose with the heart

At first glance, The Lovers card might seem like it’s all about relationships — and sure, love is part of it. But the deeper magic lies in the symbolism: two beings, mirrored but separate, brought together under divine light.

This is a card about choice, about integration, and about sacred harmony between the parts of ourselves we often think of as opposites.

The Lovers asks:
✨ What are you choosing — and is it aligned with your soul?
✨ Where are you being called into union, within or without?

🕊️ The Two Figures – Sacred Union of Opposites

Traditionally, the card shows two nude figures — one masculine, one feminine — representing:

• The divine masculine and feminine within all of us

• Duality (logic and intuition, action and stillness, giving and receiving)

• Relationship dynamics — romantic, platonic, internal or external

These two aren’t halves seeking completion — they’re mirrors, reminding us that real love (for self or others) begins in wholeness.

🌳 The Tree and the Serpent – Knowledge, Desire, and Consequence

Behind the feminine figure stands a fruit tree with a serpent — evoking the Garden of Eden and the themes of:

• Temptation and desire

• Awakening and consequence

• Sacred knowledge that shifts everything

This symbol reminds us that every choice has ripples — and that knowing ourselves deeply helps us choose well.

Behind the masculine figure is a tree of flames, often said to represent:

• Passion, transformation, and the fire of life

• The pursuit of purpose or action

Together, the trees and the figures represent balancing knowledge and action, heart and fire, intuition and choice.

😇 The Angel – Divine Blessing and Higher Perspective

Above them, an angel (often Archangel Raphael) spreads their wings. This celestial presence symbolises:

• Spiritual oversight — you’re being guided

• Divine blessing on union — inner or outer

• Alignment with your higher self

In readings, the angel reminds you to choose not from fear, but from love.

💫 The Deeper Meaning – Union as Integration

The Lovers card isn’t just about soulmates. It’s about becoming your own soulmate — aligning your inner world so that your outer choices reflect your true self.

This card asks:
✨ What choice is in front of you right now?
✨ Is it guided by truth — or by fear?
✨ Are your actions in harmony with your values?

The ultimate union?
You and your truth.
You and your path.
You, choosing with love.

With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x

Veiled truths, moonlit guidance, and the power of sacred stillness

When the High Priestess appears in a reading, the message is rarely loud — but it’s always powerful.

She is the guardian of the subconscious, the stillness between yes and no, and the embodiment of deep, feminine knowing.
And her symbols — the veil, the moon, the pomegranate — speak to the mysteries she holds.

The High Priestess doesn’t offer answers.
She offers questions that unlock your inner truth.

🌙 The Moon – Intuition, Cycles & the Subconscious

The moon at her feet (and often above her head) is no accident.
In tarot symbolism, the moon represents:

• The unconscious mind

• Psychic ability and heightened sensitivity

• Cycles of change and shadow work

• The divine feminine and hidden wisdom

It’s a reminder that not all truths are logical — some are felt, revealed slowly in dreamlike layers.

In readings, the moon in her imagery asks:
✨ What truth is rising from within?
✨ What are you sensing that words haven’t yet explained?

🔮 The Veil – Hidden Knowledge and Sacred Thresholds

Behind the High Priestess is a delicate veil — often decorated with palms, pomegranates, or sacred geometry.
It separates the seen from the unseen, the physical from the spiritual.

Symbolically, the veil represents:

• Mystery — what is not yet ready to be revealed

• Spiritual boundaries — what must be earned or embodied to be understood

• Initiation — the threshold between the mundane and the mystical

When this symbol appears, it invites you to:
✨ Pause before you push
✨ Honour the sacred unknown
✨ Trust that what’s hidden will be revealed in time

🍎 The Pomegranate – Fertility, Wisdom & the Underworld

Often seen either behind her or embroidered on the veil, pomegranates are rich with meaning:

• Feminine wisdom and creative power

• Mysteries of life, death, and rebirth

• Connection to Persephone and the underworld journey

• Seeds of knowledge — each one containing a world

This fruit is ancient, lush, and sacred. In divination, it symbolises the power that lies within the depths — especially those parts we fear, forget, or overlook.

When the High Priestess Appears…

She asks you to:

• Slow down

• Listen inward

• Honour your intuition over outside noise

• Wait for the inner “yes” before moving forward

She doesn’t demand answers — she waits for you to feel your way to them.

Because not everything that’s real can be seen.
Not everything that’s wise needs to be spoken.

Sometimes the greatest truth is the one whispered from within.

With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x

Sacred equilibrium, clear truth, and the sword that cuts through illusion

The Justice card stands tall and still — not dramatic, not emotional, but absolutely unshakeable.
In tarot, it’s the embodiment of truth, fairness, accountability, and consequences.

When this card appears, it’s not about punishment. It’s about balance.
It’s about getting honest — with yourself, with others, and with the wider universe.
And the symbols within this card? They don’t mess about.

⚖️ The Scales – Balance, Karma, and Weighing the Truth

The scales are Justice’s most iconic symbol — a direct reference to:

• Balance — not just between people, but within yourself

• Karma — the law of cause and effect

• Evaluation — weighing all sides before making a decision

In readings, the scales ask:
✨ What’s out of balance right now — and what would restore harmony?
✨ Are you being fair — to others and to yourself?
✨ What truth needs to be weighed more carefully?

The scales remind us: justice isn’t about emotion. It’s about truth.

🗡️ The Sword – Clarity, Truth, and Decisive Action

Held upright in Justice’s hand, the sword represents:

• Discernment – the ability to cut through confusion or lies

• Truth – even when it’s uncomfortable

• Decisiveness – the courage to act with clarity and integrity

This isn’t the aggressive sword of The Knight — this is a still blade. A symbol of mental clarity and spiritual precision.

It asks:
✨ What needs to be cut away?
✨ Are you ready to face the truth — even if it challenges you?

Justice doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t twist the truth to suit the story.
She holds it up and lets it speak for itself.

👁️ The Uncovered Eyes – Conscious, Present, Awake

Unlike other archetypes of blind justice, tarot’s Justice sees everything.
Her eyes are wide open — because truth must be seen to be known.

Symbolically, this means:

• Nothing is hidden

• Illusions can’t survive scrutiny

• Accountability is conscious and aware

Justice doesn’t hide behind ideals — she looks you straight in the eye and says:
“You already know what’s right. Are you ready to act on it?”

When Justice Appears…

It might be time to:

• Take responsibility for your actions

• Consider the long-term consequences of a choice

• Speak or seek the truth, even if it’s hard

• Restore balance in a relationship or situation

Justice calls us to live in alignment — with our values, our truth, and our integrity.

It’s not always easy.
But it is right.

With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x

When everything falls apart… to fall into place

The Tower is one of the most dramatic and confronting cards in the tarot.
Lightning splits the sky. A crown falls. People are flung from a crumbling structure. And yet — for those willing to see beyond the rubble, it’s a card of liberation.

Because while The Tower looks like disaster, it’s really a spiritual clean slate.

In the world of symbology, The Tower represents destruction, yes — but not punishment.
It’s truth breaking through illusion.
It’s divine fire purifying what can no longer stand.
It’s the crack that lets the light in.

⚡ The Lightning – Sudden Illumination

The bolt of lightning that strikes The Tower comes from above — a direct hit from the divine, symbolic of:

• Sudden truth

• Awakening or realisation

• A powerful insight that can’t be ignored

It often appears in readings when something is being revealed — and once seen, it cannot be unseen.

Ask:
✨ What truth is striking through right now?
✨ What clarity have I been avoiding?

🏰 The Tower – False Foundations

The crumbling tower itself symbolises the structures we’ve built our lives upon — beliefs, relationships, identities, jobs, habits — that are no longer sustainable.

The symbolism here is:

• Ego collapse

• Breaking down of old paradigms

• Release of outdated structures

• Shifting from control to surrender

It’s painful, yes. But it’s also a deep mercy — because what can’t support your soul must go.

👑 The Falling Crown – The Death of Ego

A golden crown is flung from the top of the tower. This isn’t just about monarchy — it’s about ego.

The crown symbolises:

• False power

• Illusion of control

• Identities we cling to out of fear

When the crown falls, so does the illusion.
And beneath it? Your true self waits, ready to rise.

🕊️ Rebirth After the Fall

While the card itself looks chaotic, it’s followed in the tarot by The Star — the symbol of hope, healing, and divine guidance. The message is clear:

Destruction isn’t the end. It’s the beginning.

In divination, The Tower’s symbols remind us that:

• Collapse is sacred

• Change is non-negotiable

• Truth frees you, even if it burns on the way through

When The Tower Appears…

It may not feel gentle — but it’s always purposeful.

Ask:
✨ What is being cleared away, even if I don’t feel ready?
✨ What truth have I been resisting?
✨ What might rise from the ashes once I surrender?

Because The Tower doesn’t destroy for the sake of it.
It clears the ground for something real to take root.

Let the walls fall.
Let the light in.
Let yourself begin again.

With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x

When shadow becomes mirror and the symbol becomes the spark

The Devil card in tarot often triggers discomfort — and that’s exactly the point.

This isn’t a card of external evil or punishment. It’s a card about bondage by choice, illusion mistaken for truth, and the power to break free.

The symbols within The Devil are bold and intense: 🔥 fire, ⛓️ chains, 🧿 temptation, the goat, the pentagram. They challenge us to look at where we’re giving our power away — and what we’re ready to reclaim.

Because in divination, darkness doesn’t mean danger.
It means depth.

🧿 The Devil as a Symbol – Not Evil, but Illusion

The Devil card isn’t about literal demons.
It’s about the things that feel inescapable but aren’t — addiction, obsession, self-sabotage, fear, conditioning.

When this card appears, it often signals:

• Feeling trapped by something external — or internal

• A pattern that’s holding you back

• A false sense of powerlessness

The key symbolism here isn’t doom… it’s awakening.

⛓️ The Chains – Voluntary Bondage

In the traditional Rider-Waite card, two figures stand chained to a pedestal beneath The Devil — but the chains are loose. They could remove them, but don’t.

This imagery asks:

• Where are you choosing comfort over freedom?

• What stories are keeping you small?

• What part of you feels bound — and why?

The chains are symbolic of:

• Limiting beliefs

• Toxic attachments

• Internalised fear or shame

• False identities

And the truth is: the key is always within reach.

🔥 The Fire – Temptation, Energy & Transformation

Fire in The Devil card is wild — not the sacred hearth flame, but the untamed blaze of desire and ego.

Fire here can mean:

• Unchecked passion

• Seduction by power or pleasure

• The energy of transformation (when owned, not feared)

It’s important to remember: fire isn’t “bad.” It’s raw power. It’s how we use it that defines the outcome.

In divination, this fire might ask:

• Are you suppressing something vital — or feeding it without awareness?

• Is there a truth burning to be claimed?

🐐 The Goat – Wildness, Earthiness & Instinct

Often depicted as a horned figure or the goat-headed Baphomet, The Devil is a symbol of primal instinct — the part of us that’s animal, earthy, unfiltered.

This symbol represents:

• Untamed desire

• Bodily sovereignty

• Spiritual independence (often misread as rebellion)

In many traditions, the goat is sacred — a climber of mountains, a creature of persistence. In tarot, it dares us to ask:
✨ What if the “forbidden” is actually the doorway to freedom?

The Inverted Pentagram – Spirit Reversed, Power Misused

Sometimes The Devil bears an inverted pentagram — a symbol often misunderstood. Upright, the pentagram represents the elements in harmony, with spirit at the top. Inverted, it can represent:

• Over-identification with the material

• Spirit buried beneath ego or illusion

• Power used for control instead of growth

It’s not a warning of evil. It’s a mirror — showing where imbalance lives and asking how we might restore alignment.

When The Devil Appears…

Ask yourself:
✨ What illusion am I buying into right now?
✨ Where do I feel trapped — and what’s the truth beneath that?
✨ What power am I ready to reclaim from the shadows?

Because The Devil doesn’t ask for obedience.
It asks for awareness.
It asks for choice.

And once you see through the illusion, you’re no longer bound by it.

With deep roots and an open heart,
Sarah x