This is the sixth in a series of conversations between the Birth Card pairs and Jason C. Lotterhand, through “The Thursday Night Tarot”, (edited by Arisa Victor). The host for this series is the Fool, representing the individual taking the journey. The sixth Birth Card pair up is Devil/Lovers.
Fool: Welcome to this series of conversations. Information discussed here is based on Jason C. Lotterhand’s work, as presented in “The Thursday Night Tarot”. Something to keep in mind before we enter into the following conversation is the theme for the Devil/Lovers duo: “Dealing with relationships of all types, and the issues connected with them.” To my left is the Devil, to my right is the Lovers, and to the Loverss right we have Mr. Lotterhand. Thank you all for being here. Temperance, you may begin.
The Devil: I would like to thank Mr. Lotterhand and the Lovers for being here, and the Fool for hosting this series. As we all know, Birth Cards work in pairs. However, we all carry our own identity. Through Mr. Lotterhand’s work, we hope to clarify who we are to those who carry our energy.
Mr. Lotterhand, you bring up a good point when you say that humanity uses me as an excuse for all of the evils in the world. You also state that in the Cabalistic world there is no devil. Can you elaborate on this for a moment, please.
Jason C. Lotterhand: There are demons in all religions. It seems to be a popular pastime. It is also a good way to control people – through fear. I could go on about how we define evil, and how it really is based on concepts that we simply don’t happen to agree with. Anything that opposes our personal will is a devil for us. In Key 15 our Innermost Self appears in the guise of Adversary. It will get after us every time we do something incorrect. We despise this dark angel because it challenges us. The main teaching for this Key is that nothing in the universe is inimical to Man.
The Devil: Is the Adversary Man’s conscious then?
Jason C. Lotterhand: Not really. Conscious is a learned thing, and the Adversary is an inner urge that encourages us to evolve, and become illuminated.
The Devil: My posture is similar to that of the Magician. Can you shed some light on this?
Jason C. Lotterhand: The Magician is a white magician, and someone who is humble, and understands that he is an agent of higher intelligence. The invocation of grace is part of who he is.
You, on the other hand, are a black magician. You feel that power comes from yourself. You think of power in terms of ego and personal achievement.
Fool: Thank you, Devil, and you, Mr. Lotterhand. Lovers, you have the podium.
The Lovers: Thank you, Fool. I would like to thank the Devil and Mr. Lotterhand for being here, and the Fool for acting as host. Mr. Lotterhand, you state that I most closely represent Beauty as the central Sephirah on the Tree of Life. Why is this important?
Jason C. Lotterhand: When the Lovers are apart, nothing happens. It takes them coming together to create beauty … it is that simple. Beauty is subtle – that is why this key is connected with the concept of Discrimination. In this way our senses are refined. The Angel blessing the Lovers is represents superconsciousness. It is the conscious and subconscious within that is being blessed. Integration is the blessing, Communication is the beauty.
The Lovers: A short aside here. Why is the snake a positive from the viewpoint of Cabala?
Jason C. Lotterhand: The snake foreshadows spiritual success. In Genatria, the word for serpent has the same numeration as the word for redeemer or Messiah. There is only one Life Force.
The Lovers: Are the pillars reflected I the two trees in Key 6?
Jason C. Lotterhand: Yes, they are. The Tree of Life behind Adam has 12 flames, representing the twelve kinds of expressions noted by astrologers for thousands of years. The fruits on the Tree of Knowledge behind Eve symbolize the five senses. It is through our senses that we receive joy in life.
The Lovers: Is it possible to be complete without a partner/mate?
Jason C. Lotterhand: The primary thing that we have to remember here is that we have the energy of the Lovers within ourselves. We are complete in and of ourselves … completeness does not cme from another person. Once we come to that realization, we can make the conscious decision to share ourselves with another person, and they can make a conscious decision to share themselves with us.
The Lovers: Do you have any final thoughts for our audience?
Jason C. Lotterhand: Love is unconditional and self-imparting – we do not have to work to generate love, it exists as a universal principle. We simply have to allow it to flow through us.
Please note: These are, of course, imaginary conversations. The information has been taken from “The Thursday Night Tarot”, Jason C. Lotterhand, edited by Arisa Victor, Newcastle Publishing Co. Inc, 1989. Any errors in translation are mine, and mine alone.
Images are from the Tarot Lovers Tarot (Karyn Easton, http://paranormality.com/) .
© October 2012 Bonnie Cehovet
Perspectives On Tarot 