This article is part of a collection of blog posts dealing with “lenormand vs. tarot” issues. You can find a list of other relevant instalments >> here.
After I posted the Light & Shadow article about the Heart, a lady contacted me to ask what was the difference between the Lenormand card “Heart” and the Tarot card “The Lovers”.
Depending on which school of thought a card reader follows, which interpretations they use, there will be very different answers to this question. Below, I give mine. First, there is a “too long didn’t read” answer, for people who are in a hurry or like to keep it simple and clear, and second, there is a longer answer, for readers who like to take things slow and who appreciate more complexity.
The “tldr;” answer
The Lenormand Heart is about the emotion of love in all its manifold forms, as well as their derivates and resulting actions.
The Tarot Lovers is about loving, wholehearted commitment, about the unconditional “yes” to someone or even something.
The long answer
The two cards by themselves
The Lenormand Heart represents love in all its forms. It stands for romantic love, for parental or filial love, for the love between friends, for platonic love – even for the love we have for certain activities or things. It can also represent not just romance but romanticization, and (unhealthy) infatuation. Furthermore, the Heart represents qualities and actions which usually accompany a loving disposition – gentleness, softness, compassion, reconciliation, and acts of charity. It stands for promptings of the heart, and for doing things wholeheartedly.
The Tarot Lovers represent the wholehearted decision for someone or something, an unconditional Yes, wholehearted commitment – not necessarily to a person. Yes, the card can definitely also represent romantic love, and other types of love, but it does so only if there is included a strong sense of commitment to the person the love is directed at.
The two cards in comparison
Comparing the two cards, there is an area where they overlap: Both cards can represent profound love, and both cards can mean wholeheartedness. However, the Heart by itself does not implicate commitment – the Lovers very much do so. And the Lovers don’t in any sense represent infatuation, romanticization, or reconciliation – the Heart does.
More cards thrown into the mix
I wrote above that the Heart by itself does not implicate commitment. The Heart only says that love is there – that right now, the emotion “love” is present. It doesn’t say if the person who is feeling the love is intending to commit to it. This it does, however, when in combination with the Ring. The combination Heart+Ring can stand for wholehearted commitment, or the commitment to a love(r), just like The Lovers do.
And I wrote above that the Lovers don’t represent reconciliation, infatuation, and romanticization, and don’t even focus on romance per se. But there are several other Tarot cards which do, in one way or another. Here are the ones which are most obvious (to me):
The Ace of Cups represents the chance to find love – in all its manifold forms.
The Two of Cups represents the first phase of a romantic relationship, butterflies in the stomach – or, in non-romantic contexts, acts of love, and reconciliation.
The Six of Cups stands for romanticization, for wearing rose-coloured glasses.
The Page of Cups is an invitation to develop a conciliatory, compassionate, loving disposition.
The Knight of Cups represents an emotionally open, highly amicable, romantic mood.
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