Lovers and 2 of cups

[natty]

Hi 

 

Iv been struggling a bit to know the differences with the lovers and two of cups just hoping to get peoples views on  how they interpret these cards, any similarities and differences and there interptetations. I have mis read the lovers card before linking it more to new  romatic love when it was more to do with a longer term partnership or insights into how the partnership was unfolding, the 2 of cups is also a coming together of partnerships just wondering how others interpret these cards and if hiw they differ or can be interpreted weather the 2 of cups is more romamcy than the lovers card. Keen to get peoples thoughts and interpretations to help me with this one 🙂 thanks  

[gregory]

I don't see the lovers as being primarily about love, particularly. It's much more about choices. there's someone the querent (you, for purposes of this post !) is attracted to - but there is a good chance they aren't right for you, and you have to weigh it up carefully. Probably worth giving it a shot; your heart says GO FOR IT - but it may well not pan out. That could be where your "wasn't new romantic love" may come from.

 

It can also be about love, pure and simple Choose love. Make loving choices. Be kind. Or even - depending on the other cards and the question - which job to choose; which friend to believe, whether to invest....

 

Two cups - yes; I see that as more about a relationship and its potential - but again, not necessarily romantic. It does have more of the mutuality about it - giving and receiving love. but it can also be very transient. The "face across a crowded room" thing. You can go over and talk; recognise that there is a connection - and either develop it or move on; again, there's a choice. I do feel there's more of a person orientation to this one, though.

 

As with so many cards, though - context is all.

[Wanderer]

My view on this is that, in a relationship context (other contexts exist!) the Lovers relates to commitment, whereas the 2 of Cups is more about the attraction.

 

To expand a bit, commitment involves making a deliberate decision to throw your lot in with someone, and to share you life. These are not decisions that are easily unmade, and they're tied in with responsibility... but are also mutual and reciprocal. The 2 of Cups, to me, represents that sense of being drawn to someone (or something), like love at first sight... or a moth to a flame. It's fascination, infatuation, and a basic emotional response. The latter can of course lead to the former... but it often doesn't.  

 

These concepts can of course be applied to non-romantic situations as well, but for me the Lovers is always strongly associated with making a commitment, and usually to a person.

[natty]

1 hour ago, gregory said:

I don't see the lovers as being primarily about love, particularly. It's much more about choices. there's someone the querent (you, for purposes of this post !) is attracted to - but there is a good chance they aren't right for you, and you have to weigh it up carefully. Probably worth giving it a shot; your heart says GO FOR IT - but it may well not pan out. That could be where your "wasn't new romantic love" may come from.

 

It can also be about love, pure and simple Choose love. Make loving choices. Be kind. Or even - depending on the other cards and the question - which job to choose; which friend to believe, whether to invest....

 

Two cups - yes; I see that as more about a relationship and its potential - but again, not necessarily romantic. It does have more of the mutuality about it - giving and receiving love. but it can also be very transient. The "face across a crowded room" thing. You can go over and talk; recognise that there is a connection - and either develop it or move on; again, there's a choice. I do feel there's more of a person orientation to this one, though.

 

As with so many cards, though - context is all.

Thank you that does help to see the lovers card as more about choices in relation to love but it may not directly link to romancey love and i like your take on it in terms of thinking about the choices we make in jobs, friends or partnerships that helps me to better define it...thanks. As you say it also depends on the context of the reading. When i mis interpreted the lovers it was in a general read so thinking about these other aspects would have guided be better, i think. Thanks 

I like your take on the 2 of cups seeing more the potential of a partnership that helps to make that distinction also with the lovers card. As you say it would be more in context to the reading and other cards and not just specific to romance. Very helpful gregory  😀

Edited November 16, 2020 by natty

[natty]

49 minutes ago, Wanderer said:

My view on this is that, in a relationship context (other contexts exist!) the Lovers relates to commitment, whereas the 2 of Cups is more about the attraction.

 

To expand a bit, commitment involves making a deliberate decision to throw your lot in with someone, and to share you life. These are not decisions that are easily unmade, and they're tied in with responsibility... but are also mutual and reciprocal. The 2 of Cups, to me, represents that sense of being drawn to someone (or something), like love at first sight... or a moth to a flame. It's fascination, infatuation, and a basic emotional response. The latter can of course lead to the former... but it often doesn't.  

 

These concepts can of course be applied to non-romantic situations as well, but for me the Lovers is always strongly associated with making a commitment, and usually to a person.

Hi wanderer i like your take on this too, as you say if it were a love reading it could indicate with the lovers card commitment to a person, as it was a more general read its helpful to consider other aspects too as youve said thanks.

 

I like your take on the 2 of cups seeing this as attraction,  like you say it can relate to romance but also non-romantic situations. I did a more general read when i interpreted the cards, it was more indicative of a longer term partnership than a new love so i def take these interpretations on board and there were allot of work aspects coming out as it was a general read so like you say this could be related to non romancey things but highlighting partnerships of some sort, thank you it helps allot 🙂

Edited November 16, 2020 by natty

[TheLoracular]

I so agree with @gregory that the Lovers most often comes up when a choice has to be made between following a romantic/sexual relationship and some other kind of love (including self-love, or commitment to a different partner).   The other cards in a reading really help me decide where the Lovers goes and what it is talking about.   But sometimes, especially as the final result in a reading, it can be encouraging to just leap in and see what happens with a potential love interest.

The Two of Cups for me tends to be about maintaining or committing to a healthy relationship that often has no sex but very deep love.  For example, it often comes up when there is a friend, sibling, or co-worker who is part of a mutually loving/trusting relationship.  The message is often to talk to them or support them or enter a situation together or to listen/trust/accept what they (or a romantic lover/spouse) are offering at face value.  

[LeFou]

Lovers - It's a major, so it's a big theme.  Desire, attraction, fertility.  So rather than being about a particular relationship, it's the larger theme of how we crave "completion," let's say.

 

2 of Cups - It's a minor card, so more like day-to-day or the particulars.  Agreement, being agreeable, or let's say, compatible (in whatever sense).  Smaller stakes than Lovers.

 

So summing it up, Lovers is the life-quest (let's say) for what completes us, our deepest desires and what flows from that.  Relative to that big theme, 2 of Cups might be someone we're dating, or a co-worker, a neighbor that we get along with (or more specifically, a particular detail that comes to agreement, rather than the "deepest desire" that propels us on our quest).

 

Just brainstorming with you 🙂

 

[natty]

Thank you @Lefou and @TheLoracular much appreciated.... happy your brainstorming with me as im learning a tonne here Lol 

I agree that it totally depends on what other cards come out in the read and due to myself mis reading the lovers card, i think it took me slightly off the beaten track with that aspect of the reading but you live and learn Lol the comments are useful as its giving me more clarity on both the cards. 

 

 

Its again all useful comments here 😀 keep em coming if anyone has more to add ??

 

 

 

 

[dalsegno_]

I have once read The Lovers as someone gaining a better idea of what the grand concept of "love" exactly is. (For the record, the person I was reading for was young and didn't have much experience in this sector.) I think as a Major Arcana, on some levels it's more of a lesson to be learned, a new part of our understanding we acquire in the process of maturity. I actually don't usually read it as romantic relationships unless there are clear signs of it being so.

With the 2 of Cups, I like to think of it as human connections in general. Could be romantic, but it can also just be someone reaching out to another person hoping to establish a sincere friendship. The important thing is that there is a connection being formed between human beings, regardless of its nature. ✨

[Ekati]

For me the Lovers card is always about a choice(an important choice) that usually is about a romantic relationship or maybe choosing between two partners. The 2 of cups is about good intentions between two people, mutual feelings and will to create a relationship, romantic or not.

[Guest]

I've seen the Lovers turn up to indicate a new romantic connection but one that has far reaching implications in the querents life. It is not a trivial thing because accepting this partnership will require fundamental changes in the querents secular and spiritual life. And very often an entirely different point of view on the subject of love. It's not a straight forward romantic connection that is going to pass through their life with little impact. Can also turn up to remind the querent that they have unhelpful ideas about partnership that need to be examined. If the Lovers is the standalone card in a spread with few courts and no pairing indicated then it's a sign to examine this aspect of life and try to see where failure has come to the querent.

 

The two of cups is more likely to appear when a relationship is immiment or in progress. I've seen awful relationships indicated with the 2 of Cups as often as healthy ones. So there is no happy ending indicated with this card. Just a coming together. When tarot wants to speak to me about the subject of love, rather than a particular pairing then I will often get 2 of cups over The Lovers, especially if the conversation does not have karmic consequences. Just like...hey aren't you looking for something? Rather than hey....you will never be with your soulmate until this issue is addressed. One is for the big stuff and the other is more secular.

[Grizabella]

Gosh, so much depends on question, positional meanings if any, and the other cards----

 

If a querent were to sit with me and say something like "I met this person at a party last night and we really seemed to hit it off.  Is this going to mean something permanent could develop?"  If there were only the 2 of Cups in the spread, I'd have to read it as meaning just a meeting where there were common interests, physical attraction, and the desire on both parts to meet again, but I wouldn't see anything there indicating it would grow into a more lasting commitment. It wouldn't mean that it wouldn't  develop into one, either, necessarily but I'd say to the sitter that there's nothing indicating it's going to. I'd say the likelihood is that it's more of a temporary thing. 

 

If the Lovers were alone, I wouldn't associate it with romance necessarily. I've read a few times that in some older decks, the image on the card depicts both a younger and an older woman.  It was suggested that maybe the card depicted a "shotgun wedding" scenario.  Another idea was suggested that the guy had a choice to make between a younger and an older woman which made the card meaning also include choices.  It could also mean an arranged marriage or a marriage that's based more on need and practicality than any hot romance.

 

If both cards were to show in the same reading and the question were about a relationship issue, then I might read them differently.  Yes, that 2 of Cups could very likely lead to something permanent, for instance.  It might also indicate that becoming a permanent couple was the prudent thing to do in light of other circumstances-----like a child between the couple and maybe the issue of life insurance and such.  

 

I never read the Lovers as "soulmates" no matter what.  I think that can be a deep hole some people fall into. I think it's common for them to have this romantic idea that soulmates agree on everything and swoon into each other's arms at the drop of a hat and ride off blissfully into the sunset.  That isn't how it works. We can have a "soulmate" connection with a friend, a sibling, a parent, a child, or even a pet.  That doesn't mean smooth sailing, though.  Some relationships of that type can be very fiery and full of conflict, too. 

 

In short, to sum it up very briefly, I'd say the 2 of Cups is the touchy-feely-first glow potential in a meeting while the Lovers may indicate a lasting connection but of a more practical and legal nature.

[chongjasmine]

For me, the lovers is about love between two people while two of cups can represent both love and friendship, depending on the situation.